If your only experience with sauna has been at a hotel or health club, get ready to discover what sauna was really meant to be! Start with a beautiful, natural setting to put the mind at ease. Open the door to a rustic timber-framed building and step into a work of art that takes shape as a cedar-lined sauna room fronted by a cathedral antechamber sporting a spiral staircase leading to a lounging loft. Find peace in the magic of the wood stove's flickering flames with a backdrop of lovely valley view. The aromas of the untreated wood paneling, the fire, and birch-infused bath water anchor your body as your mind travels. At 175 degrees Fahrenheit, sweat out the poisons of your everyday, then stagger out to the pond where you can plunge into the clean cold mountain waters that will wash the impurities away. Sit on the porch and listen to the sound of the babbling brook as you gather your senses back about you, and return then to the welcoming womb of the sauna for a second and third round.
This time throw water on the stove to create loyly, an enveloping steam—the spirit of the sauna—and if you have a drop of Russian blood (or are a devotee) stir the steam with besoms (bundles of birch branches) and give yourself a good thrashing to stimulate blood flow to facilitate further cleansing. Better yet, lie on the specially designed thrashing bench while your sauna buddy plays banchik and massages you with the dance of leaves on your back. One more plunge in the pond and you're ready to lather up and bathe, dousing yourself with the hot birch water right in the sauna room. By this time you'll be so relaxed and loving the world that all you'll ever want to do is lounge in the loft and wonder if you've ever felt so good. Open the futon and have sweet dreams. Now you know why going to the banya is kin to religion in Russia, and practitioners never miss a week. Ecstasy!
Sauna use requires reservations and orientation, and may not be available on short notice. Upgrade fee for overnight guests: $100 for a 3-hour session. Not staying on the farm but want to book the sauna? Rates run $300-$500 depending on the size of your group. Max occupancy is 10. FYI, it takes 3-4 hours to preheat the sauna room up to temp (the rest of the building need not get hot at all, but remains pleasant in any season).
