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European spa bliss
Relax your way across the continent
 © Kaisertherme Nestled in a lush valley in the southern part of the state of Upper Austria, just 55 Km from Salzburg, this idyllic town counts, among its devotees of yesteryear, Emperor Franz Joseph and Mozart, both of whom came to rejuvenate in the city's famed hot springs (full of salt and sulfur) and partook in rudimentary mud-baths. The waters here, are said to alleviate respiratory tract, dermatological and cardiovascular problems. |
“So this is how it must have been during Roman times,” whispers my girlfriend, Anna, as we luxuriate in hedonistic bare bliss on the floor of one of four shallow pools, arranged under an ornate russet-colored dome and columned amphitheater, in Friedrichsbad: the world-famous Roman-Irish bath in the Black Forest Eden of Baden Baden.
Like most pleasure-seeking sybarites, we’ve made the trip to the southwestern part of Germany to enjoy the centuries-old healing power of the thermal or mineral waters, which sprout out in more than a handful of Kurorte (health resorts) throughout the region—almost all of them with a name consisting of the German word for bath (bad).
Baden Baden is perhaps Europe’s most famous—its double-barreled name boldly announces that it is the Baden of the province of Baden-Württemberg, which hugs the French border and stretches south to Switzerland. It was made famous in the 1800s by Russian royalty, aristocrats and literati, who, with their courtesans and aide de camps in tow, made the monumental month-long journey south.
And while you no longer will find the likes of Dostoyevsky, Gogol or Turgenev losing their fortunes at the tables of the famed rococo casino which Marlene Dietrich proclaimed as ''the most beautiful in the world” or the likes of Queen Victoria and Czar Alexander I, the grandson of Catherine the Great or Victor Hugo strolling about, you will come across deposed heads-of-state, retired millionaires and inconspicuous nobles perusing the superswanky vitrines, when they’re not lounging about in their second homes—stacked one on top of another on the hillsides.
This moneyed aristocratic air, furthered by head-turning vehicles, jewels and furs that are right out of a James Bond movie, thankfully hasn’t discouraged mere mortals from taking part in the spiritual pilgrimage to the sulphurous baths. In fact, we made the journey from London on the hoi polloi express, Ryanair, which flies, conveniently, to an airport just 10-minutes from the city-center. What’s more, the first of the city’s two thermal baths, the state-of-the-art Caracalla-Therme located on the Römerplatz (for the Roman legionnaires who founded the city 2000 years ago), is designed for families and the masses with its complex of seven indoor and outdoor pools, whirlpools, steam baths, waterfalls, fountains, solariums and no less than eight adult-only (and nudist) saunas, including a trio of rustic outdoor cabins, one with an atmospheric roaring fireplace, located in an adjacent wooded hillside.
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In fact, according to Pam Price, co-author of 100 Best Spas of the World and a respected spa consultant, it is this ethos that distinguishes spas in the U.S. from those in Europe. "Americans have always been known for their focus on fitness, with massive gym complexes and such, whereas Europeans traditionally centered their spa experience on the restorative powers of water and subsequent healing for various ailments. From rheumatism to arthritis, the waters serve not just for relaxation but play a physical therapy role as well."
Indeed, while we were part of the entirely young and healthy clique, of which there were more than a handful, there were a good number of well-heeled octogenarians making use of the facilities, a fact that Price says is not uncommon. "Traditionally, Europeans would go to thermal springs for three weeks at a time and this kind of European spa culture still exists.”
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© Leukerbad Celebrated throughout Europe for the curative powers of its hot springs (an estimated 793,000 gallons bubble to the surface daily and supply this rarefied redoubts' 22 spa baths), Leukerbad dates to Roman times but is little-known to most Americans. Until now. |
"A hot spring has healing qualities because of the minerals in the water. This isn't drinking water, but water that bubbles up at temperatures in excess of 100 degrees,” says Price. “Most thermal spas in Europe have accredited spa physicians on hand who will give you a vacation prescription for treatments you'll be required to take every day and then monitor your healing process.” Yet “taking to the waters” isn’t just an experience reserved for those blessed with access to thermal springs. Along the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coasts, seawater is pumped into the pools of shore-side spas and heated. Called thalassotherapy, it is thought that micro-organisms, everything from magnesium and potassium to calcium sulphates and sodium, which are found in seawater and then absorbed through the skin via an osmosis effect, have therapeutic properties. “In Europe, the spa experience can be as much about healing as pampering, if not more so," says Price of the feel-good results.
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© Therme Bad Aibling Bad Aibling’s dated and tiny thermal spa center has a brave new look, with white pods that are meant to evoke the hot spring bubbles which the town, located 35 miles southeast of Munich, is known for. Opened this September, it features the standby indoor and outdoor pools, each with a bevy of hydrotherapy stations, an indoor and outdoor sauna-scape, a traditional hammam and a restaurant. |
It was nearly 40 minutes after I had completed my recuperative therapy before Anna finally emerged. “I lost track of time,” she said sheepishly, unwittingly echoing Mark Twain’s famous comments after visiting the Friedrichsbad that, “after 10 minutes you forget time; after 20 minutes the world”. Now I know what he—and those Romans—were on about.
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