PLANETSWIMMER

Welcome to the Planetswimmer blog! Stories from swimming indoors and outdoors, from ice swimming to tropical beaches. Not to mention hotel pools!

More swimming-related articles:

	Santa Monica Beach For some reason, one of my favourite places in the greater Los Angeles area is Santa Monica. Maybe it is because on my first trip I stayed there, various fun memories from all my time there. Or the beach. Full story August 2017, Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, California, USA Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach)

	Krakow Sauna I had an opportunity to visit a sauna in Poland. Obviously I took the opportunity! Full story August 2017, DoubleTree Krakow, Krakow, Poland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	Black Snow Apocalypse. Now. Imagine bright, white snow, gently covering a mountain. Now imagine all that snow black, dirty. Melting hard ice, covered by an accumulation of pollution and dust from air. This is reality. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2017, Hintertux, Zillertal, Austria Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Health; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	Badeschiff Badeschiff! A great idea to swim in the middle of Berlin, in the river but yet in a clean pool. In a ship, or barge converted to a pool. Full story August 2017, Badeschiff, Berlin, Germany Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	Four saunas in Dresden Late arrival... quick dinner... and then onto testing the wellness area at Dresden's Hilton hotel. Usually, hotel saunas are simple, but not this one! Full story July 2017, Hilton Dresden, Dresden, Germany Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	Arizona Sauna I'm on vacation with Janne, a road trip through western US. Our hotel in Flagstaff turned out to have a sauna. Great! Full story July 2017, Flagstaff Hilton Garden Inn, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	Sauna at the Hilton... again Long meeting... but for once, I had a free Sunday morning, so I went to the sauna and pool at the Prague Hilton. Hot... spacious and well-maintained sauna. Full story July 2017, Hilton Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	A Kilometer Inside This is an exceptional opportunity that only opens once a year. Janne and I are crawling in the cave, guided by friendly cavers from the Swedish Speleological Association. We get to see amazing things, from stalactites to "Inre Sjön", a small lake (or rather, a pool) a kilometer into the cave. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2017, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden; Kanalen, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden; Bryet, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden; Galgbergsgrottan, Visby, Gotland, Sweden Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, Swimming, Boating); Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, Digging); Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic); Swimming (Indoor, Underground, Water, Waterbody-Cave)

	Basic Caving Course in Turku The Finnish Speleological Association arranged a basic caving course in Turku in June. The course started from the basics, like crawling. A slide to teach crawling! And walking, for that we had another slide. Full story June 2017, Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland; Ispoisten ranta, Turku, Finland Caving (Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack, Basic, Training); Swimming (Outdoor)

	Ice-swimming in Midsummer I was just going to walk around in rain, but the sign for ice swimming caught my attention. Full story June 2017, Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)

	Auberge and Spa Beaux Rêves I'm wet. Cold. Sweaty. And have 16 hours of travel ahead of me. Auberge and Spa Beaux Rêves' sauna to the rescue! Full story May 2017, Auberge et Spa Beaux Reves, Quebec, Canada Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	Backcountry Onsen Sometimes skiing isn't just about the skiing. I can also be about hot springs in the middle of the backcountry skinning trip. We climbed Mt. Niseko Annupuri (1308m), skied the backside of the mountain and found an onsen, a Japanese hot spring. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) March 2017, Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool, Thermal-Bath)

	Pool with a view I'm staying at the Chicago Swissotel for a conference. There was a break in Internet connectivity while we were setting up our network, so I decided to visit the sauna and pool at the 42nd floor of this high-rise hotel. Full story March 2017, Swissotel, Chicago, Illinois, USA Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)

	The New Leppävaara Pool I have finally visited the refurbished Leppävaara swimming pool centre. Generally, a very positive experience! So many new pools! Full story January 2017, Leppävaaran uimahalli, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal)

	Nippy? Swimming at -18C Nippy a bit? Swimming at a lake when it is -18C. Full story January 2017, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach)

	Conrad Seoul Sauna When I travel, I try to find places where I can go to a sauna. It relaxes me... Last week I was in Seoul, South Korea, staying at the Conrad. This new hotel has a very nice gym & pool & spa area on the 8th floor. The pool is free of use for hotel guests, but the sauna costs 39,000 local (about 35€) to use. Nevertheless, I needed the relaxation. Badly. Full story November 2016, Seoul, South Korea Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)