Some days are cold and some days are hot… but the best days, involve a banya stop! Recently we asked ourselves this very profound question: what shall we do today? It was a Wednesday that happened to have coincided with Christmas. Us being the non-Christmas observing type, we had to decide on what oh what […]
Expert: Ganadi, a chap with 16 years’ experience of parenie venik massage. Procedure: Russians refer to banya as their “first doctor” (vodka is the second, garlic the third). I am lying face down in birch leaves while a topless Russian man lashes my back with foliage that’s just come out of an oven. This is […]
The healthy effect of Russian banya has been enshrined in Russian sayings such as Banya parit, banya pravit (banya steam makes the body right), Zharky par lyuboy nedug istselit (hot steam cures any illness) etc. Since the time of Ancient Rome and Roman thermae, steam bathing, technically speaking, has involved high-temperature steam treatment that removes […]