Vals Therme

October 31 - November 1

Happy Halloween! Although they do seem to celebrate Halloween in Europe, we certainly did nothing of the sort. We drove "straight" across the Swiss Alps in our hatch-back Alpha Romeo (okay, Scott drove through the winding Alps - us girls were mere assistants on the trip, with Nicole as the trusty navigator), which turned out to be a great decision. We were able to take our time, and experience the spectacular mountain scenery around us. We took a few mountain passes which close in November, in fact it was starting to snow a bit when we were up there - just in time!

We finally made it to Vals Therme in the afternoon. Vals is a small mountain town in Switzerland which holds a famous natural springs bath house by the architect, Peter Zumthor (one of my favorites). This is what the exterior looks like, followed by some interior shots of the lobby & dining room.

It was more amazing then I had even imagined - not only for the architecture, but for the experience of the baths. We spent all afternoon bathing our cares away in the hot baths, cool baths, flower baths, indoor baths, (and my personal favorite) the outdoor bath which had a stupendous view of the snow-capped mountains. Nicole and I shared a beautiful room overlooking the same mountains, and we even got big fluffy robes and slippers to walk to the baths. Ta da!

At night, we had hotel-guests-only access to the baths, for bathing in complete silence - it was an experience of utter serenity and relaxation. I slept so well that night, in the Swiss down-comforter wrap. Nicole and I woke up early the next morning to the sound of sheep's bells, and a frosty view of the mountains, followed by a sauna & soak before breakfast. (And oh what a breakfast it was - food galore, and a great selection of tea!)
This was the perfect place to relax in the middle of our trip and soak our cares away! No more sinus headaches, or feet and back aches. We didn't want to leave - I will certainly be going back again someday! I did not include interior pictures of the baths, well for obvious reasons (wet and camera do not mix), but there are some fantastic images on the Vals Therme spa website. We bid adieu to this warm cozy place for our last stop of Basel, Switzerland.