I just went for a swim in a public pool. Naked.

That's right -- Helsinki has nude public swimming pools. Today was the first time I gathered the courage to go. It was surprisingly relaxing to move through the water without clothes hindering me. I went to Yrjönkatu, which is a beautiful building built in 1928 with a nice big pool. Here is a photo I found online (because clearly snapping photos with my personal camera would not be okay):


There are separate times for men and women, so you just go in to the pool area, strip down, rinse off in the shower, then dive in. There are three lanes: one for water running (which was full of people -- I had no idea it was so popular), one for slow swimmers, and one for fast swimmers. I never felt fast at the pool in Hartford, but that was definitely the lane for me today. Anyway, there was one woman who was much slower than everyone else, and we all had to pass her. The only time I felt awkward during the whole experience was when I needed to pass her. First of all, coming up behind someone who is swimming naked and doing the breast stroke gives one a pretty intimate view, so I was already blushing. Then I had to negotiate getting by her without touching her or touching the person coming in the opposite direction on the other side of the lane. I pulled it off, but I was very nervous.

After my swim I rinsed off and went to the sauna. It was my first time experiencing sauna and it's a large part of Finnish culture, and I think I may have fallen in love with Finland. It was wonderful! If I can get in the sauna at least a couple times a week, I may make it through the winter without killing myself from depression.