Because of the harsh winters, saunas are a very important part of Estonian culture. There are over 100,000 saunas in Estonia, meaning that there is one sauna for every 13 people. In Tartu, I got to visit a sauna park that had many different types of saunas. The Finnish Sauna was very hot (230°F)! I could only go in it for a few minutes. The Russian banja was a bit cooler but was a lot more humid (115°F)! In the salt sauna, we rubbed salt from the dead sea on our skin. The ice sauna was very refreshing after all of the warm saunas - it had a block of ice on the wall! My favorite sauna was the Honey Sauna. It was 130°F and smelled very good!
Going to the sauna has been a part of Estonian tradition since the 13th century! In saunas, people relax their body and their mind. Saunas are also a place for hanging out with friends. Our guide told us that many buisnessmen conduct meetings in saunas! The most popular times to go to saunas are the night before Christmas, New Years Eve, and birthdays. The sauna was quite fun but because I do not go to saunas very often, I could not stay in them very long because I was not used to the heat.
