Liste der Folgen

Finland has 3.5M saunas, even in fast food spots. Guide Samuel Aarnio keeps tradition alive as he and Mikkel explore Helsinki's saunas, smoke saunas, the Mobile Sauna Festival, sauna cooking, and a remote sauna village.

Along the Italian-German border, Aufguss masters blend cultures through sauna rituals, using essential oil-infused ice and towel waving. The tradition now includes music and drama, with competitions showcasing this steam bathing art.

Ancient Russian banya tradition regains popularity among youth. Banya blogger Anna Artemieva guides Mikkel through modern urban and rural banya experiences, showcasing rituals, amenities, and skilled steam masters.

Over three thousand hot springs bubble to the surface on the Japanese archipelago, making steam and sweat important elements in the cleansing, healing, and spiritual traditions of Japan. The arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century gave birth to a variety of sweat baths, like the Kamaburo, Mushi-buro, Fukashi-buro, and the Kara-furo. Today, the younger generation is building a new sweat bathing culture that includes the Finnish-style sauna. Mikkel is given a tour of both the ancient and the modern practices by his two guides, Miki Tokairin and Sho Ikushima. Together they visit a 700-year-old Kara-furo that is still in use today, experience an immersive exhibit that combines sweat bathing with taking in artwork, as well as join in on two tent sauna parties, where participants sweat, jump into a nearby lake, and enjoy nature.

Ancient architecture and ancient bathing traditions are infused in the culture of modern-day Turkey. Starting in Istanbul, Mikkel visits stunning architectural wonders and learns about the rich history of textiles and other materials critical for enjoying the hamam bathing experience to the fullest. Guide Elizabet Kurumlu also gives Mikkel a crash course in the best of hamam cultural events: From pledge hamams, where people treat each other to a luxurious day of bathing in order to make wishes, to soldier hamams, where friends conduct a bubbly, relaxing send off for a soldier soon to be reporting for duty. Though hamams may have been more plentiful in the days of the Ottoman Empire, they remain a critical part of wellness and community for the Turkish people.

Thanks to his Norwegian roots, Mikkel's love for sweat bathing started with the badstue. From his father's home in Ulefoss, Mikkel begins a journey through Norway with guide Lasse Eriksen. What was once a sleepier town when Mikkel visited over 40 years ago, Oslo is now home to numerous floating saunas and badstues that culturally and architecturally expand the meaning of sweat bathing. Next stop is Dalen, where a beautiful lakeside sauna based on a fairy tale provides picturesque reflection. In Tromsø, they board the Vulkana, a fishing boat-turned-spa, and finally, they end their quest at the remote resort of a legendary polar explorer, where nature is the ultimate companion.

The Playa is a harsh landscape, with high temperatures that make sweat bathing seem unthinkable. But Mikkel and his guides, Teresa Yung and Zack Robertson, explore the growing community of sweat bathing lovers who make the annual trek to Burning Man. They road trip from Mikkel's hometown of San Francisco, and establish their home base camp at Steam of Life. From there, they visit over 15 camps that include the Sauna Dome, Steam Bath Project, Art of Steam, and more. From learning the "John Payne method," to attending a class that teaches Wim Hof breathing methods and combines steam and ice-cold showers, to relaxing in a banya made in the shape of an amethyst geode, Mikkel and his guides leave no sweat behind. There is an explosion of steam bathing on the Playa that combines the best of human imagination, invention, and art - and is the perfect, quirky culmination of the inaugural Perfect Sweat season.