I was watching as Edik and Irina, two distant relatives of mine, were preparing the banya (wet-steam sauna): sawing wood; making broom-like veniki from birch branches; feeding the fire; and loading water into the tank for steam-making. They’d been lauding this traditional Russian bathhouse experience for days, telling my husband and I how wonderful they feel after a session. Seeing as today was Saturday and they were not at work, it was finally time for us to experience this famous custom for ourselves.