bussen_folke at Valencia's Ontinyet (a warm spring):
Morgonen var regnig och småkall, så bad i en halvvarmkälla (25gr) piggar upp. Lite kaffe på det så var vi redo för en biltur upp i bergen. Det vädret var vi dock inte redo för! ❄😱#ljummet #banõs #hotspring #bad #nature #intothewild #äventyr #adventure #lyxliv #roadtrip #letsgowestfalia #bussenfolke #campervan #vintagecamper #vanlife #vwcalifornia #vwmicrobus #campingbil #vwcamper #camper #westfalia #vwt4 #vwt4camper #vwt4california #t4california #t4owners
A pan-Europe wide issue presenting some neat photographic finds with some recent publications.
Let's start with this recent share by the European Geothermal Energy Council (Jul. 29):
'Let’s take a look at 6 geothermal destinations in Europe to help you plan for a “renewable” holiday.
The six are:
- Tuscany,
- Disneyland (!; apparently all buildings are geothermally heated),
- Blue Lagoon (Iceland),
- Pammukale (Turkey),
- Budapest and
- Lanzarote.
virutxa (not far from Ourense):
Descubriendo nuevos paraísos#termasdeprexigueiro#galiciaesmaravillosa#galicianuncadejadesorprenderme#enamoradadedondevivo#escapadasvir#furgoaventuras
Over to the UK, geothermally not really red-hot. But Cornwalllive (Aug. 25) reports on the opening of geothermally heated bath:
'You can now jump into the UK's first geothermal heated lido - right here in Cornwall.Jubilee Pool, in Penzance, has finally opened its geothermal spa to the public.The sustainable pool, filled with natural salt water, will reach 35 degrees using heat sourced deep underground, and is the first of its kind in the country.After several delays and much anticipation, the pool itself will opened to the public on September 1.A spokesperson for Jubilee Pool posted on the venue's Facebook page: "Our geothermal pool is opening to the public on Tuesday 1st September 2020. Tickets will be available to book online from noon on Tuesday 25th August'.
A recent experience (Tripadvisor, Sep. 2020):
'Gorgeous hour spent in the geothermal pool. The Lido is beautiful. We would definitely return. Come dressed in your cozzies if you don’t fancy using the open view changing cubicles'.
Imagine (or not) spending all that money, only for there not being able to use changing cubicles. Maybe we've been overdoing the silly season?
Then to the other European extreme, Turkey. The Turkish Airlines (Aug. 20) published this:
'There's no use staying at home all winter long. Winter holidays usually entail skiing but there is another alternative: thermal centers, thermal springs. The hot, mineralized waters of these spas will relieve your stress, soothe your soul and nourish your body. Before making any plans, take a look at our piece on the best thermal centers in Turkey'.
Have you ever sat in a century-old rusty bathtub with hot spring flowing right over you? This kinda setting is more luxury and thrilling than any five-star hotel for me! In the background of this secret hot spring are the ruins of the former Central Olympic Base of the USSR where many athletes stayed, overlooking the Black Sea..Eshera is one of the many secret, abandoned hot springs in Abkhazia. As locals come here it’s not really a secret, but it’s definitely not in any guidebook. I came here again at night (swipe right) to bask under the moonlight. Would you prefer day or night?.Does the globe in the 3rd photo look familiar? Yes it’s the one on top of the Olympic hotel! We climbed the spiral tower to the rooftop for sunset 😃...#abkhazia #secret #hotspring #sea #love #travel #traveler #wanderer #wanderlust #backpacker #backpacking #adventure #backpackersintheworld #traveler #nomad #travelgram #girlaroundworld #traveladdict #art #travelphotography #femmetravel #beautiful #traveldiary #lonelyplanet #womantravel #bestoftheday #instagood #travelinladies #amazing #picoftheday
Back to central Europe. Wandering Carol (Jul. 20) hits Wiesbaden, one of Germany's natural thermal baths:
'There are four spas in Wiesbaden, Germany, where you can bathe in thermal water, and they’re as different as night, day, moon and er, chocolate. (Sorry, I’m low on metaphors at the moment.)In addition to that, there’s an open air swimming pool of fresh water if you’re not desperately seeking out thermal water, which is scenically situated on Neroberg Hill.There is also one place to taste the steamy mineral water, the pavilion by the rather ugly but much loved Kochbrunnen Fountain in the Kochbrunnenplatz in the Old Town....Interestingly (at least I find it interesting) is the fact that the Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme is built on the site of the original Roman baths, which means you are seriously soaking up history here. So what’s not to like?Well. You might not like the fact that the Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme is clothing free, a smaller version of the famed Roman-Irish Friedrichsbad in the spa town of Baden-Baden....Outdoor Mineral PoolThe main reason I wanted to visit the Thermalbad Aukammtal is because it’s the only spa in Wiesbaden with an outdoor thermal pool. The pool can get crowded, however, so eventually I moved upstairs to the clothing-free sauna area, which has a smaller outdoor thermal pool.
To my dismay, it wasn’t a Monday, which is Ladies Day at the Aukammtal, but I bared it all anyway and skuttled from place to place as quickly as I could, and overall, I found it more relaxing than the main section downstairs'.
mire_climbs at (Languedoc, France):
I think people can have a spiritual connection to landscape ⛲️
'The new thermal bath of Siklós was opened last Thursday, thanks to an investment of HUF 2.4 billion (8.5 million euros).Earlier (Jul. 10) it also had this (sigh):
The new facility can now host 3500 people in summer but the Thermal Spa Siklos offers 13 pools, amusement pools, wellness services, massage and saunas all year round.
The investment was backed by the local government. The constructor, Aquaplus Co., is in charge of the operation for 25 years. The next phase of the Siklós development will be the inauguration of a brand-new, 4-star hotel with 44 rooms next to the spa'.
'New faciltities in Harkany Thermal BathThe new thermal bath of Siklós was opened last Thursday, thanks to an investment of HUF 2.4 billion (8.5 million euros).The new facility can now host 3500 people in summer but the Thermal Spa Siklos offers 13 pools, amusement pools, wellness services, massage and saunas all year round.The investment was backed by the local government. The constructor, Aquaplus Co., is in charge of the operation for 25 years. The next phase of the Siklós development will be the inauguration of a brand-new, 4-star hotel with 44 rooms next to the spa'.
siphosethu1112, better with the old?
Getting my rude-ass out in the Rudas baths 🍑 this place looked like the chamber of secrets 😂 #yolo #whynot #turkishbath #42degrees #peach #16thcentury #rudeynudey #ithappened
There was also a link to an article from the Hungarianinsider (Mar. 16):
'Even though thermal water was found in Bábolna from wells drilled 37 years ago, it was never used due to its high methane content. Now, a new plant extracts the gas and uses it to heat the spa itself and some other municipal buildings. And visitors will now be able to enjoy warm, therapeutic waters at the Bábolna spa. The plant cost HUF 500 million, of which it received HUF 200 million from EU funds.The spa is scheduled to open in May and will have the thermal baths as well as both winter and summer pools; the city will also create a park on close to 10 hectares nearby.
Nordicvisitor has a primer (updated Aug. 19) on the Nordic region's spa traditions: Icelandic thermal baths, Finnish sauna (including the practice of “loyly”, Swedish massage and Friluftsliv :
'What the friluftsliv? This term is a combination of the Norwegian words for free, air and life'.Greatful
katerina__vesela , somewhere on northern Iceland:
Pořád tomu nemůžu uvěřit. Jdu si tak na procházku a skončím v horkým vodopádu o kterým ani místní nemají tušení a není ani v mapách #onlyiniceland 🤍🇮🇸#iceland #hotwaterfall #hotwater #waterfall #traveliceland #waterfallsofinstagram #sograteful #loveit
And thus we arrive in Iceland. Here we can not fail to refer to an excellent article from the BBC Travel (Aug. 17) desk:
'Three months ago in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík, hundreds of people queued outside the city’s largest swimming pool under the blueish glow of the midnight sun. As the date ticked over from Sunday 17 May to Monday 18 May, the excited crowd counted down until, at exactly 00:01, smiling staff unlocked the doors.The festive atmosphere outside Laugardalslaug pool was repeated around the city. The reason for the excitement was that Reykjavík’s public pools were reopening after eight weeks of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic....The scenes were testament to the affection Icelanders hold for their public pools. Every Icelandic town, no matter how small, has a pool, or sundlaug. Most are outdoors, heated geothermally, include a hot tub and are open year-round, allowing Icelanders to enjoy their daily swim no matter the weather....Helgason grew up accompanying his father to the local pool daily. Now he’s working on a documentary, Swimming Pool Stories, due for release in October 2020, which examines the culture of public bathing as an important feature of everyday life. It may seem odd that visiting an outdoor pool is an ingrained part of a cold-climate country’s culture, but the pool is as much a social space as a place to exercise....Filming has taken Helgason to 100 pools around Iceland, where he got to know the many different kinds of people who frequent them. “Guests come from all walks of life,” he said, “clergymen, writers, farmers, seamen, teachers, academics, labourers, politicians and celebrities.” Functioning as a meeting place for a cross-section of society can have a levelling effect, he believes; sitting in a pool semi-naked means that “all the trappings associated with class or wealth through one’s clothing are gone. Now you are who you are. Nothing more, nothing less.”Records of public bathing in Iceland date to the 13th Century. In the west of the country, Snorralaug (Snorri’s Pool), a small circular pool used by Iceland’s most-celebrated literary figure, the saga writer Snorri Sturluson, is mentioned in Landnámabók (Book of Settlements) and Sturlunga saga. It was in the 20th Century, however, that pools became a fixture in everyday life, thanks to Iceland’s unique geology....But beyond preventing drownings, swimming was elevated in the early 20th Century for what Jónsson and Rastrick describe as its “civilising effect”. It was related to the nationalist movement, Rastrick told me, “and, most specifically, the patriotic youth movement (Ungmennafélag Íslands) that promoted swimming… as a means to develop the physique of the members of the emerging independent Icelandic nation”. The link between medieval and modern Iceland was important for the nationalist movement, he added, so this emphasis on physical improvement linked “the bodies of modern Icelandic men to the heroes of the sagas”....“Icelandic winters are long, cold and dark and our summers are not particularly warm either,” Helgason said. “This means we’re always heavily dressed, we drive between locations and there’s little opportunity for leisurely downtown strolls or public socialising outdoors. All of this makes for a nation that is reserved by nature. However, once we’ve stripped off those layers of clothing and entered the hot tub, we become chatty extroverts.”That the pool fosters health in mind and body, as well a sense of equality, might be key to why Iceland regularly ranks as one of the world’s happiest countries. In his research, Jónsson asked people how they felt after visiting a pool. Almost all responded that they felt “revitalised”, in both body and soul. He added, however, that “there is very little exotic here, only a quest for comfort [that’s] affordable for everyone”....The pool may be an essential feature of the local community, but visitors are always welcome as long as they respect etiquette. Little chlorine is used in order to maintain the purity of the water, so one of the most important rules is to first thoroughly wash, without a swimsuit, in the communal changing room. The lack of privacy can make foreign visitors uncomfortable, but it’s perhaps another example of the breaking down of barriers that the pool facilitates.Many also talk of the positive effect of seeing “real” bodies in their imperfect flesh – a sentiment I recognise. When I lived in Iceland in the mid-2000s, unable to sleep in the bright summer light, I developed an early morning ritual of visiting the local pool. Surrounded by women of all ages and shapes, I felt the insecurities that come with being a young woman washed away in the communal shower'.
It's always hart warming to see that swimming and soaking traditions often reflect on societal standings: happiness indeed.
There's also a short 5 minute video (Jul. 23) from BBC which precedes the above but basically notes the same: Iceland's happiness is intrinsically entwined with it's bathing traditions whereby hot springs and geothermality are either directly or indirectly involved.
Skinny dipping in Víti
More on the significance. Grapevine.is (Jul. 23) reported:
'Back in June, the government paid out about 205 million ISK to support domestic travel in Iceland, in light of the effects of the current Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism industry....In the recreation category, baths and pools have proven their popularity in Iceland again. According to a report by Kjarninn, the Blue Lagoon has received travel vouchers worth 8 million ISK and Vök Baths in East Iceland 4 million ISK. Other baths in the country, like the sea bath in Húsavík, the Jarðbað (earth bath) by Lake Mývatn or the beer bath in Árskógssandur have likewise made a few million Icelandic króna through the travel vouchers.In total, travelers have used 21 million ISK in vouchers to bathe in these places. With each voucher being worth 5,000 ISK, that would add up to 4,200 bathing trips'.
That's more than 10% of the vouchers has been spent on soaking!
Troll.is (Aug. 25) has a list in a touristy article on Iceland's soaks:
'ConclusionThere’s no question about it, one of the best things to do in Iceland is taking the opportunity to bathe in a natural geothermally heated hot spring. And, though I’ve given you my personal top seven hot springs in Iceland, you’ll form your own opinion as you explore some of these locations for yourself'.
Seekingoursomeday (Aug. 22) has a primer on Landbrotalaug hot spring:
'Because the Landbrotalaug Hot Springs are hidden and more difficult to find, it meant we had the entire place to ourselves and they ended up being our favorite hot pots of our entire trip around Iceland! And spoiler the Landbrotalaug Hot Springs is actually TWO hot springs!
#hotpoticeland #iceland #nature #travel #guidetoiceland #icelandphotography #exploringiceland #hotpot #bath #naturebathing #inthemiddleofnowhere #roadtripiceland #icelandicsummer #lostiniceland🇮🇸 #water #hotandcold #naturalhotsprings #outdoorphotography #landbrotalaug #landbrotalaughotspring #wheniniceland #wheniniceland🇮🇸 #nordictravel #woolcap #visualsoficeland #alliceland #lostiniceland #mywildlands
Sisters
Via my listings I received another Italian tip (thank you Haga): Sasso Pisano. Haga commented:
'In Sasso Pisano, Tuscany, 100 meters from the Etruscan excavations, high up on a ridge there is a natural hot pool at 48c...hidden within bushes..fabulous'
I looked up this on internet a nice descriptive blog entry from irintronauti (May 13, 2017). Translated:
'The thermal baths of Sasso Pisano are perhaps among the least known free thermal baths in Tuscany. Definitely less spectacular than their bigger sisters like Bagni San Filippo and Saturnia, their charm lies in their intimate and rural character....In Sasso Pisano, a small village in the Maremma Pisana in the Municipality of Montecatini Val di Cecina, surrounded by splendid hills in all seasons, you can bathe in the warm and healthy thermal waters in two places: the two natural pools on the small river, nearby of the remains of the Etruscan and Roman baths and near the Wash-houses of the Cemetery , one of which is splendid, recently restored (water at 36 °)'.
Following is a photo which I have been holding onto for quite some time. Which, I now realize, is Sasso Pisano.
qUaNdo RiSpettiAMO... La NatuRa ...NaScoNo poSti MagiCi 🌈✨🖤🍃tuRbaNte >>> @hell.v.yra <<<•••••#termenaturali#acquacalda#freddofuori#girlgonewild#selvaggia#gipsy#nude#inkedgirls#tattogirls#water#hellvyra#travel#nature#love
Irintronauti also has an overview of other free Tuscan termi's; seven in all.
Slightly to the north of here, Thinkgeoenergy (Sep. 9) reports on another development, not necessarily for the good?
'With a resolution in August 2020, the regional council expressed a positive judgment of the environmental compatibility for a planned geothermal power project near the village of Montecastelli Pisano in Tuscany, Italy.The planned construction of the Qualtra geothermal power plant has a planned net power generation capacity of 10 MW and is a development project by Magma Energy Italia....The project has seen some local opposition with a feat on the impact on archeological features, fine arts and the landscape in the region.The plant is planned to extract fluids and re-inject after usage without an emission. The planned well field will be consisting of six wells drilled from a single location, of which four wells are planned for production of geothermal fluids up to a depth of about 3,500 meters and two wells for re-injection of the extracted fluids. The project also includes the construction of an electrical substation'.
After a hectic day yesterday we decided to head inland to explore more of rural Italy (and basically just to get away from people). We found these incredible sulfur springs hidden in a derelict building...perfect for some r & r. Considering we didn’t speak to a single person all day I’d say mission ‘be unsociable’ was successful!#thermalbaths #italy #hotsprings #sulfursprings #derelictplaces #detelict #r&r #itsoktobeunsocial #exploring #quietmoments #sometimesyoujustneedspace #vanlife #camperlife #camperliving #vanlifeitaly #rurallife #ruralitaly
The above is a series of pictures which I recently stumbled on. More research pointed toward the place named Suio. A recent posting (Campiflegrei; Jul. 4, 2019) on Le terme di Suio with some translated text:
'Suio, a thermal hamlet of Castelforte (LT), is located on the extreme offshoots of the Aurunci mountains, near the Garigliano river. The town is divided into two main agglomerations: Suio Paese, on the hill with the ancient medieval castle, and Forma di Suio, at the foot of the castle next to the river, where thermal sulphurous waters flow. The locality Valle di Suio, at about 200 m asl, has great naturalistic merits; bathing establishments are concentrated in Terme di Suio.From the numerous and heterogeneous springs, in a strip between the Aurunco ridge and the Garigliano river, hyperthermal waters (39-63 ° C) gush out at various sulphurous concentrations, with bicarbonate-alkaline-earthy-calcium presence; they are used for therapeutic purposes, but also for aesthetic-relaxing purposes, for baths, mud baths, inhalations, irrigations and insufflations to treat respiratory, ENT, arthrosic, skin and gynecological diseases. The waters, with varying degrees of mineral concentration, are also marketed in bottles as table water.Waters with temperatures from 0 ° to 60 ° are classified as the first in Italy and the third in Europe for the presence of iodine'.
Mylifetimetraveller (Aug. 20) heads over to the Aeolian island of Vulcano for a thermal mud experience (of sorts):
'As of the moment, it is sad to say that the Mud Baths behind the beach are close due to the pandemic, Covid19. Moreover, as of the moment, there is no announcement yet when they will be opening the Mud Baths in Vulcano.However, you may enjoy still taking a bath and get a little mud from the seashore. Just like we did'.
Finally, while on the mud, I have an entrance to drop the last photo, from northern Greece, the mudbaths of Krinides.
They say in life you have to try everything. So I had my first attempt at a thermal mud pool. The result - super soft skin and super relaxed Mariah. 👌🏻 #amazingexperience #mudbath #supersoftskin #wasexpectinganalligator #greece #krinides
