March Love Letter

For some New Yorkers, this is a typical Saturday afternoon: entering a small room to sweat profusely, followed by a light spanking with a leafy branch, and then a dousing of frigid water. This is topped off with a shot of vodka and perhaps some beef tongue. It’s the city’s Russian Baths, or banyas—and they’re both a cheap way to stave off winter’s lingering chill and yet another example of how New York rewards wanderlust, even if just for an afternoon. The word “authentic” may be one of the more misused terms in travel writing, but here it applies. The banyas of Brooklyn, especially, have remained faithful to the bathhouses of the homeland: simple and zero-frills, but open to all—more municipal pool than upscale spa. Integral to the banya experience are the lashings from a birch branch, which serve as a massage, and also to invigorate circulation and moisten the skin with essential oils. Try the new, massive Royal Palace (royalpalacenyc.com) on Sheepshead Bay Rd. in Brooklyn or the old-world banyas on East 10th St. in the East Village (russianandturkishbaths.com) which have been around since the late 1800s, and where the experience is as much about socializing as it is sweating.

And speaking of socializing: St. Patrick’s Day. In New York, it gets particularly boisterous in the traditionally Irish Hell’s Kitchen. The parade (on Mar. 17 at 11 am, starting at 44th St. and Fifth Ave.) is just the beginning: Post-parade parties sweep the city, including live Irish tunes at shamrock-friendly bars like Puck Fair  (puckfairbarnyc.com), at 298 LaFayette St., and Paddy Reilly’s (519 Second Ave.), where the loud crowd gets loopy on Irish stout. Sláinte!

AnneLise Sorensen