We went to the Boeblingen Mineraltherme Bad today. Originally intending to stay until about 11ish, we ended up leaving after 1 p.m. It was wonderful and relaxing, with perfect weather this morning giving us plenty of sunshine.
Their website’s worth checking out at http://www.mineraltherme-boeblingen.de/
As you look at the picture on the front page of the website, the entrance is down front and the pool area is above it. Down to the lower right is the sauna area.
Normal entry fee is Eur 9.50, with an optional 3.50 for the extended sauna area. For the 9.50, you get 3.5 hours access to all of the pools and the classes in the pool area. Today they offered a few classes and a sound-therapy session while we were there.
Everything is fabulously clean and orderly. Upon entry, you get a wrist bad with a chip on it. It records your entry fee, and allows you to add supplemental activities that cost extra. Even the lockers use the chips for locking the doors.
Pool temperature varies by pool, often ranging near body temperature. There are cool water pools and a Kneipp installation if you’re into that sort of thing. After an hour of bathing in the various warm pools, I took the plunge into one of the cold baths. My skin was tingly all over afterwards, and my little screeches entertained the people nearby who were smart enough to be in the warm pool instead.
After a while, we decided to try out the sauna. That’s a much nicer area when it comes to seating and garden facilities, since the first area is about the water more than the sauna. There’s a central restaurant/cafe that serves both spaces. They serve fresh juices and coffee, beer, and food, just like any cafe. I drank a fresh juice blend that had strawberries, peach and orange juice in it. We put our drinks onto our chip and paid for them as we left.
The sauna has a thorough selection of sauna rooms dotted across the landscape. We enjoyed one that had a pine scent as well as the Panorama sauna, where all seats face the pool area, and that wall of the sauna is glass, so there’s always someone walking by. In all their naked glory.
That’s one of the best things about the sauna – clothing is not allowed. It’s quite allowed to use robes and towels placed strategically, and towels are required for any time you want to sit. Take a large beach or sauna towel, because you are also supposed to put your feet on your towel while in the sauna.
Nudity is not a big deal here. First of all, essentially everyone is older, and today there were relatively few kids (price helps keep kids away, I imagine). But far and away, most people were walking around with their towels thrown over their shoulders. Occasionally I saw someone with a robe on, but mostly people didn’t bother. Bring your own robe if you want to use one.
We ended up staying our full time, and will consider purchasing a day ticket next time. Then we’ll bring a book and some sunglasses, and really enjoy the atmosphere.
Bella Stuttgart 