Spa weekend

Last weekend Naomi and I were afforded a romantic getaway weekend by Naomi's parents and Jenee. Naomi made all the arrangements for us to go overnight to Spa, somewhat over 2 hours by train from Brussels, including a switch in Verviers. It is the namesake town of the word spa, and also home to the world's oldest casino.

We stayed at a hotel about 2 kilometers away from the center of Spa, and up the same hill as their world-famous thermal spa. On Saturday we each had a 1-hour massage (pleasant enough, not deep) at the hotel. While one of us was getting massaged, the other hung out in the nearby pool area or sunning yard. There were signs everywhere to be quiet so as to promote everyone's relaxation and well-being. For dinner, we went down to the town center, for a very nice 3-hour dinner at Le Grand Maur (The Great Moor). After dinner we wandered around the town, which seemed very nice, then walked back to the hotel.

Sunday we had a better-than-most breakfast at the hotel, and then walked to Les Thermes de Spa, the local natural thermal spa. There was an interesting changing room and locker system where we left our bags and showered. On the main floor there was a big pool with areas with water jets. This pool was connected to another outdoor pool that was similar, but outside. The water temperature was simply tepid, very comfortable, but not hot. The water didn't have much smell and it didn't sting my eyes, which was nice, but I wondered what could be in this water to make it so special.

Upstairs were the saunas and steam rooms and baths. The saunas were an insane 80°C (175°F), but with low relative humidity (variously 10% to 30%). I didn't think this kind of temperature was compatible with human life, but it wasn't bad, as long as all you did was sit. I started out with my silver necklace on, but in the heat of the sauna it started to burn my skin, so I had to take it off. (The heat transfer from the metal to my skin was much greater than from the hot air to my skin.) I couldn't deal with the steam room—I felt like I could barely breathe the thick air, but Naomi liked it a lot. The baths came in 3 flavors: 20°C (68°F) and calm, 30°C (86°F) and bubbling, and 38°C (100°F) and calm. So there was no really hot water in the building, but the thermal spa was still a very nice experience; I don't know what health benefits there were, but it was relaxing. We paid 14€ ($19) each for 3 hours, and it was pretty reasonable. There was food and massage available, but the only thing we got beyond entrance was a towel for me (3€—$4) and a bathrobe for Naomi (7€—$9).

At the end of the 3 hours we changed and headed back to the Spa train station. The region was pretty in a general way, with green rolling hills everywhere, and quaint towns nestled in. It was a nice way and place to spend the weekend.