The Sauna Trail

In this episode, we’re going to get super geeky and tell how Risto and Nahlah ended up traveling to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to do sauna research in their archives. We decided to go on this daddy-daughter adventure after Risto discovered the Matti Kaups archive while reading the book The Opposite of Cold. Join us this week as we recount our adventures in the Matti Kaups archive!   Finnish pancake (lettu) recipe: https://beta.locals.com/thesaunatrail/feed?post=5587333  Michael Nordskog & Aaron Hautala in a series of Youtube videos about The Opposite of Cold: https://youtu.be/li9bnmduyz0, https://youtu.be/E1LU9FdNzIQ, https://youtu.be/PyBeX_TKw5A  Al's Breakfast Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%27s_Breakfast  El Burrito Mercado website: https://elburritomercado.com  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction(02:28) Michael Nordskog's book The Opposite of Cold(05:37) Who was Matti Kaups?(8:21) Our trip to the archive(10:22) Minneapolis adventures and Al's breakfast(11:14) Interesting things we discovered in the archive (17:51) Public saunas in North America circa 1920(27:05) Outro and preview of future episodes

Part two is out! Join us for the second episode of our adventures in Thunder Bay as we tour Kangas Sauna, try more finnish pancakes, and go sledding in our birthday suits. We’ll share pictures from our exploration, 360 degree immersive photos of the sauna at Stepstone, and, of course, more stories from Thunder Bay.  Finnish Pancake (Lettu) recipe: https://beta.locals.com/thesaunatrail/feed?post=5587333  Kangas Sauna website: https://kangassauna.ca  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction (02:16) Introducing new people to sauna (10:10) Touring Kangas Sauna (14:30) Finnish pancake off (17:33) Visiting a Finnish church (18:57) Stepstone rental (28:40) Sledding in our birthday suits (33:11) Outro

We’re crossing the border! In the first part of this two part series, we drive up to Thunder Bay, Canada. We share our memories of Thunder Bay and the sauna, discuss a brand new food we fall in love with, and laugh about troubles at the border. Join us in this new adventure on the sauna trail!  Finnish Pancake (Lettu) Recipe: https://beta.locals.com/thesaunatrail/feed?post=5587333  Tyndall Stone Bed and Breakfast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070114934030  Stepstone Performance & Event Venue Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/p/Stepstone-Center-100049683296091/  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction (02:58) About Thunder Bay (07:13) Too many oranges (08:41) Visiting Thunder Bay (13:31) Sauna at Tyndall Stone (17:28) Finnish pancakes (21:21) Outro

Should I use soap in a sauna? How much steam should I be putting on? Is a sauna in the summer at all relaxing? In this episode we share about how to use sauna. We talk about prepping for a sauna, getting into the hot room, relaxing in the cold, enjoying nature, and post sauna habits. Remember that not everyone does it the same way! We apologize for the poor audio. We had a technical error and only one microphone was recording, so we salvaged as much as possible… Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction (01:39) Why we sauna (07:46) Why Finns sauna  (10:30) Pre-sauna prep (13:26) Heating the sauna  (18:48) Prep while stove is heating (21:57) Inside first round (27:38) Sauna clown (29:04) Leaving the sauna (32:49) Outside first round (38:22) The rest of the sauna session (42:12) After sauna (43:47) Favorite season to sauna (45:20) Favorite time to sauna (46:10) Final recommendations (48:23) Outro

We’re traveling as far as we ever have on the sauna trail to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Today’s episode will have two parts. First, we’ll talk about our trip in general and the sauna we used, then in the second part we’ll share about our favorite band, The Innocence Mission. Their music has been our soundtrack on many sauna journeys. Join us as we discuss two of our favorite things – music and sauna!  The Innocence Mission Website: https://www.theinnocencemission.com  The Innocence Mission live on David Letterman: https://youtu.be/CKq6neLpszs  Article Risto and Julie were featured in: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-roots-blues-2016-you-cant-go-wrong/article_64d6baf4-dcfb-11e5-a29e-5b101e1aba22.html  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction (01:32) The bucket list item (05:41) The trip and the sauna  (11:47) The concert (15:03) About the Innocence Mission  (18:03) Favorite albums  (21:22) Favorite songs  (36:35) Outro

Surprise! Today we’ll talk about our visit to a sauna we already featured in episode four “Kinda Rustic”, and share how it went from being “meh” to a favorite sauna that is near and dear to our hearts. Join us to hear the story of our conversion! Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction  (03:58) The Turtle Hollow sauna and rental  (10:36) Exploring Viroqua  (16:51) Going back to Turtle Hollow  (18:40) Photos and memories  (30:16) A rustic sauna in a beautiful setting  (34:33) Outro 

In this episode, we are joined by Angela Meredith to discuss the Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar in Cokato, Minnesota. We also pay a visit to what might be the oldest sauna in North America, and another at the Koinonia Retreat Center! Join us this week in our adventures in central Minnesota.  Scandinavian Bazaar Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CokatoScandinavianChristmas/info/  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00:00) Introduction  (00:02:51) Finding the Scandinavian Christmas Bazaar  (00:08:55) The beginning of the bazaar  (00:12:51) The sauna raffle (00:17:14) The Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church (00:22:06) Angela’s sauna practice (00:35:34) Cokato sauna tour (00:38:25) The family camp on Elbow Lake (00:46:03) Young Living essential oils  (00:51:04) Koinonia Retreat Center (00:59:41) The oldest sauna in North America?! (01:01:09) Outro 

We have a VERY special guest joining us in this episode — the author David Salmela! He and his wife Anne agreed to come on our podcast and talk about their Finnish heritage, what sauna meant to them growing up, and some of their favorite sauna memories. Join us this week as we laugh over coffee, poetry, stories, and sauna! David Salmela author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01N8Y45XO/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=94b52742-b6c7-4194-9d9e-bad884a61f95&ref_=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction  (02:27) Finnish background  (04:52) Sauna practices and nudity  (12:53) David’s books  (15:51) The ‘other’ David Salmelas   (18:49) Sauna memories and social sauna (23:25) The Sauna children’s book (25:37) Visiting David and Anne Salmela  (32:13) Self-published books and writing (37:37) Outro 

This episode marks our introduction to the wonderful world of sauna books! We’ll review the history of notable English language sauna books, give you an overview of the different categories of sauna books, highlight a few unique or odd ones, share some of our favorites, and even read some excerpts. If you’re someone who likes to go deep and get geeky, this episode is for you! Sauna Exists, Therefore I Am abridged PDF: https://www.saunaist.com/sauna-exists-therefore-i-am  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction  (02:40) A history of English language sauna books (11:47) Sauna book categories  (21:34) Reading excerpts  (33:09) Outro 

This week we’ll be discussing one of our favorite parts of the sauna trail: community connections! We’ve met so many wonderful people over the years through sauna – both online and in-person. Join us this week as we detail how our trail connected us with so many others!  Wood-Burning Sauna Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WoodBurningSauna  Sauna Digest: https://saunadigest.com  NASS website: https://www.saunasociety.org  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction  (01:31) Recent sauna trail happenings  (02:50) Facebook sauna group  (06:39) Sauna Digest  (09:40) North American Sauna Society  (12:24) Our favorite connections  (16:05) Outro