By Thomas Riggs
The answer is:聽Well, sort of.
Yesterday I went to the Russian & Turkish Baths in lower Manhattan, to see what they were like.聽 Mind you, I had heard of this establishment in the past from a few Finns but had not followed through, as I didn鈥檛 see the words 鈥淔innish Sauna鈥 in the title. Upon entering the place, I noticed President Ahtisaari鈥檚 picture, along with other noted celebrities 鈥 now they can claim to have had a Nobel Peace Prize Winner as a customer!
Not claiming to be a sauna 鈥榤aster鈥 but having been to dozens of saunas here in the US and Finland,聽I did not know what to expect from the Russian or Turkish versions.聽Some things were immediately different. Swimsuits are mandatory, for example, and the whole operation is coed.聽I went downstairs, which was quite full of people.聽After doing a quick scan I noticed a good-sized cold water pool, and several different 鈥渟team鈥 rooms: Russian, Turkish, aromatherapy, and at the end of the hall, what appeared to be a traditional Finnish sauna. The tile was 鈥淩edwood Steambath,鈥 however 鈥 NOT Finnish Sauna.聽There was something different in each one (The Russian one was very large and of stone/concrete, the Turkish had tiled walls and heating pipes under the wooden benches, the aroma therapy room was rather 鈥渇oggy",聽and the Finnish Sauna had a nice smell of wood, and a stone oven).聽What was surprising was the sauna had very few people in it at almost all times!
I tried all of the baths and I guess I favoured the sauna (surprised?) but overall it was a good experience.聽Check the place out .
So, will there ever be in New York City, an operation dedicated solely to the Finnish Sauna?