What a day!
#travel #travelphotography #travelblogger #travelblog
It's always difficult to get these updates concerning recent publications of Eurosoaking culture underway. How will I present these? Based on topics? Countries? Do we have a lead article? Should it just be photo's?
Much from the following originates from Iceland, partially due to the language used, partially due to the many tourists vis-à-vis locals as well as (impartially) its' soaking culture and soaking surroundings.
Perhaps the lack of news might allow me to get away with posting more pictures ...
Anyway. Let's start with the quirky. Geothermal food. Thinkgeoenergy (Nov. 25) adds to the list geothermal pizza:
'Reported by Deutsche Welle, a pizzaria in Naples in Sicily/ Italy is
maturing its low-yeast pizza dough in caves of tuff for up to 36 hours'.
Click on the article's video link to a short reportage from Deutsche Welle to see the ongoings, but also discover that the same chambers (dating from Greek times) also are used for growing basil.
reesa413 at if I'm correct France's Mont Dore
Natural hot spring pool along side the creek🏞#nature #hotspring #mountains
Pissed
In previous updates I've already reported on Budapest's hot spring parties. The Guardian continues (Jun. 4, 2016) on Budapest's hot spring parties:
'Sparties
combine well-known DJs playing electro, trip-hop, hip-hop, funk and
trance with light, video and laser visual effects and unlimited alcohol.
And thanks to founder Laszlo Laki, whose company Cinetrip began
specialising in nightclub silent film projections shortly after the fall
of communism, they have been running for almost 20 years. Nowadays,
there’s a party almost every Saturday; in the summer at the
aforementioned Széchenyi baths (known as “Szecska” to Budapeštas, it’s Europe’s largest thermal baths, with temperatures ranging from 27C to 38C), and at residents’ favourite Lukács in the winter months. There are also two Cinetrip “mega parties” annually: one in August and one pre-New Year’s Eve.
...
We’re not sure what to expect from the Sparty – would it be a crazy continental piss-up, or a “lads on tour” nightmare?
...
As soon as we descend the stairs, we are surrounded by drunk semi-naked
people drinking lethally strong mojitos. It’s freezing cold and raining a
bit but we’re fine once we’re in the water – which is so hot it creates
a cloud of rising steam above everyone’s heads. If it weren’t for the
pumping music, the flashing lights and lasers, it would be a bit like
having a beer in a hot bath, which is not unpleasant.
...
We have a good dance but, as the night wears on and the pool becomes
even more packed, we decide we’ve had enough. My boyfriend says he
senses the atmosphere change as people get more hammered. Certainly on
TripAdvisor there are posts mentioning problems with groping, and
condoms in the pool. We don’t witness any of that and the organisers
take security very seriously, ...'.
It's worth looking at the reviews on Tripadvisor itself to see whether or not it's your (hot) cup of tea.
As a side note there's this list from skyscanner (Apr. 2015) of Budapest's best baths.
Or you could look for the 15 best sauna's of Budapest (Foursquare, Nov. 8).
'A Guide to Budapest’s Thermal Baths'.
Quite thorough guide and list.
Indoor soaking. jurismetums at Vardzia, Aspindzis Raioni, Georgia
Pietiktu
veco padomju šķūni aizvietot ar pamatīgāku ēku, un par iespēju
plunčāties šajā karstā minerālūdens baseinā varētu prasīt prāvu samaksu,
taču būs zudis tas Gruzijas smeķis... Mums bija iespēja divvientulībā
baudīt Džavahetijas termālos sērūdeņus par pat ļoti simbolisku maksājumu
vīram ar šķūnīša atslēgu (18.09.2016.). #gruzija #gruzijasmirkļi #latvietisgruzijā #kaukāzs #mazaiskaukāzs #samčedžavahetija #džavahetija #baseins #sēravots #karstieavoti #termālieūdeņi #minerālūdens #georgia #georgiacountry #republicofgeorgia #caucasus #caucasia #lessercaucasus #samtshejavakheti #javakheti #thermalwater #thermalsprings #pool #mineralwater #hotsprings #spa
Sunset
The baths of Bagnaccio (Lazio, Italy) are to be managed. Managed differently that is.
Il Messaggero
(Jan. 5) reports that as of March this year, it's proposed that associations
(private / public?) can bid for management. Standards have been set.
From
the translation of the article it's unclear to me what may now well occur to the currently semi-public run hot spring. Let's hope for either
little change or at least adequate public access without paying
exorbitant entry fees.
zerbo89 at Bormio's Pozza di Leonardo
#povertàtime #pozza #sorpresa #sistavapeggioquandosistavameglio #ciccionichesbucano #snow #terme #termefaidate #lanatura #altrochebagninuoviovecchi #ghiacciolo #circolazione #solopozza
Australia's thoughts on Germans and their bathing culture? Australia's Travellers.com (Nov. 21):
'But for Olympic levels of nuding up in public, the laurel wreath – or maybe fig leaf – must be presented to the Germans.
...
Though there have been reports in recent years about the decline of
nudity in the open air, there's one place that the sun will never set on
naked Germany – its public baths'.
What follows is a review of three public sauna's / bathing houses in Hamburg, Köln and München.
Alhaman de Granada is famous for its hot springs. Perfect for a cool
day. Although the Spa is closed until April, we're enjoying the warm
mineral waters that flow into pools outside. Free to all. #Andalusia
#travelspain #spainiswonderful #hotsprings #spain🇪🇸 #granadaspain
#naturalspring #AlhamadeGranada #balneario #warmwater #spaintravel
#baños #españa #thermalbaths
Illing
Greece a paradise for soakers? Greek-is.com (Jan.3) believes so:
'With about 800 locations of natural curative resources, most of which
are water-related, Greece could be described as a paradise of healing
spas. Still, most remain undeveloped: only 34 springs have been officially recognized so far, while recognition of another 60 is pending'.
Who needs official recognition?
Concerning ancient Greece:
'For the Athenians, both hot and cold baths were an indicator of civilization and a part of everyday life.
On
the other hand, the Spartans and Macedonians, both fierce warrior
tribes, preferred cold waters and avoided the balaneia, where they
believed the heat just made one soft. The Spartans made an exception for
the pyriaterio, which they used to work up a sweat before diving into
the ice-cold waters of the River Eurotas to toughen themselves up'.
#girl #hotsprings #lesvos #island #greece #time
Finally on modernity:
'The Greek spa towns enjoyed one last period of glory in the 1960s and
70s, as the new middle class began to vacation there, taking advantage
of their proximity to the sea. Naturally, spas were no longer a
high-priority treatment option and were only used incidentally by those
preferring cosmopolitan beaches. Thus, they gradually
came to be used only by the elderly, and their use came to be associated
primarily with cures for illnesses. In this way, spas came to be
regarded as destinations for the old and the ill'.
In a further article (Jan. 17) the list of Greek soaks is summoned, some high end, some more rustic.
Tremors
And then it's over to Iceland.
Iceland's
love affair with non-natural geothermal heated pools continues as does it
tourism influx. Latest entrant is a proposed warm beach in the
northeast of the country. Reykjavik Grapevine (Jan. 17):
'RUV
reports that the owners of the Blue Lagoon and Jarðböðin í
Mývatnssveit, along with eleven shareholders, have committed to
investing 280 million ISK to creating a “warm water beach” at Urriðavatn
lake, near Egilsstaðir.
...
In implementation, geothermically heated water from a borehole near
Urriðavatn will be pumped into the water to provide the sort of
warm-water bathing experience '.
Nearly there, except that there's no beach ... heidarlogi
near the Reykjanes geothermal power station
A hidden gem where the warm geothermal water runs into the ocean.
📷 @ellithor
A first hand soaking report (where have they gone?) from Gurrity on soaking at Seljavallalaug (Apr. 2016):
'Several times throughout that trip, we all talked about the importance
of soaking up every single moment — and as often as we could remember
to, we put our phones away and I kept my camera at my side, and we would
soak up every sound, every breeze, and every scent. With every blink,
every breath, I knew it would be more and more painful to leave.
We hung around the pool waiting for an older couple to leave, and when
we finally had the pool to ourselves, we stripped down and got in,
because yolo (or, “yoiio,” which we coined for “you’re only in Iceland
once,” which obviously did not apply to me). And shortly after, the
Santa Barbara grad I mentioned before showed up, and timidly joined
us. He was so nervous to have stumbled upon four skinny dippin’ ladies
that his hand trembled when we passed him our flask of bourbon. And
every time we forced him to be our photographer [see photo above]'.
Take off
What is it with prudists and bathing at the more public (read less natural) hot springs in Iceland?
Icelandic tradition and (sensible) hygiene decorum means having a naked shower pre-soaking is the only way to go. But it seems that whatever the intentions of this rule are, prudish bathers feel that their civil rights (and tourist rights) are trampled on.
Tripadvisor has a discussion kicking off on December 23 concerning the Blue Lagoon showers: what do they look like?
Seems like a very serious question, though hardly relevant. But later on it seems the requester fears his co-trippers. When someone notes that apparently no one had showered naked, it was seen as a sign of disrespect. The whole discussion notches 16 replies.
But not even a month (November 30) before, Tripadvisor has the same kind of question. Naked showering required? This time 32 replies, all quite similar to the first mentioned discussion.
Meanwhile, Iceland itself is more concerned about equal treatment for either gender whilst soaking in a more public setting. And the question is are females allowed the same clothing freedoms attributed to males?
The Icelandic Monitor reports (Jan. 16):
'A student at the University of Iceland was told to leave the pool in the
small town of Akranes on Saturday for swimming without a bikini top'.
Apparently this was not very (modern?) Icelandic culture.
Later that day, the same source reported from the nation's capital:
'Following news of a woman being shown out of a pool in
the small town of Akranes in Iceland, the directors of the City of
Reykjavik sports and recreation department (ÍTR) have confirmed that
guests of the city's swimming pool are welcome whether they wear a top
or not as part of their swimwear ensemble'.
Surely, equal gender treatment if not universal, should within the same nation have the same standards / requirements. An explanation please!?
Finally took my coat off
Beauty
More or less on the same topics as above I came across this recent (Jan. 3) Facebook posting by Caitlin McCormick:
'There's
a whole crap-ton of pressure this time of year to get skinnier and/or
more jacked, and I'm feeling self-critical and tired. It's easy to feel
overindulgent, misshapen, and wrong. So to combat it, for myself and
you, I want to share a moment of grace I had this last year.
When I was in Iceland with Chris a couple months ago, one of many
awesome things we did was go to a public "pool." Their public pools are
fed by hot springs and look like the multi-level lounging kinds of pools
they have at Caribbean resorts. They're all over the place, and
Reykjavik has a few. They're public meeting spaces and a way to survive,
or even enjoy, the long dark days of winter and even the temperate
summers. All of them are about 95-110 degrees, so basically giant hot
tubs.
Part of the Icelandic pool thing is that everyone must
shower first. Totally nude, you have to soap up, hair and body, in a
large open communal shower room. I guess some Americans freak out about
this. I was a tiny bit nervous, but there are lots of blog posts that
give you the whole process in detail, so I felt prepared. We paid our
way in (five bucks or so), and I went alone into the women's locker
room. Ladies were stripping down. Females of all ages, from infants to
the elderly, hovered around in various states of undress. Women were
storing their things in lockers and heading to the showers without
bothering to hide in a towel or robe. Apparently there are even people
at the locker room doors to be sure everyone has showered, but it didn't
feel militaristic in any way. It was just... normal.
In the
showers themselves, twenty shower heads pointed into one big room with
lavender-scented body soap dispensers on the walls. There were some
plastic IKEA high chairs for babies and even a couple of low baby tubs
for the tiniest ones. We moved about this room, naked as jay birds,
lathering and cleaning and actually enjoying the hot water. And there
was this feeling that I've never had in American locker rooms:
shamelessness. People weren't hiding or even avoiding others. Twelve
year old girls giggled together while they washed their hair. A baby in
her high chair was washed by her mom. An older woman sang to herself and
danced in the spray with her granddaughter. And there were bodies of
every size, age, and color. And shape. And hue. And hair color. And boob
size. And nipple size/color. And pubic hair decision. And hip. And back
fat. And height. And butt cellulite. And eye color. There were punk
chicks and there were nerdy girls and there were women whose bellies
showed the babies they'd carried. Even though Iceland is very white,
there was lots of racial diversity in this social catch-all place. There
was a woman with one arm.
Don't think I'm weird for looking. I
wasn't studying anyone, we were all just there. Every single female body
variant was present, and everyone was comfortable in her skin. We
smiled and nodded to each other, strangers chatted, no worry or shyness
or shame.
It was so enlightening because it was so obvious to me in that moment that:
1.) we are only given one general body type to consider, as women - in
clothing ads, movies, tv shows, everything - as if there's only one body
type and it exists everywhere (except, of course, our own) - and that
body type (lean, average height, maybe curves but no cellulite, thin
hips, flat stomach, modest boob, no defined muscles, no assistive
devices, and always a visible bony clavicle) is SO INACCURATE; and
2.) there are a million ways that the female body looks, and it's always
beautiful. ALWAYS. That's what I felt in that space. Every body is
normal and beautiful and perfect'.
Termes naturals al ríu le tet
Primer contacto con el norte de Cataluña y Francia.
Sentí que el otoño me abrazaba a base de colores, paisajes que conquistan los ojos de cualquiera.
Baños de azufre caliente que te dejan la piel arrugada y nueva
Francesas que te enamoran leyendo poesía..
💕
#termas #naturalezaviva #hotriver #camping #fontpedrouse #naturalspring
