When it gets cold, foggy and depressive in the midlands, I love to go to the sauna, to stretch on the wooden bench and to let the warmth rise in the body. It is wonderful to enjoy the slight light-headedness from the warmth and from not being able and not having to do anything.

Already as a student I went with my university colleagues into the sauna. My favourite sauna was in the middle of the historic centre in Prague, on an island of the river Vltava, with view on Prague castle and the national theatre. We were sweating, chatting, drinking wine and enjoying the time. Between then and today lie countless visits in various saunas in various countries of this world. In the UK, Finnish colleagues taught me how to properly have sauna, in Russia I cooled in a hole beaten into the ice, on Cyprus I was astonished about locals wearing a cap in the sauna, in Lemone in Italy I could see from the sauna directly to the Lake Garda and in the middle of the summer in Greece with 40 degrees in the shadow I was fascinated by Germans, who heated and used the sauna every day.

As a student I had a lot of time and could spend 3 – 4 hours in the sauna. Today that’s not even possible on the weekend. One of the scarcest goods in my life is time. And therefore I usually can only do two rounds in the sauna. Doing a third round has not been possible for years due to time restraints.

I don’t get anything from a mixed sauna and if there is nothing else, I prefer not to go. In principle I could build one of these small saunas at home and this way enjoy the warmth and quietness. But let’s be honest, then I would not have the chance to listen to the everyday conversations in the sauna. In a women-only sauna women talk about the ones being absent (which I never know), about work, about friends, about health. Politics is inexistent in sauna talks. And it’s good like this. When entering the sauna, one enters in the middle of a story, then the storyteller leaves, even though the story is not finished and like this abstract pieces of stories develop encouraging phantasy.

This Sunday my youngest one was half the day at a children’s birthday party and I had time just for myself. I went swimming for one hour and then into the sauna. Lovely!! First round with 85 degrees heat, cooling and ice-cold pool outside, reading the Sunday newspaper, second round in the sauna with 85 degrees, cooling and ice-cold pool outside and it’s incredible I can go again!! Time allows it and I am in the middle of three women talking. Quietly but clearly understandable. I lie stretched out and listen how one of them praises a newly-opened shop around the corner. The bread so fresh and tasty, how nice the people are and in general. I leave after 15 minutes and cool.

I feel light as a feather, the world seems rosy despite the fog and I almost penetratingly smile at everyone. The luxury of the second repetition in the sauna was more than worth it. And I also went looking for the shop, which the woman had described, and had found it. The bread was really a dream and the staff very friendly. Not all useful information can be found on the Internet, for certain things one has to go to the sauna.