The Russian Banya

There I was, sitting naked next to an Englishman in a dimly lit, boiling hot room no bigger than a closet. Around us, men in funny hats vigorously hit themselves with water-logged birch branches. I was in an old school Russian banya somewhere in the suburbs of Riga.

Banya 101 - A Russian banya is similar to a Finnish sauna except that the temperatures are usually lower and the humidity is much higher. Dress code - nothing. Hats are optional but were very popular, and stylish.

My "guide", Ammon, who is originally from England, has been living in Riga for the past seven months while working on his PhD. From what I can tell, he speaks damn good Russian and Latvian so not a bad guy to have with you on a banya visit. The process goes like this:

1. Drop towel 
2. Put on hat
3. Grab board (to sit on) & birch branches
4. Enter banya
5. Have a seat and enjoy. You may slap yourself with the birch branches at this point. Do it.
6. Endure heat for as long as possible (be a man!)
7. Exit banya 
8. Take off hat and set board / birch branches down
9. Take a quick shower (some guys skipped this step) 
10. Jump into cold pool
11. Exit cold pool
12. Grab towel and head outdoors for - some fresh air, a beer, a fish sandwich, a chat with the gang
13. Head back in and start at step 1. Repeat for as long as you want.

Moment of panic - After throwing his son into the cold pool, a local man turned and made a move to throw me into the cold pool. He had a good laugh at my expense.

I managed to grab one picture. This is the area between the change room and the banya. Usually there is a middle-aged woman sitting at the desk... keeping an eye on things.