A Dream of Bathing in Switzerland

The picture in our heads

Somewhere in the back of this whole project is a daydream, and we may as well admit to it. It is a thermal bath high in the Swiss mountains. Steam lifting off the water into cold, thin air. Stone underfoot. Snow on the peaks above and nothing much to do for the rest of the day.

We have not been. That is rather the point of a dream.

Why there

The Swiss have a way with this. Bathhouses set into the landscape, built from local stone, treating the water and the view as the whole event rather than an add-on to a hotel. Vals, Leukerbad, Bad Ragaz: names we say to each other the way other people talk about beaches. Warm mineral water, alpine cold, and the discipline to keep it simple.

It is the opposite of a resort that happens to have a pool. The bathing is the reason you came.

Closer to home

Until we make it there, we have plenty to be going on with. Australia has its own thermal springs and its own cold, clear water, and part of the joy of building this directory is finding them. The Swiss dream is the north star. The venues down the road are the ones we get to write about today.

One day, though. Steam, cold air, mountains. We are keeping the receipt.