Ah. . . Schvitz

To continue, and possibly to recover from, my week of getting in touch with the culture of my people, I took a trip to the Russian and Turkish Baths in the East Village. I had been looking forward to my schvitz* all week. My friend Melissa took me to the baths for the first time a number of months ago. I had no idea what to expect. First off all, it's kind of gritty. In my opinion, this is not a bad thing, but if you're one of those germ-o-phobe types, this is not the place for you. It has been around since 1892 -- I think it has undergone some renovations, but I can definitely imagine my predecessors walking up from the Lower East Side for their weekly schvitz in pretty much the same atmosphere. The current crowd is a bizarre mix of old-school Russians and random hipster types, with a few of the rest of us thrown in for good measure. You wear a bathing suit, and I learned from my last trip that the less bathing suit you have, the better. Last time I wore a suit with a tank top -- this time I went for the full bikini. There are several different rooms, all offering slightly different kinds of heat, and a room in between with an ice-cold pool. In between your visits to the heat, you can plunge yourself into the icy water, or just sit on the side and cool off a little. On my first visit, I tried the plunge, but it was a bit much for me. My favorite room is the Russian Sauna -- it's filled with heated rocks and it gets so hot that you literally have to dump buckets of cold water over yourself every few minutes to make it bearable.

Most of all, a trip to the baths is just a great way to unwind at the end of a week, taking an hour or so just for yourself or to catch up with a friend. Sometimes we get so harried that we forget to do this as often as we should, especially in a city like New York, where the pace can sometimes border on frantic. And you walk out feeling deeply relaxed, refreshed, and, despite the grit, clean. Thanks to Melissa for taking me there.

So go -- take a schvitz already! Tell them I sent you.

* At the suggestion of one of my readers, I am going to start including definitions for some of the Yiddish terms that I use, in order to educate the goyim (Thanks for the feedback, Ryan!).

schvitz -- sweat

goyim -- non-Jews

Comments

[david]

i enjoyed reading abt the schvitz. i've been schvitzing since my dad took me the first time at age 7. and schvitzing all over the world and u.s. including the 10th st baths
ahh...i need a schvitz fix

[Jim]

I 1st schvitzed about 5 yrs ago in Cleveland. A cousin told me about it, then took me when I was home for the holidays. I quite enjoyed it. I'm told there's one here in LA, but I've never found it. It's a great tonic for body & soul. you're better off nude.

[Jenny Four Eyes]

I'm going to Chicago's Equivalent place, the Division Street Russian and Turkish Bath next week!

My boyfriend and his buddies have been fairly regularly visiting this Schvitz/Banya for years.

He told me that there was a sign outside the place last weekend that said the place was going co-ed as of next week. He invited me to join them for their visit next weekend and I said sure because the place fascinates me.

Then I remembered all the jokes they made about being naked there, so I asked him if the bath house was now going to require bathing suits.

His shocking reply was that HE DIDN"T KNOW. but that he and his buddies WERE NOT planning on brining any for themselves.

I said WTF?, and told him that I'm bringing mine and he laughed at me and said of course I am.

Now, because he laughed at me, I'm half tempted NOT to bring a bathing suit. He'd be horrified if I went there and walked around naked in front of his buddies, so the last laugh would certainly be mine!

All clothing issues and confusion aside, I'm really looking forward to my first schvitz.