Real Russian Bath Experience

There are few types of Bath (Banya) in Russia:

1. Small, private bath, usually located in garden of private houses.

2. Private cabinet in big public bathes.

3. Public bath

Each kind of bath have it's own advantages, but we prefer the 3rd type - Public bath.

It is absolutely amazing experience in Russian style. At Russian banya there are special bath brooms (

ве́ник) that are used. These brooms or

veniks are bundles of twigs and leafy branches bound together from some kind of tree—usually they are from birch or oak trees. The

veniks are dipped into cold water and then smacked briskly all over the body. There is a special person who is responsible for this, called

banschik(

ба́нщик). But usually people don't need

banschik's help because groups of friends typically go together and are able to smack each other with

veniks.

Friends go to the banya with a special purpose in mind. It’s considered that the banya atmosphere brings people closer together, allows them to communicate and interact on a more common level. Russians don't spend all their time in the parnaya (

парна́я is a room with hot wet steam). During a break they walk out to another room which is called

predbannik(

предба́нник is a room before the steam room). Usually, that room has a large long table and a few benches. In the

predbannik, people take a break from the hot temperature and relax, drink aroma tea or special herbal tea, have conversations about life and share their ideas or beliefs to each other.