August 2003 - Nr. 8
BE WELL IN GERMANY
Spa Towns Offer Packages for Beauty, Fitness, Health
and Relaxation
in new GNTO Wellness Brochure
Toronto – Ever since the Romans discovered the healing waters of German spas, the word has spread about the country’s many mineral springs, thermal baths, high-altitude climatic resorts and towns which make it their specialty to look after you. Germany’s hundreds of traditional spa towns have come of age in recent years and added the most modern spa and beauty facilities. In many cases they have also built highly sophisticated pool and water fun and fitness centres – perfect places to visit for a few days after a strenuous business trip or an exhausting sightseeing tour, however enjoyable and enlightening.
Take the spa town of Bad Saarow, about 70km southeast of Berlin. Located in the lake district fed by the rivers Spree and Oder, on the shores of lake Scharmützel, Bad Saarow is the region’s foremost thermal salt water spa, where unspoiled nature meets the latest in health and wellness. At its modern thermal pool and health centre, SaarowTherme, guests have plenty of time to unwind in the velvety 34ºC to 36ºC waters of the pool, in aromatic beauty baths, in the sauna, with healthful mud packs or gentle Rasul steam and sponge treatments -- not to mention the fitness options.
At the Art Nouveau villa-style Hotel Azur, a 5-night/6-day package costs approximately $800 per person, double occupancy, including Germany’s famous breakfast buffet, with its full range of cereals, breads and Danishes, hot dishes, cold cuts, cheeses, fruit and muesli. Quite often there’s even some bubbly to start you out on the right note. Also included in this package are six days admission to the SaarowTherme, a full-body massage, vitality and beauty baths, Rasul baths and sand & light baths, Turkish and reflexology massages as well as hay packs. And as usual in Germany, all taxes and service charges are included.
Travelling via Frankfurt? Try a couple of nights in Bad Homburg, just 20 minutes northwest of that city in the rolling hills of the Taunus. Bad Homburg’s international reputation as a high-calibre spa began in the early 19th century, with the discovery of the healing powers of its natural springs. Emperors and kings from all corners of the world mingled here with European nobility, referring to the gentle breezes grazing the hills as Bad Homburg’s ‘champagne air’. A locally made men’s hat even got transformed into correct diplomatic wear – the Homburg, as it’s still called.
A romantic old-town core, the commanding Landgrafen castle and expansive, well- groomed parks and gardens make for Bad Homburg’s particular charm. It’s also home to Germany’s oldest public golf course and the first modern tennis court on the Continent. A two-night package at the Parkhotel starts at $210 per person, double occupancy, for mid-week bookings, again including a luxurious gourmet breakfast on both mornings and a total of six hours of pampering – Roman steam bath, aroma therapy bath, sand & light bath, hay or herbal steam bath, Wave Dreams – whatever your aching muscles desire. Again, taxes and services charges are included in the price, though the town adds a spa tax of a few dollars per day, varying slightly depending on the season.
The GNTO’s recently re-issued 54-page, full-colour brochure, Welcome to Wellbeing – German Spas and Health Resorts Offers, describes a total of 40 spa packages similar to the two above. It also includes a section explaining the different types of spas available in Germany, a short wellness glossary and generally useful travel information on Germany.
For free copies of Welcome to Wellbeing – German Spas and Health Resorts Offers and for general information on Germany, please contact the German National Tourist Office’s toll-free number 1-877-315-6237, send an e-mail to
gntony@aol.com or visit GNTO’s Web sites: www.germany-tourism.de and www.visits-to-germany.com.
