Nippy a bit? Swimming at a lake when it is -18C.
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January 2017, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach)
I have finally visited the refurbished Leppävaara swimming pool centre. Generally, a very positive experience! So many new pools!
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January 2017, Leppävaaran uimahalli, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal)
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.
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November 2016, Seoul, South Korea
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
Another visit to a sauna in foreign land! This time in 杭州市 or Hangzhou, China! The sauna was in the Courtyard Marriott hotel that I stayed at. A bit dark and basic, but still large, and most importantly, the temperature was high enough and you were allowed to pour water to the heater!
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October 2016, Courtyard Marriott, Hangzhou, China
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
It is late May, and Saint-Sauveur is one of the only two open ski areas in the east. And I've already been to the other one, Killington. And what's more, all the ski crazies are here!
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May 2016, Mont Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
Hungary, 200 kilometers southwest of Budapest. The Hévíz lake is the world's second-largest thermal lake, fueled by hot and cold springs deep in the bottom of the lake. Reportedly there's half a cubic meter per second of hot water coming up from a cave at the depth of 38 meters. This holds the temperature nice even during cold winters, never dropping under 24 degrees and in the summer reaching as hight as 37 degrees.
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January 2016, Hévíz spa, Hévíz, Hungary
Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Normal); Caving (Rock, None)
There are usually no great views from caves, at least not of the sunset. Except at Rokokallio.
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December 2015, Päällysluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland
Caving (Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack, Basic); Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach)
My kids follow me on some of my trips. Not only to enjoy the great skiing, but also to learn about culture. For instance, where else would my sons learn about der Sauna, except by going to the Freizeitcentrum im Stubai, Austria?
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January 2015, Stubaital, Austria; Eisgrotte Stubaier Gletscher, Stubai, Austria; Schlick 2000, Austria; Patschkofel, Austria; Freizeitcentrum im Stubai, Stubai, Austria
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Glacier, Basic, Showtour); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
Biked in Santa Barbara, in the city, and went to the Shoreline Beach for a walk on the beach and in the waves.
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October 2014, Shoreline beach, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Biking (Bike-Road, Outdoor, Track-Road); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Water, Beach)
Two Bunch Palms Resort is a luxury hotel in Desert Hot Springs, California. It is indeed a nice place to relax and swim in the shade of the palm trees, with spectacular views of the mountains around you. Even if kind of in the middle of the desert.
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October 2014, Two Bunch Palms, Desert Hot Springs, California, USA
Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
The sun is still bright, but the environment is getting strange. Fog is engulfing us. Plants are starting to look pre-historic. And I'm hanging from a 100 meter rope, above the Lost World, a cave system in Waitomo, New Zealand. And it is starting to look like my landing spot is in the river at the bottom of the cave.
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August 2014, Waitomo, New Zealand
Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, SRT); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
Midsummer in Gotland, Sweden. Perfect place for boating, hanging out on the sand beach, swimming, as well as a little bit of climbing. And all this underground!
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June 2014, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden
Caving (Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Basic, Boating, Swimming); Swimming (Underground, Water, Waterbody-Cave)
The girl at the sheep farm gate is from Qatar. Most tourists here seemed to be from Middle East, so I ask her why she had come to Austria: "Because it is so cool, and the weather is nice." We are standing in cold rain, but I guess she prefers a change to the weather at home. But come to think of it, I too prefer cold and rainy.
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July 2013, Kaprun, Austria
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
So close, yet so far. I wanted so much to ski down from Volcán Copahue (2953 meters), but despite trying very hard it was not going to happen.
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August 2012, Caviahue, Argentina
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Climbing (Mountain); Urban-Exploration (Ruins, Buildings); Swimming (Outdoor, Thermal-Bath, Water, Waterbody-Lake)
India. Business trip to New Delhi and Mumbai. Not a lot of time for other things than business... except that small excursion to ski during the weekend... and now a quick dip to the hotel pool and sauna after business has been done.
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July 2011, Grand Hyatt Mumbai, Mumbai, India
Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
As far as I can tell, Are is the best family ski resort on the planet.
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March 2011, Are, Sweden
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)