MONTHLY CHALLENGE

I’m a Hot Water Baby

The hotter, the better…

Onsens in Japan 2006

I fell in love with hot water in 2006 in Japan. My eldest daughter and I went on a road trip around Northern Honshu in a borrowed car. We packed a tent so we didn’t have to sleep in the tiny car as we had no accommodation booked. We spent our days driving around looking at the many outdoor art installations of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale. Late afternoon, we had three tasks — find an onsen, find dinner and find a place to sleep.

Onsens are hot springs found in many parts of Japan. They can be like a swimming pool, or attached to a posh hotel, or best of all, be smack bang in the middle of nature. Our last onsen before returning to Tokyo was at Aizu Falls. It was so peaceful and relaxing and beautiful, I lolled in the hot waters and composed a haiku. I wish I could remember it — it was really good. Even Stacey said so!

Budapest 2011

My family and I travelled by train on a Eurail pass for 3 months. We started with two weeks in Ireland and finished with 2 weeks in Wales and Cornwall. I flew to Nantes and had another 2 weeks with Stacey before I had to return to work. We tried out the Gellert Baths on the Danube River. I booked a chocolate massage after the spa — actually a salt scrub — ouch! The following day we had fun in the Széchenyi Baths.

New Zealand 2013

Two of my daughters and I hired a motorhome and trekked around the South Island of New Zealand looking for the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis). We didn’t find them but we found some gorgeous hot springs — Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa, Tekapo Springs Hot Pools, and Onsen Hot Pools, Queenstown — perfect for soothing sore muscles after a day on the slopes. (Keeley and Stacey went snowboarding — I did the washing!)

European Spa-hopping trip 2014

Keeley and I drove 5000 kilometres in 5 weeks and visited six thermes. It seemed like more. We had planned to visit Kaiser Friedrich Therme in Wiesbaden but ran out of time. Here are some photos of the ones we soaked in — usually for the whole day.

Our favourite: **ROGNER BAD BLUMAU** a south-east Austrian spa was designed by eccentric Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Fed by two curative springs, it boasts a Dead Sea salt grotto alongside its pools, saunas and treatment rooms. The outdoor pool Vulcania is other worldly at night., We were sorry we didn’t stay in the attached hotel. Visited **December 2014**. Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

Our Number 2: **AQUA DOME** Discovered in the 16th century, Längenfeld’s geothermal spring all but dried up in the 1960s. Redrilled in 1997, it now feeds this Tyrolean town’s alpine playground featuring three ‘levitating’ outdoor pools. **Visited December 2014**. Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

**LAKE HÉVIZ THERMAL LAKE:** Dotted with water lilies, Lake Héviz is the world’s largest biologically active, natural medicinal lake. The lake’s natural water temperature becomes warmer towards the centre where it also becomes deeper. Too scary! Visited **December 2014.** Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

**TERME ROGASKA** is Slovenia’s most elegant and well-known thermal spa complex. We’ve been spoiled by beautiful outdoor spas. This one has beautiful architecture but left us unimpressed. Visited **December 2014.** Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

Our number 3. **THERME VALS** is situated in the little village of Vals, Switzerland, 200 km from Zurich. Its hydrotherapy pools range from 14C to 42C. We stayed at Therme Val’s hotel, so we could enjoy all day and half the night bathing. It was incredibly expensive but we brought our food and drink with us from France. Visited **November 2014.** Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

**THERMAE BATH SPA** Using the spring water that feeds the city’s historic Roman Baths , Thermae Bath Spa has four herbal steam rooms and an open-air rooftop pool with views over Bath. High Tea at the Pumphouse was a highlight. Visited **November 2014**. Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

**Széchenyi Baths, Budapest, Hungary:** Known as the City of Spas, Széchenyi Baths is the largest of them with 18 different pools and ten saunas and steam chambers, it’s easy to get lost in its neo-baroque buildings. Visited **November 2011** and **October 2019**. Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

**GELLERT THERMAL BATHS,** Budapest opened in 1918 offering medicinal water treatments using the same deep underground springs the Knights of St John used in the 12th century. During the time of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks used the spa to feel the invigorating powers of the mineral rich waters. Visited **November 2011.** Photo and text by Keeley Schroder

**RUDAS THERMAL BATHS**, Budapest has been operating for more than 450 years. The rooftop spa pool is special! There’s a bar and everyone is drinking and chatting and having a good time. The original Arab baths are gorgeous with coloured stars in the dome roof. Because they are so dark, my photos didn’t turn out at all. This was my favourite spa in Budapest in **October 2019**. Photo and text by author.

Turkey 2014

The hotel in Istanbul had an underground spa, sauna and pool complex and massages, but the best thermal pool I swam in was the old Roman Baths at Pamukkale, famous for the hot springs on the travertine terraces. December in Turkey is quite cold, so these travertine pools were barely warm, but the Roman Baths at the top of the hill were historical and hot. I actually swam amongst the Roman pillars that had collapsed into the baths and had been left there. It was the most magical experience — here I was bathing in the same pool as the Romans did centuries ago. A surreal experience!

The ancient Roman Baths at Pamukkale Photo by author

The thermal pools on the travertine terraces were not hot — it’s winter — Photo by author

Portugal 2015

Sao Pedro do Sul has the Queen Amelia Baths. They’ve been taking advantage of the thermally heated water here since 1894. The water massage was great on our sore spots, but it only lasts for 15 minutes. Stacey and I visited here on our way to Porto couldn’t spend longer here as we have to get to Porto today. The water comes from underground at 68C and is cooled before going into the baths. You don’t want to become cooked meat.

Stacey in the Queen Amelia Baths. Photo by author.

Germany 2016

I made it to Kaiser Friedrich Therme in Wiesbaden on my own. The only one I’ve ever visited where clothing was forbidden. Those Germans didn’t seem to mind so neither did I. I met two American girls whose army husbands had just flown out of Frankfurt and they were spending the day together at the spa. When we weren’t in the hot water, we sat and chatted, ate freshly baked pretzels and drank beer. And yes, we were all naked. Another surreal experience!

(No photos here as we were all naked.)

Budapest, 2019

I went back to Budapest on this trip just to do some soaking in the spas. Photos of Rudas Baths and Széchenyi Baths are above.

Iceland 2019

We came to Iceland for the Blue Lagoon thermal pool, the Ice Lagoon and Glaciers and to see the Northern Lights. Three outta four ain’t bad! Those damn elusive aurorae.

We got more than we bargained for in the thermal pool department. There are lots of hot pools in Reyjkavík and we even found a beautiful one under the stars at the Hotel Katla near Vik.

Our last day in Iceland was spent in the gorgeous Blue Lagoon on our way to the airport. It’s huge and you can walk all over it to find a part where the temperature suits you perfectly. We found the hottest part and there was no one there except the lifeguard. He told us he rescues people who faint because they become dehydrated. We immediately went to fill our water bottles.

Part of the Blue Lagoon. Photo by Stacey Mulcahy

Mineral facemasks are part of the experience. Photo by Stacey Mulcahy

Morocco 2019

The hot spas here are called hammams and they’re divine. As well as soaking, you can get scrubbed clean and massaged by girls just wearing bikini briefs. The hammam under the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca was simply the most amazing one we had in Morocco.

Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca — the hammam is underneath Photo by author

Spain 2019

We stayed in a little village called Alhama de Granada (not to be confused with the city Granada) where Arab baths were situated in the Hotel Balneario. Unfortunately, the hotel ( and the beautiful baths) were closed for the winter. Fortunately for us, the natural hot spring flowing into the river was available to the locals (including us) for free.

This little pool was hot and the river flowing past it was freezing. Photo by author.

We went to Hammams in Granada and Cordoba but w didn’t enjoy them as much as the ones in Morocco and they were much more expensive!

Since I’ve been back in Australia, I’ve visited the Casa Cenote Bathhouse and Aquarius Spa in the city. You can’t keep me away from hot water!

We Can’t Travel but We Can Dream

A day of relaxation and dreaming of past travels

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