Don’t know what to do on a spare day? Go to a Russian Banya!
Different kinds of hot and cold baths, also thermal baths, are widespread all over the world. Many countries and places can boast of such kind of pleasure, but a Russian banya is one of the most extreme ones, this is admitted by millions of admirers.
So if you have a spare day or just several spare hours in Novosibirsk, a visit to a typical Russian banya can be a perfect variant of time-spending, besides, it will do you a lot of good.
There is a Russian proverb stating that ‘The one who visits a banya, never gets old’ (Кто в бане парится, тот не старится.) Two tourists fromTurkey wanted to check if it is true. The couple decided to celebrate New Year in Novosibirsk, so they contacted me with a request to arrange a city tour including a visit to a banya. They had very strict requirements: it had to be a typical Russian banya, not a Turkish-style hammam they are used to and not a Finnish sauna they have known for ages. It had to be a place preferrably with an opportunity to dip into an ice hole after a hot room and a typical Russian massage with a bunch of green birch twigs.
As days around the New Year are public holidays here in Russia and people are visiting places very actively, I was unable to find a banya with an ice hole, but I did find the one in a beautiful location with an opportunity to get outside and dip into snow instead.
I was worried, of course, if the tourists would like it or not, but it turned out to be a success!
The http://www.русскаябанянадровах.рф/ is situated in the satellite town Berdsk mentioned also in the post http://asknovosibirsk.com/answer/spa-hotel-borvikha-a-place-to-relax/. It is very big and is perfect even for a big company of up to 10 people. It is located in a big two-level house.
On the ground floor there is a steam room itself, also a shower, a big rest room with a TV and a karaoke and a mantlepiece, which at the same time is used for heating the steam room and the whole house, here you can make and have tea.
On the first floor there are two bedrooms where you can relax after the steam room. There a balcony upstairs and a terrace downstairs, and you can easily go outside where there is a pavilion with a grill, a swing for kids and a huge fenced area in the pine forest on the shore of the Berd gulf. It is possible to rent the place for a whole day.
There are, of course, many other similar Russian-style banyas in and around Novosibirsk.
