Midsummer in Helsinki is a curious experience.The city is pretty much deserted, as everybody is in the countryside spending time with friends and family, visiting sauna all night long, drinking lots of beer and Sima etc.. Shops, museums, almost everything is closed and cycling through the empty, quiet streets has a feel of “alien on a foreign planet” to it.

Even though I am not a Finn, not going to sauna on Juhannus feels very off, somehow, and so I finally took a chance and visited Löyly, the new, public sauna in Hernesaari. I was smart enough to book a time beforehand and I was pleased to see that Helsinki wasn’t completely deserted.

The building has a very nice feel to it, it is spacious enough for the number of people they let in at a time and I enjoyed my visit. I have to admit, I didn’t take a dip in the sea, the temperature was 8° Celsius and I didn’t feel like going ice-swimming in the middle of June.

The best of Löyly is the sea view from the terrace…

and I enjoyed the Kolmio-Rocking chair