In addition to the daily excursions offered throughout our Iconic Mediterranean cruise, several unique experiences were during the evenings while on the Viking Vesta. One such experience that Bill and I took advantage of is the Nordic Bathing Experience!
Arriving to the spa in our bathing suits and terry robes, we met the two couples with whom we would share this exploration. Lilly and Katarina were our Scandinavian guides, who would take us through what is known as one of the important customs in the Nordic way of life. Known as “bade,” our journey began on a lounge chair as we were guided through a meditation in order to center us and relax us. We directed how to dry brush our bodies, brushing our entire bodies, always brushing toward the heart. This energizes the lymphatic system and begins the exfoliation process. Following the dry brushing we applied a body scrub, which again, exfoliates, ridding the body of dry skin.
Next stop was the Steam Room, where we rinsed off the body scrub and sat in the heat for as long as we could tolerate it! Following this session, we walked across the room and entered the Snow Grotto – Wow! This room is kept at 14 degrees, and yes, i was filled with actual snow. It was amazing just how quickly your body cools off and when we couldn’t tolerate the cold any longer, back into the Steam Room we went! This time we took turns smacking our partners, primarily on arms and legs, with bunches of birch tree branches – what fun!
Alternating between heat and cold actually detoxes the body, relaxes stressed muscles, and stimulates circulation. If someone in our group preferred, they could also use the sauna for hot and take a cold plunge instead of snow. Our next trip to the Snow Grotto included making a snowball and rubbing it against any particular hurtful part of your body. We laughed as everyone seemed to be concentrating on a different body part!
Following our final Steam Room stint, we then took turns in the Ice Bucket Shower, where a bucket of ice cold water was dumped on you for a final intense dose of cold! Back onto our lounges we went, covered in a dry towel, where we received an absolutely wonderful scalp massage and application of a soothing body lotion. Needless to say, we left the spa feeling totally relaxed, peaceful and cozy, or “kos” defined as “the art of cozy!”
Bill and I enjoyed the Nordic Bathing Experience so much we even did it on our own on another night while at sea! We were able to keep our brushes and products, so we’ve even continued an abbreviated version f Nordic Bathing since we’ve been home! If you ever get the opportunity, be sure to try it!
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