On last week’s Thursday we went to Promenaden-Sauna (http://promenaden-sauna.com) in the North of Berlin. Antti and Mark started by car from their office in Mitte short after 6pm and picked up Kalle and Oshie on the way. The plan was to make it to the 7pm Aufguss, but due to heavy traffic we arrived 10 minutes late. That turned out to be absolutely fine as the Aufguss was actually 15 past. In Promenaden-Sauna there is an Aufguss every 30 minutes, a rare thing to find in Berlin.
The first impression from the outside was not too convincing. In the inside it was not fancy either – but the atmosphere was great! We were really lucky as on Thursdays there is another Saunamafia taking over the place. They are handling most of the Aufgusses, are talking in the sauna (also a rare finding in Berlin as most sauna-goers have a weird idea about sauna as some kind of wellness) and are overall very nice people.
The local crew has a special way of measuring the strength of the Aufguss from 1 to 4 HAW (“HAW” being the initials of one of the Thursday group founders). The units are marked with stickers on the glass door, and the extent of the steam reaching the markings defines the HAW strength of the Aufguss. This evening we only reached ~1 HAW which was already quite strong, so we are curious if one could survive the full 4 HAW.
This sauna doesn’t have any inner garden for cooling down between the Aufgusses. Your options are to either lounge in a general Ruheraum, or enjoy the traffic of Prenzlauer Promenade in front of the establishment.
As in any proper sauna, you can have a beer to help you cool down. It’s self service here, just pick something from the fridge and pay later.
The highlight was the last Aufguss of the evening: Slivovitz Aufguss with matching Schnaps.
Pros:
- Very reasonable prices
- Friendly atmosphere and special character
- Frequent Aufgusses
Cons:
- No outdoor area
- Non local crew Aufgusses were a bit too mild
- Mundane premises and interior
Conclusion:
Plain but characterful sauna. Go there on Thursdays to meet the local crew.
Saunamafia 