Photo by Petri Hiltula The answer lay in a modest prefab kit mökki (a Finnish summer cottage) with a separate wood-fired sauna, located in the countryside about an hour from Helsinki. Built with ...

The sauna’s long and storied history begins in Finnish forests, where they were no more than holes in the ground, filled with heated stones and used for warmth during the country’s brutal winters.

but Maki said he hopes it will catch on with the non-Finnish residents on the Cape too. There are many benefits to using a sauna, according to Maki, such as circulation and boosting immunity.

Near Helsinki, expat designer Jussi-Pekka Kajaala and olympic medalist Adam Rippon build a tiny summerhouse dedicated to Finland’s favorite pastime. There’s a particular kind of longing that ...