The Spa

Sigh. I'm still relaxed. :) Remko and I drove to a spa about 30 minutes from our apartment on Friday and spent the afternoon in their Roman-Irish Baths. It's Irish also because of the wet or dry saunas, not sure which, but it was GREAT! The whole complex is called Swiss Holiday Park and it has an indoor/outdoor pool, a big hot tub, and a high, long water slide that are all included in the price of the Baths. We had fun in the outdoor pool because it had a rotation of fun things, from bubble beds to a floating river to foot and back massaging jets. Nice.

I didn't bring my camera inside, so this is the only photo I've got and it's not very good. It's a photo of the brochure that shows the layout of the Bath area. We did the non-intensive two-hour experience, the intensive is 2 1/2 hours and includes higher temperatures for longer periods of time.

We started in two dry saunas that weren't too warm. After a cold shower we moved to two steam saunas, each smelling like a different herb (the first smelled like Vick's Vaporub), and getting progressively hotter. After another cold shower we dipped in two saltwater baths, the first was bubbly--real bubbles coming up, not jets like in a hot tub--and the second was still. Then we had to be brave and jump into a cold water dip that was about 50º before going to an infrared room where you were warmed by lights and finally the relaxation room where you just layed down in a semi-dark room with a big blanket for a half hour. It was my first spa experience and I'm not sure if I'm going to become a dedicated spa lady, but once was good. Of course I'll have to take anyone who visits and wants to go, too.... :)

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Minnesota early in the morning and I might not get any posting done in the rush. I'll log back in with updates as soon as I can. Hope to see most of you soon!