Ferry Travel Culture in Finland -A Viking Line
ferry
trip to Sweden and back with our friends.
What Finnish
Ferry Travel Culture is like! |
 Hmm!, what a pouch? |
This
gift-in-a-pouch includes a sauna brush for use on your skin in the
sauna. |
Hey, it's almost Sauna Time! Join me and we will have a sauna on Deck 6
Locate
the Sauna on the Viking line Isabella - That's easy! Sextant Deck 6.
See the red dot center left? Then follow the horizontal line all the
way to the bow --There you see the symbol for the sauna.
Deck layout of the Viking line Isabella Finnish ferry...where the sun's always shining!
Deck layout of the Viking line Isabella Finnish ferry...where the sun's always shining!
Pekka and Anne are karaokeing, Aura is shopping. Oh my...it's off to the sauna section on my own. Let's go for a walk...
...After this long hallway.------------->
Almoooooosst there...
My preference...I love getting a good sauna experience...the Isabella ferry boat recently renovated Finnish Sauna, three Whirlpools, Steam Bath, Infra-Red sauna, special massage showers, lockers, towels are provided, and even a bathing suit --if needed!. Hmm! We are all set to relaaaax!
Price: For a go at the sauna department, it is 5 euros. This does not include the use of the infra-red sauna.
Finnish Ferry travel culture includes a sauna store -An eye catcher for those who enjoy Finnish sauna on a boat. Why not enjoy a Finnish sauna on your way to Finland. You might as well do it right.
You can buy drinks at the bar, and --shop at the on-board sauna shop on our ferry boat.
A gift idea -- For your own home sauna. With this pocket size ladle throw the water onto your sauna stove from longer distances. Using this ladle takes less hand coordination FYI.
I went into the sauna area at 9pm on a November evening shortly after the ferry leaves Stockholm. It helps going there ahead of time to check with the attendant how crowded it may be...or will become. It never hurts to chat with the Sauna Master. He is friendly!
50 people can fit into the water recreational area. Kinda scrunchy for all 50 folks. Fortunately, now only two people are in the sauna area. The best time to go is when the seas are calm and few people around.
The Men's side changing room. Lot's of tall lockers, a blow dryer, large mirrors. Plenty of bench space. Comfy non-slip sponge mats.
!!--Get
ready for the best part of Finnish Ferry travel culture--!!
Inside the sauna. To the right is the stove hidden behind a wooden fence. A high quality electric element type stove...with a rare benefit...round sauna rocks. Yipeee!! That means, after pouring water onto the stove, the steam hit's you evenly making your sauna more enjoyable.
Misty shot of water vapour in the air. The round windows open a view to the whirlpools. Three levels of benches help you to adust to the heat of the sauna. The higher you sit the hotter it feels.
This
sauna has two electric stoves. One on each far end of the hot
room.
Non standard shaped sauna room!
The shape of the room is like a half moon or elongated narrow rectangle. Not a basic standard shaped sauna hot room.
If you were to turn around, like you were facing the sauna as in the above picture, you would see a mirror image of this picture, minus the windows, behind us, which is where sauna stove No. 2 is. hidden from our view.
So if you
enjoy milder steam, use sauna stove No. 2.
Use 'My' Finnish ferry travel culture sauna hot room experience!
Use 'My' Finnish ferry travel culture sauna hot room experience!
Adjust the speed of the heat/steam as it hits your body by moving around different positions in the room.
An experiment: Throwing on the water. Throwing water onto the larger stove. Stove No. 1 from the above pic. while sitting on the upper bench right across the stove. = Steam hits me fast. Ouch hot!
Moving my seating position to the very edge of the sauna bench, I throw on some more water. Low and behold...Heat hits me slower.
Finally, moving all the way near the smaller stove, I throw water onto sauna stove No. 2. The heat hits me at so so speed.
The Sauna Whirlpool routine.
Normally in Finland... Doing Finnish sauna--whirlpool jacuzzi--steam sauna--infra-red sauna, is no typical combination among ferry travel culture. All these are at the sauna department Isabella ferry.
Far left: Above that whirlpool is a glass door leading to the steam bath. The center whirlpool -- a friendly Red sea-serpent. Above the serpents head is an entrance to the spa showers.
Getting your endorphins flowing -A feeling of wellbeing.
First Take a shower and sit in the sauna for 5 minutes before throwing water onto the stove. Throw on water once, wait until you can't bear it, then exit the Finnish sauna and go into the whirlpool for a minute or two. The whirlpool comes on automatically.
On the other side of those windows, is our sauna hot room. Beyond the black glass door center lies the steam bath.
Oh, my aching back!
For temporary back-ache relief, use the spa showers. These special showers shoot water onto your lower back and shoulders, or...down onto your head. Give your back a good spray massage until you feel better. As you are using the spa shower, slowly turn up the heat.
Use the steam bath for a minute, then shower off. At this point, each time you shower before getting back into the Finnish sauna, decrease the temperature of the shower before getting back into the finnish sauna. This helps your endorphins kick in.
This sauna routine is an additional experience, and may not accurately reflect the general ferry travel culture of a Finn. An added bonus so you can get a feeling of wellbeing.
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from this page "Ferry
Travel Culture" to "Finnish
Ferry Boat" page
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Go from this page "Ferry Travel Culture" to "Finlandinsider" Main page
