My idea of wellness is hot water, saunas, steam baths and lazy days. You won’t find anything about food or medicine around here but plenty of spas.
It’s time to start the German Spa Town adventure posts! I’m going to do the spas themselves first and then the journey and then the towns and so first up is Baden-Baden’s Caracalla Therme. Caracalla Therme opened in 1985 although you’d think it’s under a decade old – it doesn’t look like it’s about to … More An evening at Caracalla Therme
In my last post, in which I visited Bath Thermae Spa, I called it “bathing like a Roman”, on the grounds that the modern spa uses the same source as the 2000-year-old Roman bathhouse but other than that, there’s no similarity at all between my spa trip and Julia Ennia Caesianus’s visit to the baths. … More Bath Roman Baths: how to actually bathe like a Roman
I went to Bath Thermae Spa about ten years ago, having been sent up to Bath College on a couple of days’ notice to replace a colleague on a social media course. The course was terrible, the hotel I stayed in was so unmemorable that I don’t even remember it and I don’t think I … More Bathing like a Roman: how good is Bath Thermae Spa?
A sensory deprivation tank, or a flotation tank or even REST (restricted environment stimulant therapy) as they call it in this century, was something that had been on my to-do list for a while but going into the New Year, I decided to get it over with. It’s supposed to be pretty much a cure … More I tried a sensory deprivation tank
Since I’m on the subject of pools, I’m going to carry on and introduce you to the revamped geothermal pool at Húsafell in the west of Iceland. Not that I ever went there pre-revamp so I can’t compare it to what it used to look like but it’s been on my to-do list for years … More Visiting Lindin Húsafell
On Monday, I talked about the best swimming pools in Reykjavik and today I’m going to go over how you actually use a local swimming pool in Iceland. When you arrive, they’ll ask “have you been here before?” and even if you say you have, they’ll still ask “So you know all the rules?”. If … More How to use a swimming pool in Iceland
Why not follow a best pools post with a completely different best pools post? Today I’m in Iceland and I want to talk about the best swimming pools in Reykjavik. I’m not talking about the likes of the Blue Lagoon and the Sky Lagoon, fine as they are. I’m talking about public pools, the kind … More Which is the best public swimming pool in Reykjavik?
Welcome to 2025 and let’s leap straight in with one of my favourite subjects: hot water! Budapest abounds in hot water and I’ve talked about some of the thermal baths but I think it’s time to compare and contrast and decide which is best. I had some of these recommended by a colleague who was … More Which is the best bath in Budapest?
The “A Daycation in…” series is one I was planning to start in 2025, to showcase some of the best and most interesting places around Dorset and Hampshire, delving into what elevates something from a mere “day out” to a “daycation”. But I got started a bit earlier than planned, because Bournemouth hotel The Nici … More A Daycation at… The Nici, Bournemouth
There are so many thermal baths to visit in Budapest but Rudas was high on my to-do list for one important reason: it has a rooftop hot tub with city views. Even better, at weekends it does night baths. A night bath with views of the city lights sounded like everything I could want! Iceland’s … More A night bath at Rudas
I Am A Polar Bear 