My vacation started after midsummer. And the first thing one does on a vacation is to go on a beach, of course. Underground.
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June 2019, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden
Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, Boating, Swimming); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Underground, Waterbody-Cave)
Jukka and I wanted to continue our photography experiments further up in the Lummelunda cave. The most interesting stalactites are in the Snow White Hall (Snövitsalen), beyond the half-way point in the cave. This turned out to be a very long trip, however, and one where we run out of all of our lights...
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June 2019, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden
Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, Boating, Swimming); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Underground, Waterbody-Cave)
For a work meeting, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Hague. It turned out that they had a nice spa area, with four different saunas and good pool.
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June 2019, Crowne Plaza, Hague, Netherlands
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
While driving around in Germany, I had an opportunity to visit the Spreewald area.
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June 2019, Spreewald Therme, Burg, Germany
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Lummelunda week is coming up AND I'M GOING AGAIN! WOOHOOO!
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May 2019, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden
Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, Boating, Swimming); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Underground, Waterbody-Cave)
While driving around a bit after the meeting ended that day, I came across a modest looking community swimming pool in Laugarvatn. But it turned out to be a luxury sauna - thermal bath facility, the Fontana. And it was on the beach of a lake where the warnings say the lake water is boiling at some places. Care for a swim?
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May 2019, Laugarvatn Fontana, Laugarvatn, Iceland; Hot Pot, Laugarvatn, Iceland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool, Thermal-Bath); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Thermal-Bath); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
After the Ylläs competition, I first had a quick shower and sauna at the Pöllö next to the slopes. But since I had a long wait for my flight, I wanted to visit a proper spa. I had not been in the Levi Hotel Spa near the airport in a long time, so time for that today!
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April 2019, Levi Hotel, Kittilä, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
For afterski, I felt like I needed a shower. But maybe not just that... perhaps a sauna, or a dip into a pool. How about the divine thermal bath waters of Zámecké Lázně in the nearby Karlovy Vary?
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March 2019, Zámecké Lázně, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool, Thermal-Bath)
Abandoned fish factory in the cold winter of Icelandic north shores. But with a hot thermal bath! What's better than lying in the pool and trying to spot whales on the sea? For 4€...
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March 2019, Hjalteyri, Iceland
Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Thermal-Bath, Waterbody-Pool)
Amazing! The Laugaskard swimming pool is a community-run, swimming pool, gym, and sauna facility. What a wonderful, hot swim outside in the cold weather.
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February 2019, Laugaskard swimming pool, Laugaskard, Iceland
Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Steam)
While at Gudauri, we stayed at the Marco Polo hotel. The hotel has a spa, with a small sauna, pool, and a jacuzzi. The sauna is small but fiery. It was also fun to meet Russians who wanted to talk about the infamous (and sadly, deadly) Finnish-Russian sauna world championships...
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February 2019, Hotel Marco Polo, Gudauri, Georgia
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
What a wonderful sauna. So Finnish... or so Belarussian... or, really, Russian. The Russian sauna culture is similar to Finland's, except only more so. More hot, close to 110 degrees Celsius in my case. More snowplay. More cold water. More funny hats. Maybe also more vodka.
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January 2019, Silichy ski resort, Silichi, Belarus
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
Huh, pretty hot weather. And hot sauna. Burning in both, almost. And thick carpets in the sauna! But what a view over the sea, Tokyo downtown, and the rainbow bridge.
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January 2019, Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
I had an opportunity to swim twice this week. At a spa in the Tokyo evening, the water was so hot that my skin was hurting. And having come back home, I joined my colleagues for a visit at the Löyly in Helsinki. The water in the sea was ... also hurting my skin. But, on the average is was pretty nice temperatures. And in both places the views were great.
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January 2019, Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan; Löyly, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor); Swimming (Outdoor); Sauna (Normal); Sauna (Normal, Smoke)
The Löyly sauna & restaurant in Helsinki has been the most notable architecture and experience thing of recent years in Helsinki. I've been there, but not yet in the sauna side. Today it changed because my co-workers organized a very nice event there for our surfing club...
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January 2019, Löyly, Helsinki, Finland
Sauna (Normal, Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Ice, Waterbody-Sea)
I often go to various exotic saunas and swimming pools (or holes in ice), but I have to lift up also my home town swimming hall in Kauniainen. Small, old, and not particularly fancy. But, a very nice place to put in some laps.
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December 2018, Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)