Read Cathedrals of the Flesh Online
Authors: Alexia Brue
Cathedrals of the Flesh (27 page)
So many baths, so little time. This public-bath guide is culled from my travels and from the travels of other bath enthusiasts.
No matter where in the world you find yourself — Milan or Moscow, Tokyo or Turkey — chances are there's a good local establishment
for a soak, a shvitz, or a steam. Hot-springs enthusiasts take note: I mention several that have public bathing facilities,
but given that there are thousands of hot springs, and public baths for that matter, I urge you to explore for yourself once
you've exhausted this primer.
Keep in mind that many baths alternate between mixed-gender, women-only, and men-only sessions. Admission fees and opening
hours frequently change, so call ahead for this kind of information. Baths as a rule are inexpensive and the ones listed here
range from ten cents to twenty dollars.
Canada
While Canada has fantastic hot springs, there aren't many public bathing establishments. This one gets a lot of press.
Miraj Hammam Spa,
1495 West 6th Avenue (at Granville), Vancouver, British Columbia, V6H 4G1. Tel: 604.733.5151.
One of the few proper hamams in North America, the Miraj offers Middle Eastern treatments and 'opulent sweating.'
England
In the late nineteenth century, the English had a love affair with what today is termed the 'Victorian-Turkish bath.' Beautiful
bathing establishments were built throughout the British Isles. If you are keen to explore Turkish baths in England and Scotland,
I urge you to visit Malcolm Shifrin's superb Web site, a loving tribute to and celebration of Turkish baths. You can find
it online at
www.victor-ianturkishbath.org
.
Thermae Spa Bath.
Hetling Pump Room, Hot Bath Street, Bath, BA1 1SJ.
General: 44.1225.33.5678. Reservations: 44.1225.33.1234.
After a twenty-five-year hiatus, visitors to Bath can once again soak, scrub, and steam in its legendary waters. This £25
million project contains five bathing buildings, including the four-story New Royal Bath, which has a rooftop pool with bubbling
airbeds, glass steam pods infused with essential oils, and treatment rooms offering a variety of international spa services.
The Porchester Centre.
Queensway, London W2 5HS.
Tel: 44.20.7.792.2919.
The ground level of this slightly tattered but good-spirited bath looks like an art deco train station where people in bathrobes
and towels sip tea and lounge on plastic recliners. The basement level offers a variety of saunas and steam rooms at different
temperatures, as well as a very chilly cold plunge.
Ironmonger Row Baths.
Ironmonger Row, London ECIV 3QN.
Tel: 44.20.7.253.4011.
The close-quartered baths in this community center boast a crowd of longtime regulars, including many artists and writers
who have immortalized the place. A laid-back vibe and very comfy relaxation area makes this a popular spot, even if it doesn't
have as many steam rooms and saunas as the Porchester Centre.
Finland
Finland is the home of the sauna (pronounced SOW-na in its native land), and you can experience all manner of sauna novelties
from the world's largest smoke sauna to a nightclub sauna.
café Tin Tin Tango.
Töölöntorinkatu 7, Helsinki. Tel: 358.9.2709.0972. A Helsinki entrepreneur thought to combine a café, art gallery, coin-operated
laundry, and sauna rental in this quirky and popular destination.
Finnish Sauna Society.
Vaskiniementie 10, FIN-00200 Helsinki. Tel: 358.9.6860.560.
www.sauna.fi
. Take bus number 20 from Erottaja (Helsinki's central Esplanade Park). The journey takes approximately fifteen minutes.
There's no better place to learn about the sauna than at the Finnish Sauna Society, which has several thousand members. Try
all five saunas — the two savusaunas (traditional smoke sauna), the two wood-burning saunas, and the space-age electric one
at their compound on the Gulf of Finland. In between sweating sessions, dash down a long jetty and hurl yourself into the
water.
J
ä
tk
ä
nk
ä
mp
ä
ll
ä
Smoke Sauna.
Katiskaniementie 8, FI-70700 Kuopio. Tel: 358.17.473.473.
www.rauhalahti.com
.
Jätkänkämpällä is reputed to be the world's largest savusauna (smoke sauna), seating up to sixty. It takes a full twenty-four
hours to fire up the sauna for the Tuesday and Friday sessions, which are open from 2 P.M. to 8 P.M. year-round. In the summer
guests can enjoy the outdoor music, restaurant, and swims in the lake. Togalike wraps are provided.
Kotiharju Sauna.
Harjutorinkatu 1, Helsinki. Tel: 358.9.753.1535. The last fully wood-fired public sauna in Helsinki. A washerwoman is available
for a pre-sauna scrub with pine soap, massages can be booked in advance, and there's a terrace for cooling off outdoors in
between sessions.
Palace Hotel.
Etelaranta 10, Helsinki 00130. Tel: 358.9.1345.6656.
www.palacehotel.fi
.
Helsinki's power brokers meet on the eleventh floor of the Palace Hotel for the ultimate in the swish sauna experience. Choose
between the wood-fired or electric sauna areas, both of which offer an outdoor terrace with breathtaking panoramic views of
the South Harbor. This sauna must be booked ahead of time and is ideal for small groups who want a customized, catered sauna
experience with refreshments and the attentions of a sauna attendant.
Saunabar.
Eerikinkatu 27, Helsinki. Tel: 358.9.586.5550.
Book your sauna in advance at this underground bar cum sauna. Groups of friends gather to detox before or after drinking and
dancing at the bar.
Saunasaari (a.k.a. 'Sauna Island').
Helsingin Saunasaari Oy, PL 105, 00160 Helsinki. Tel: 358.50.525.0393.
www.saunasaari.fi
. Waterbus m/s Leila departs from the Market Square twice daily.
A whole island devoted to the sauna? Yes, saunas and a few rustic country homes. Sauna Island is a ten-minute boat ride from
downtown Helsinki and caters mostly to large groups. The various saunas and soaking tubs are in an idyllic, beautifully landscaped
setting. On the island you can also enjoy grilled salmon, dark bread, sausage, and drinks.
Yrj
ö
nkatu.
Yrjönkatu 21-b, Helsinki. Tel: 358.9.3108.7401.
First built in 1928, this mosaic-covered swimming hall in the middle of Helsinki possesses the grandeur of a Roman bath, but
is strictly single sex. On three levels, there are two swimming pools and four saunas. Washerwomen and masseurs are available
for pre- and post-sauna treatments.
Villa Hvittrask,
Hvitträskintie 166, 02440 Luomo Bobäck.
Tel: 358.9.297.6033.
www.hvittrask.com
.
Finnish design aficionados and sauna-revelers alike will love this secluded spot about forty-five minutes from Helsinki. Designed
and built by Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren, and Eliel Saarinen, Villa Hvittrask now has a museum, restaurant, and lakeside
sauna available for private sauna parties. You must call several days ahead of time to book the sauna and gather lots of friends,
because at roughly $300 for three hours, plus $10 for each bather, it's not cheap. The sauna can hold up to fifteen people,
and food and drink from the restaurant can be served in the sauna building.
France
Paris is known for its many hamams or 'hammams,' as the word is often spelled in Europe. Here are three of the most popular.
Les Bains du Marais.
31-33, rue des Blancs Manteaux, 75004, Paris. Tel: 33.1.44.61.02.02.
www.lesbainsdumarais.com
.
I had my first public-bath experience at Les Bains du Marais, so it will always be close to my heart. This small, serene spot
in the middle of the Marais boasts an excellent Middle Eastern café and terrific gommage treatments in a room just off of
the central steam room. The peaceful
salle de repos,
with cushy divans and plentiful mint tea, completes the experience.
La Mosqu
é
e.
39, rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, Paris. Tel: 33.1.4331.3820.
This hamam is part of a larger complex that the French government built for the Arab community in 1922 to thank them for their
help in World World I. The hamam has a wonderful Felliniesque central room where bathers repose on cushions and massage tables
line the walkway. Inside there are myriad steam chambers for those who like it hot and very hot.
Hammam Pacha. 147
, rue Gabriel Péri, 93200 Saint-Denis. Tel: 33.1.48.29.19.66.
www.hammampacha.com
.
A popular spot, this hamam on the outskirts of Paris has a eucalyptus-scented steam room and a variety of other rooms for
both steaming and relaxing.
Georgia
This former Soviet republic has a long tradition of banya and miner-water bathing.
Tbilisis's Sulfur Baths.
A handful of eighteenth-century bathhouses line a square in the Old Town. These naturally fed sulfur baths are a Tbilisi institution
that inspired Alexandre Dumas to comment after a visit in 1858, "A great sense of freedom and well-being permeated me. All
my tiredness had gone and I felt strong enough to lift a mountain." Favorites include the King Irakli Baths and the Blue Baths.
Germany
Germany has a vibrant
badkultur
with everything from 'liquid sound' bath experiences to traditional hamams to the gracious continuation of nineteenth-century
spa culture. These are some of Germany's best-known baths.
Caracalla Therme.
Römerplatz 1, Baden-Baden. Tel: 49.7221.275940.
www.carasana.de
.
The atmosphere at this large complex is more water park than intimate public bath, but it's a great option if you want to
bathe as a family or if you want to keep your swimsuit on. With opportunities to swim indoors or outdoors, Caracalla also
offers lots of water stations, grottos, underwater jets, and a variety of saunas and steam rooms.
Friedrichsbad.
Römerplatz 1, 76530 Baden-Baden. Tel: 49.7221.275920.
www.carasana.de
.
This 'Roman-Irish' bath just next door to Caracalla was built in 1875 and inspired Mark Twain to say, 'Here at Baden-Baden's
Friedrichsbad you lose track of time in 10 minutes and track of the world in 20.' The Germanic approach to bathing divides
the experience into sixteen carefully regimented stations. After steaming, sweating, and getting scrubbed for a prescribed
number of minutes, male and female patrons are merged in the Romanesque pools. This being Germany and the home of Free Body
Culture,
herren
and
frauen
bathe together
au naturel.
Toskana Therme.
Bad Sulza. D—99518 Bad Sulza, WunderwaldstraBe 2a. Tel: 49.36461.91080.
www.toskana-therme.de
.
'Bathe in sound, colour and light' at Toskana Therme, where there are seven cascading saline pools, four whirlpools, myriad
saunas and steam rooms, and a variety of spa treatments.
Thermen am Europa-Center.
Nürnberger Str. 7, Berlin. Tel: 49.40.25760.
This rooftop complex has five Finnish saunas, three steam rooms a swimming pool, outdoor sunbathing terrace and restaurant.
Aside from the restaurant, in which one must wear a robe, this is an FKK (free body culture) bath, so no need to pack a swimsuit,
and remember, it's also mixed gender.
Sultan Hamam.
Bülowstr. 57, 10783 Tempelhof-Schoneberg, Berlin. Tel: 49.30.2175.3375.
This mixed-gender bath is Germany's largest Turkish bath, with over 10,000 square feet of marbled interiors. In addition to
the steam rooms, there are also eight pools and traditional Turkish massagte and exfoliation treatments.
Hungary
Bathing has been a popular pastime in Budapest ever since the Romans arrived in 100 A.D. and christened the area Aquincum,
from the Latin
aqua quinque,
or 'five waters.' The Turks arrived in the sixteenth century and built domed hamam-style buildings for palatial soaking. Hungarians
today continue to take advantage of the city's abundant thermal waters at the beautiful, if slightly run-down, Ottoman and
art nouveau bathing establishments.
The Gell
é
rt Baths.
2-4 Kelenhegyi ut, District XI, Budapest. Tel: 36.1.466.6166.
The most famous and spectacular of Budapest's many baths, the Gellért opened in 1918 as part of the Hotel Gellért. Swimming
pools, including the one featured on the cover of this book, are mixed gender, while the thermal pools are separate. With
a wave pool and sundecks outside, as well as mosaic thermal baths and hearty mineral oil massages available inside, you can
easily make a day of it at the Gellért.
Kir
á
ly Baths.
82-84 Föutca, District II, Budapest. Tel: 36.1.202.3688. Built by the Turks in the sixteenth century, Király is arguably Budapest's
most architecturally important bath.
Rudas Baths.
9 Döbrentei tér, District 1, Budapest. Tel: 36.1.358.1322. This bathhouse dates back to the Turkish occupation in the sixteenth
century. The thermal baths are for men only, but the lovely neoclassical pool is mixed gender and in recent years has hosted
some legendary Cinetrip parties where silent cinema, music, dancing, and splashing around meet poolside at these all-night
parties.
Sz
é
chenyi Baths.
11 Állatkerti körut, District XIV, Budapest. Tel: 36.1.321.0310.
Second only to the Gellért in popularity, the Széchenyi Baths in Budapest's City Park are simply massive. The huge outdoor
bathing complex, where old men concentrate on chess and young families whiz around a pool with centrifugal force, recalls
Roman times in its size and grandeur. Inside there are separate-gender Turkish-style steam facilities and thermal pools.
Iceland
Iceland, with its volcanic landscape offering an abundance of thermal water, is a bather's Elysian Fields, albeit in lava.
Between the Blue Lagoon and Reykavik's hot pots, there's enough to keep a soaking aficionado occupied for weeks. Also, in
the summertime, you can take excursions further afield to Mytvan and other more remote pools in the northern countryside.