Finland isn't always a frozen winterland.

[Owain Taggart]

Snow, beautiful thing when it's dark outside, brings a little bit of brightness into the dark.
But, snow, what an annoyance when there's a nice pile of it on your car. =)

Haha, got that right! Beautiful in the right circumstances, but awful having to deal with on a daily basis. Best to take advantage of it with outdoor activities! But it wears out its welcome right around April. I did get a new pair of snowshoes this year, though it was at the tail-end of the season due to Covid supply issues and only got out using them once. At least you Finnish invented the Sauna. That's gotta make it easier during those cold months

 

[JesterFace]

At least you Finnish invented the Sauna. That's gotta make it easier during those cold months

We did? I'm not sure where sauna came from originally but it seems to be some kind of thing around here.

 

[Timby]

We did? I'm not sure where sauna came from originally

My maternal grandparents insisted it was a Finnish thing and as I understand it, that's accurate. They had a savusauna on their farmland in Michigan, which used a fireplace to heat stones to a ridiculously high temperature. I believe the practice dates back to 18th century Finland.

 

[JesterFace]

My maternal grandparents insisted it was a Finnish thing and as I understand it, that's accurate. They had a savusauna on their farmland in Michigan, which used a fireplace to heat stones to a ridiculously high temperature. I believe the practice dates back to 18th century Finland.

We have a sauna but I don't remember ever been in savusauna. (smokesauna in English)
I live in a small apartment but apparently there just has to be a sauna. Right now it's in storage use though.

 

[Owain Taggart]

We did? I'm not sure where sauna came from originally but it seems to be some kind of thing around here.

Apparently. All I've learned about them pointed them to being a Finnish thing, though I'd understand if other neighboring countries were to have something similar. When I was little, our family went to a party held by one of the local Finnish families and they had a sauna. I think they'd explained that to them, it was a cultural thing.

 

[JesterFace]

Here's some evidence to support my earlier claim. =)
These are some random pics from this summer.