SAUNA AND CELEBRATIONS IN POLAND

In more than three years of coming to Poland with Anita we never went to a sauna. My first experience was in a public sauna in Gothenburg, Sweden at 16 years old and I never looked back. Suddenly things changed and we received three sauna invitations. Two we accepted. The first was just over the border into the Czech Republic. The country location was the Wellness Centre of a luxury Chateau Hotel in the woods- Zámeček Petrovice.

We arrived late, just about one and a half hours before closing. With our friends we left all clothes in the changing room, and dressed only in towel walked into the most amazing and artistic sauna complex with many rooms of different temperature and humidity, sauna and steam. Journeying between the various rooms we stopped off for cold showers, cold plunge pool, Jacuzzi and relaxing on water beds or fixed beds.

In the whole sauna complex clothes are not allowed, and in some parts towels must be left outside the room too. This is normal habit in Finland, home of Finnish sauna, and many countries in the north and east of Europe. The sauna concept is to sweat out impurities from the skin. Clothes and towels restrict the ability to release these impurities.

It is also possible to go naked to swim in the small lake outside after the hot rooms.

We stayed in six places on this visit to Poland. Timing was not planned but our dates included a special birthday for Anita and her daughters created some surprises for us, including a trip to Białka Tatrzańska, close to the Tatra Mountains and Zakopane. Another sauna experience awaited us at Terma Bania.

This spa and sauna complex is attached to a larger hotel, and it was full of people. Some were in groups. It was Saturday night. This was not the quiet relaxing atmosphere and calming music of Zámeček Petrovice. Many people were loud and talking echoed around the open spaces, except in the sauna rooms themselves. That said it was great to try the different pools, sauna and steam rooms, and this time we did swim outside passing though directly into the cold misty night.

Again the zone is designated “naked” but a few people coming from the main baths area did not respect the signs and remained in swim clothes. We read that the chlorine from the swim pools, carried on clothes into hot sauna space has a negative effect on health. Most hotels I have stayed at with sauna next to a chlorine pool obviously are not aware of this.

We really slept well after these two wonderful experiences. We slept in a typical Polish “Pokoje”  - U Zbyszka. Pokoje means “rooms”. We had a simply furnished room with small private bathroom and with access to kitchen and dining space with open log fire for “self catering”.

Early November weather was amazing and while the daughters and partners returned home, we stayed on two more days to relax in the last Indian summer days in the lower mountains. Already night temperatures are down to 4 degrees Celcius.

It was wonderful to walk up the hills in this ski zone, and also along by the river, a relaxing end to our busy autumn visit to Poland. This was exceptional November weather. We are blessed.