Sauna

Estonians love saunas. There are no two ways about it. Everyone who lives outside the city, or owns a summer house, has a sauna in the backyard. It is as much a necessity to the people as hockey is to Canadians. Even apartment blocks in the city have them. I've even heard about business meetings taking place in the office sauna. How much more interesting would the Friday meeting be if it were held in a 80 degree room?

The one, and perhaps the most important, difference between the Estonian sauna culture and that in Canada is clothing, or lack thereof. Nakedness is expected and even encouraged. Quite a change from life in Canada where people of my age are afraid to bare all. Azerbaijan boasts a similar culture. You always changed with the towel on.

In case you were wondering, although you probably weren't, I did manage to "go Estonian" in the sauna on the Baltic Sea coast. We even went swimming.