Page 142 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

FUN TO THE FINNISH

Sweating It Above the Arctic Circle in Lapland

By Margie Goldsmith

am sitting sweating droplets the size of
plums in a wood-burning Finnish Sauna in
Lapland. It’s well over 110 degrees Fahren-
heit inside this little hut, though outside,
I it’s around 10 degrees. This is not surpris-
ing, considering I am 186 miles north of the
Arctic Circle. I’d swear at Leena, my Finnish
friend who has dragged me into this hot-hole,
but Finns consider the sauna a sacred place,
and you’re not supposed to use foul language.
Saunas are so important to the Finns that they
have a yearly sauna bathing contest in which
the competitor has to leave the sauna without
outside help.

142 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022