Kontula swimming hall. Mixed feelings, a wonderful pool area. Is it new? Run by Urheiluhallit who usually run excellent facilities, very nice! Not so flashy dressing room and saunas/showers area, but ok. But outside... darkness, rain, suspicious people standing in the dark in the rain in the park as I walk by... gangs having some kind of fight, not sure how serious. Anyway, I am not usually afraid almost anywhere in the world, but now I felt a bit insecure here.
Full story
Alternate link
October 2025, Kontulan uimahalli, Kontula, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Decided to drive to Lohja for a quick swim at the Neidonkeidas, the local public swimming hall.
Full story
Alternate link
October 2025, Virkistysuimala Neidonkeidas, Lohja, Finland; Lohjan jäähalli, Lohja, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Skiing (None)
Another cottage swim, this time by the light fires and a sunset. Wonderful! A bit cold though.
Full story
Alternate link
October 2025, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Normal)
Yesterday I sailed to a company event on my friends boat. The views going there in the morning and coming back in the night were wonderful. We also tested a secret sauna island far out south of Espoo.
Full story
Alternate link
September 2025, Gåsgrund sauna, Gåsgrund, Espoo, Finland
Sailing; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Beach, Outdoor)
Yet another swimming pool visit in nearby (max 1+ hour drive) swimming halls, as I've run out the ones closer. This time in Hämeenlinna. A large, quite nice swimming pool. The dressing room, shower, and saunas are really top notch. Really liked the glass walls in the saunas and the fact that they had not just a steam sauna but also an infrared sauna was really, really nice. Well done.
Full story
Alternate link
September 2025, Hämeenlinnan uimahalli, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Infrared, Steam)
These are challenging times, these are September times.
Full story
Alternate link
September 2025, Ritorps ishall, Ulriksdahls idrottsplats, Solna, Sweden; Cyloq Arena, Sollentuna, Sweden; Medley Solna Simhall, Ulriksdahls idrottsplats, Solna, Sweden; Medley Sollentuna sim- och sporthall, Sollentuna, Sweden; Sundbybergs Simhall & Gym, Sundbyberg, Sweden; Arlanda, Sweden
Skiing (None); Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Hiking); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water, None); Sauna (Normal, None); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Flying
Given the loaner car I have this weekend... I can extend my driving range beyond towing distance. Hence a visit to Lahti, for a Sunday evening swim at the Saksala swimming hall.
Full story
Alternate link
September 2025, Saksalan uimahalli, Lahti, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Given that I still had the loaner car for an extra day, I felt it was an opportunity to use reliable transport now that it was available. I drove to Salo's swimming hall (link) after work. A long drive, hour and fifteen minutes, but a nice hall!
Full story
Alternate link
September 2025, Salon uimahalli, Salo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal)
I continued my quest to swim in more places in the evenings after work. Inspired in part by having a reliable loaner car that can take me 100+ km away without a need to worry about breakdowns :-) But obviously mostly inspired by the desire to swim in more nice places.
Full story
Alternate link
September 2025, Hotel Regatta Spa, Hanko, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Sauna (Infrared, None)
Vršac is a small city in northeastern Serbia, close to the Romanian border. The city has been built on the foothills of a striking hill, and on the top of the hill there's a castle dating back to 1439. It has been abandoned for centuries, but reconstruction started in 2009. The main tower of the castle is today in good condition, other parts remain as ruins.
Full story
Alternate link
August 2025, Vršac castle, Vršac, Serbia; Helvecija 1880, Vršac, Serbia
Urban-Exploration (Historic, Castles, Ruins); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
Tested the new 2M€ smoke saunas in Kuusijärvi that were opened today. They were very, very nice. Didn’t know they were opened today, just happened to want a sauna visit and Kuusijärvi was on my route.
Full story
Alternate link
August 2025, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Waterbody-Lake, Beach, Outdoor)
While all the community swimming pools seem to be closed during the summer, I realized that the parking-garage looking building on my way to work is actually a multi-function place, with not just parking but also an ice hockey arena, gym, cafeterias, nightclubs and restaurants... and a rooftop saunas and a pool. Very, very nice experience. Loved the sauna with a view.
Full story
Alternate link
July 2025, Hype Hybridiareena, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Outdoor); Sauna (Normal)
A common sauna discussion is the one about the effect of throwing water on the sauna stove, and how it affects the temperature in the sauna: whether it just feels hotter due to the humidity, or if the temperature actually rises?
Full story
Alternate link
July 2025, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake)
Another swimming hall visit! This time in Martinlaakso, a suburb of Vantaa. They have a nice swimming hall, and at least now in the summer it seemed almost completely empty. But open, unlike most of the other community swimming halls sigh...
Full story
Alternate link
July 2025, Martinlaakson uimahalli, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
While at a conference in Madrid, I stayed at the NH Collection hotel in the Eurobuilding. This hotel has a spa and gym. While it was separately paid and not inexpensive (30€), it was a quite nice for a hotel spa! Nice big Finnish sauna, a Turkish sauna, ice bucket, multiple pools, etc. The main pool was maybe 15 meters long and narrow, just enough space for 2-3 at the same time. But very much enjoyed this visit!
Full story
Alternate link
July 2025, Metropolitan Sport Club and Spa, Eurobuilding, Madrid, Spain
Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
Arrived late from Madrid. And not only that, but the car's ventilation was broken, so drove to the cottage only late in the evening. Arrived shortly after 11pm, and did a swim at midnight. Such bliss, water was very warm but still cooled us down a bit, everything was quiet, the darkness had set in, lake had no waves. Nice!
Full story
Alternate link
July 2025, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake)