Le Grand camping trip TEIL DREI- The Palais Thermal Luxury spa...

Hello there!!! I left you at the end of my last post in the rain as I finished some delicious trout.  It was raining as expected and we headed off to the Bad Wildbad Palais Thermal . This is a luxury Turkish spa.  In England, going to a luxury spa or even a quite basic spa can set you back over £50 if not more.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read the Spa guide that said it cost 19 euros for 3 hours and 2Euros for every subsequent hour you were there.

19 euros!?!???

When we arrived, we were given these electronic wristbands that were timetracked and they cleverly were your way of locking your locker with your clothes.

We went into the changing rooms which were beautifully clean, spacious and well thought out.

We were a little nervous as we weren't sure if you had to NOT wear swimwear or not. We were clad in our swimming costumes and trunks respectively.  It transpired that either nakedness or swimming costumes were acceptable as we saw (You know when I say 'saw' I mean out of the corner of my eye- I did not want to be looking at any more sausages ...) 

We walked out of the changing rooms into the main spa area which began with a long corridor with beautiful, tiled floors in wonderful bright colours.

The thing that struck me most about this spa was the sheer size and scale of it. It was HUGE. Chamber leading into chamber, pool leading into smaller rooms with more pools.

It was so beautiful and opulent.  There were so many different rooms and pools that you could have an area all to yourself.

 This was the first room we entered. There is a chamber before this.  These photos were taken at about 8pm so the light was terrible by then and I had to be quick as I didn't want anyone to see me taking the photos as a camera in a sometimes-naked spa is not good form*!!!  The colours were beautiful and the light streaming through the stained glass, even on a dull rainy day was exquisite.

 We found this main pool next.  It was deliciously warm, 34degrees and we enjoyed the jets around the side of the pool.  There were about 4 people in there at first apart from us 3 but soon we had it all to ourself.    Through those little doorways you can see were the museum parts of the spa showing the history of what it would have been like in the past. I couldn't seem to get a good photo of the ceilings or stained glass in here but it was wonderful.

Nearby to this was a whole section of showers where you could start and finish your experience.

 There were endless tiny jacuzzi-spa pools in little rooms-some were hotter than others, some had more jets than other.  We were really lucky because it was the end of the German Bank Holiday so there were very few people there. If you look at the top right picture of the map, you can see all the different little pools and tubs there.

On that ground floor, there was also an amazing room which was full of recliners and tables if you wanted to sit and eat- it was tiled all over and full of wonderful light. It led from the bar where you could order food or drinks0 there were tubs and chambers coming off it.

 This is the only ceiling shot I managed to get.  We decided to head to the next floor where all the treatment rooms are and then there were all masses of different saunas and steamrooms. Some of them had signs which I translated as saying "No clothes allowed in these,"
We went into the Meditation sauna which was 75 degrees and vast and noise was strictly forbidden!. There was no one in there. I found it really peaceful and lay in there for 10 minutes with my eyes shut. If you look at the bottom right of the floor plan, you will see that floor. It also housed the Blue pool which was hexagon-shaped. It was rather dark in there with only a gentle blue light shining from within the pool itself.  I was in it alone on one or two occasions and it was utterly serene- I swam from one end to another with my eyes shut, basking in the sensation of swimming in very warm water in the semi-dark with no noise! I floated on my back for a long-while and dreamed...

 After the sauna, we headed up to the top floor, missing out the 3rd floor and headed up to the roof-terrace.  This was very cleverly done. It had a bar inside and a sauna with the outside bit surrounded by sun loungers.  But half of the pool was covered in a pagoda with the rest exposed to the elements.  This was possibly our favourite part.  The pool was blissfully warm but because it was a cold rainy day, you had the delicious sensation of cool gentle raindrops falling on your head.  The pool had a sort of seat inside the pool round one side where jets of water flew out at certain times. There was a bit where you could climb onto and lie back onto the streams of bubbles.  We spent a good 45 minutes in that section and I could have stayed much longer.

After that, I seemed to lose CBC and WTWTTG for a while, they went into a steam room apparently but I couldn't find them- so that's when I had that long float in the blue pool.Annoyingly, I then spent 15 minutes searching the whole complex to find them.  At this point, CBC had apparently gone into a steamroom (which was empty) and he was lying there when one of the staff (who presumably come round to check there is no hanky-panky going on and check the rules were adherred to) told him and indicated (since he doesn't speak German) that he was not supposed to wear swimming trunks so he nobly removed them as did WKWTTG who came in later!

 I finally found WKWTTG in the bar and he said that CBC was in the elusive 38degrees pool which we had been searching for before as it was hotter than the others. I got lost in the labyrinth of chambers on that floor and STILL hadn't found him after 10 minutes and then WKTTG had disappeared!!!

Finally I found it. It was hard to find because you could enter it from two very narrow entrances which conceal most of the pool. I therefore missed it because I had thought it was a tiny pool!!!
It was bliss to be in that hot water. We stayed a while in there.

We also enjoyed a cool drink at the bar. They take your wristband and add the charge to that so you don't have to carry any money.

 Reluctantly, we realised that we must leave in order to ensure we didn't end up eating sausage salad again. It was amazing and the 19 euros I paid was well worth it and more! If you are ever in the Black Forest region of Germany, hunt it down! You will not regret it.

If we went back again, I would have hired a towel and/or robe) which I didn't know you could do as I was then stuck with a wet towel that didn't dry out due to the heinous weather.

In Bad Wildbad, we struck gold finding a restaurant just up the road that had a VEGETARIAN page AND some vegan in the menu. It was also very reasonable with dishes costing 11Euros for a main dish and salad.

 I ordered a Heisse Schokolade which came in this form!!! A wonderful cup of hot milk and cream with a HUGE bowl of chocolate chips you added yourself. It was scrumptious!

My dish was Nudeln with vegetables in a cream sauce which was basically Tagliatelli with creamy sauce and every day vegetables.  The salad it came wiht was tasty and actually had salad in it.

For dessert, CBC ordered a Black Forest Cherry ice-cream Sundae which he thoroughly enjoyed but said was quite boozy with the Kirsch in it!! WKWTTG ordered a peanutcaramel sundae which I sampled which was also delicious! I was too full for my own one!

At long last, thoroughly relaxed and full of delicious food, we headed back in the pouring rain to the car where we drove back to our now deserted campsite for a full night of constant rain on the tent!

Stayed tuned for the next day where we saw Cuckoo clocks galore, red squirrels and Germany's highest waterfall!

xxx
*I took the spa photos at the end of our visit as CBC and brother were getting changed as I couldn't bear the thought of not having any photos of it!!! I hid my camera under my towel and just peeped into the few rooms I took pictures of of the ground floor where there weren't any people. I'd have loved to photograph the blue pool and the roof terrace but sadly couldn't...