Another year and a new birthday tradition

I know my birthday was a while ago, but now that I'm back to blogging I thought I would write about it. One Russian cultural practice that I totally fell in love with during my time there was the banya tradition. For 25, I celebrated with my Russian friends at a sweet banya in Krasnodar that came equipped with birch sticks, a full-kitchen to order from, and karaoke! I heard about a Russian bath house in Denver and thought why not celebrate 26 the same way!

So on my birthday, four of us went down to West Colfax to the public bathhouse. It was quite the experience, much different from the Russian banya, but completely worth it. There are men's days and women's days...we of course, went on a women's day. When you enter you are given a sheet and a hand-towel-sized-towel. You go into the locker room and strip down. You are not allowed to bring anything into the shower room except your hand towel, which really doesn't cover anything if you are the modest type. After showering you have three options: the sauna, the jacuzzi, or the eucalyptus steam room. We did a little bit of everything until we couldn't take the heat much longer. Then we wrapped up in our sheets, went to the cafeteria to relax, replenish, and cool down before 2 more rounds of heat.

Lake Steam Baths is quite the establishment, boasting salt scrubs, massages, foot detox, and 80 years of business. I'm proud to be one of their customers and to have been in the same company with women who have been bathing publicly at this institution for more than 30 years.

My not-so-naked birthday celebration earlier that week included dinner with friends at my current favorite restaurant in Boulder and then games and a scrumptious chocolate cake courtesy of Amy. You can read more about the festivities here.