In the Woods eSENSielle 2014

Harry dropped his bathing bag with a loud rumble. He was in a hurry today and a little out of breath.
Today is Saturday and as an avid sauna-goer, you know that the saunas are busier at the weekend than on a normal Tuesday morning or Thursday lunchtime.
Since his dog Lotte unexpectedly got a cold and had to go to the vet, this also had an impact on his two-day routine. So sauna Saturday. What the heck.

Well prepared with a hammam towel made of thin linen fabric with green checks and a felt hat on his head. Off we went. He was just about to put his flip-flops down under the glasses stand when he noticed a young man with a trained upper body next to him, throwing his Adilettes next to the glass door like fallen fruit. Harry cleared his throat and pointed out that the footwear had to be placed well away from the door. After all, the exit should be kept clear for emergencies.
The young man groaned, but Harry was only satisfied when they were accurately placed according to his instructions.

He entered full of anticipation. His joy was dampened a second later, however, when his gaze fell on the almost full benches of the Finnish elk sauna. His regular place was taken.

He walked two laps around the stove until he decided on a wider gap in the middle row of benches. The ceremonial spreading out of the towel was almost ceremonial. He smoothed out every fringe. He sat down and exhaled contentedly. They were due to start in 10 minutes. But 10 minutes can be a long time.

From the corner opposite him, one of the group of ladies whinnied loudly, she seemed to have heard something terribly funny. The other two joined in and clapped their hands on their thighs, chuckling.

Harry gave them a stern look. The dimmed light seemed to have swallowed his signal, the woman emitting more indefinable sounds as she inhaled noisily. Harry clicked his tongue. However, the whinnying drowned him out, forcing him to stand up and wave his arms around wildly. There was an absolute ban on talking in the sauna.

Thank God he couldn't see the rebuked people rolling their eyes.
Behind him, the tall, lean man chuckled until he finally choked and coughed into Harry's neck. Wow, he didn't hit a good nerve. A scolding tirade later, the coughing subsided. He also had to reassure Harry that he wasn't suffering from corona.

"... and what does the tattoo mean?" A middle-aged man with a round belly leaned forward, signaling interest in the body art of the redhead in front of him.

"That's my horse, Peggy. But she's already passed away. Three years ago..."

"HeeeeEEEEHMMMM" Harry cleared his throat extra loudly.

"Hey, what's the problem?" asked the redhead, who felt interrupted.

With a raised index finger, Harry pointed out the general rules for using German bathing establishments with saunas.
While he was still talking, he noticed that the girl's thigh in front of him was only half on the towel. He couldn't resist the urge to ask her to cover it with her towel.
Her chicken-chested friend reared up in front of Harry in a threatening gesture, accusing him of ogling her. Of course, that wasn't the case, Harry was just afraid for the bench.
Soothing voices spoke to them from all corners, telling them to get along. A joker tried to lighten the atmosphere with a ragamuffin, but Harry was in no mood for jokes. Like a tin soldier, he jerked his towel off the bench and grumpily moved to the opposite bench, last gap, bottom row. In the end, the wiser man gives in. I guess nobody here has any respect for age anymore. He sat down stiffly with his back straight as a die.

His new seatmate was heavily made up and chewing her gum with her mouth open so that the smacking noises could not be ignored. She was using her extremely long acrylic nails to scrape some kind of paste out of a glass jar and spread it on her shins.
"What's that?" grunted Harry more unkindly than intended.

With a Russian accent, she replied, "Chonig, because that's..."

"Hh hhh hhhooonig?!" Harry gasped.

"...Gecheimnis from the beautiful Chaut..." she smacked her lips.

That made Harry's sauna barrel overflow. "Secret?... I'll help you in a minute! That's why the wooden benches are always so sticky!" he shouted cholerically.
The gold armor link chain vibrated on his gray chest hair. His red head threatened to explode at any moment.

To make matters worse, the pot-bellied man asked Penny if he should also coat the horse with honey and the redhead was delighted with the idea.

Now Harry really escalated. He shouted wild insults at the sauna participants, which thankfully were not understood because he was slurring his words and almost spitting fountains. He left the sauna with a thump and was on his way. Fortunately, he didn't hear the obituary asking if he was the sauna police.

The neck cobbler was sure that he must be related to Louis de Funès.

The atmosphere in the sauna seemed tense when the friendly infusion master Stefan entered. He had heard muffled applause and stamping from the outside of the sauna as the regular saunier Harry steamed off as if stung by a tarantula.

He greeted the sauna guests and, without making any speeches, gently waved the large fan to bring in fresh air. His gentle movements radiated calm. The guests closed their eyes. The wood crackled and crackled under the warm air. The feeling of coziness spread.

Stefan invited the guests to take in the infusions, perhaps one or two of them could guess what scent it was. He didn't want to give it away.

He poured the first wooden ladle over the hot stones. Hisshhh... steam and ethereal resins rose up. The scent transformed the sauna into a dark coniferous forest. The airways were filled with clear, cleansing vapors, which are also used to combat colds.
Peppery pine needles and juniper could be guessed in the first round of top notes.
The next two infusions were so wonderfully blended that resins, woods and conifers could not be picked out individually. The mint leaf provided a light freshness in the background.
A sense of well-being and deepest relaxation filled all those present. Breathing was free, the skin - whether with or without honey - glowed rosy and the muscles were relaxed.
No one thought about Louis de Funès' relatives any more and if they had come across sticky wood, this was noted with a smile.
The infusion had already been emptied and Stefan had said goodbye, but none of the guests wanted to get up. The atmosphere was just too good. Did they feel at home here?

In the Woods is the absence of the sauna police, or let's say the absence of stress and hustle and bustle. A decelerator at the touch of a button. The fragrance has a grounding effect thanks to its balsamic, ethereal vapors
a grounding effect. It immediately reminded me of dimmed light in a pleasantly warm sauna. The mint has a slightly cooling effect. I feel embraced by friendly conifers that transport me into their wonderful natural spectacle, allowing me to forget the hustle and bustle of the world for a moment. How beautiful a fragrance can be... my eyes close, my soul breathes, my mind comes to rest. I would like to stay here in the shelter of the forest, under the arms of the fir trees and on the floor of the warm wood.
Let me sleep as long as I want, I'm in no hurry.