As the cab slows to a stop, I scrape some of Jack Frost’s handiwork from the window and peer into the depths of the polar night. We’re only 15 minutes from the center of Helsinki, yet dense forest ...

THE SAUNA AT THE FINNISH PERM REP, BRUSSELS — It’s very hot in here. But not hot enough, according to my Finnish hosts. The time has come for a ladle’s worth of water to be poured onto the pile of ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Christopher and Julie Rice sat naked in the sauna, sweating in its 180-degree heat. In the crisp air outside, they then played a few hands of cribbage and noshed on pickles and ...

Near Helsinki, expat designer Jussi-Pekka Kajaala and Olympic medalist Adam Rippon build a tiny summerhouse dedicated to Finland’s favorite pastime. A view of the sauna building before the patio and ...

Finland is a country of extreme contrasts—summers of dizzying, full-time light, followed by depressingly long, dark winters. The sauna regulates it all, offering the benefits of winter in summer and ...

When you think of saunas, you probably think of Sweden, right? Sauna culture is well known as a Scandinavian thing, but while the majority think they come from Sweden, saunas are originally a Finnish ...

Every week our Holiday Hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you don’t have to. This week: Finland’s lake district. Finland’s Lakeland ...

It is so hot that my lungs feel like burst bubblegum. A stranger is whipping my naked back with a branch. I am 12. It is so humid that my nostrils burn like mustard. Two humming wizards are whacking ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Christopher and Julie Rice sat naked in the sauna, sweating in its 180-degree heat. In the crisp air outside, they then played a few hands of cribbage and noshed on pickles and ...

Christopher and Julie Rice sat naked in the sauna, sweating in its 180-degree heat. In the crisp air outside, they then played a few hands of cribbage and noshed on pickles and smoked fish. Steam rose ...