On his recent trip to Carinthia Austria, Mark Bibby Jackson temporarily forgoes the Christmas markets for a healthy dose of total self-indulgence at the Badehaus am Millstätter See.
There are some 1,000 or so lakes in Carinthia, the state to the south of Austria close to the Italian and Slovenian border. It is my destiny to stare at one of them for the next couple of hours. For the Badehaus am Millstätter See is right on the banks of lake Millstätter. So close that should it be mid-summer rather than the start of summer – the ski season is about to open – I might well be relaxing in the lake itself rather than the heated outdoor infinity swimming pool on its banks.
With the snow-topped mountains in the distance – Carinthia is also noted for having in the 3,798-metre Großglockner the highest peak in Austria – and swans gracefully gliding on the surface of the lake, this is as close to Heaven as any atheist like myself is ever likely to reach. It is a transcendental beautiful moment.
Frankly, I could have willingly lazed here for a couple of hours until time for lunch, and pretend to enter into a profound meditative state, but I am nothing but professional in my research, so I decided to pop inside and visit the saunas.
Fabric Free Spa
Perhaps the first thing to note is the Badehaus am Millstätter See is a fabric-free spa. This is something that I am perfectly comfortable with, having earlier this year spent an afternoon at the Vabali Spa in Berlin. There the absence of clothes – and phones – was taken absolutely, here there seems to be a more laissez faire attitude to naturalism. Nobody said anything as we bathed in our bathing costumes, although our group was the only one to wear any clothes.
The saunas have a stricter non dress wear policy. One of our group was reprimanded for wearing his bathers, while I preserved my dignity while wrapping a towel around me.
The spa has a range of saunas ranging from the mildly discomforting to the absolutely unbearable in terms of their heat. There was also a Turkish sauna which had several herbal sessions. Naturally, I chose the one with a view of the lake although the 90’ sign should have forewarned me of what was to come.
An Extremely Quick Dip in the Millstätter See
After a quarter of an hour, I was perfectly baked and removed myself from the oven in order to rest. For some reason I was then struck by a fit of madness and decided to have a quick dip – bathers on – in the lake. Apparently, the water was 7C – almost balmy when compared to the almost ice-cold waters of the harbour in Tallinn I experienced the previous winter. But my toes were just not having it. So, I scampered out of the waters as quickly as I could while one of our group ‘Iceman’ Tom relaxed in the waters wondering what all the fuss was about.
Apart from my transcendental float in the swimming pool, the highlight of the visit was the steam room, where I rubbed my skin with salt from one of the small tubs provided. I do not think I ever really knew the meaning of the word exfoliation – nor of transcendental meditation for that matter – previously, but my skin felt amazing after my salt rub.
Lunch at the Café-Restaurant L’Onda
First my roasting, then apply salt for seasoning before finally lunch – was I in some cannibalistic ritual?
Fortunately as I went upstairs to the spa restaurant, where it is compulsory to wear a robe at least, I discovered that a local brown trout, which had presumably until recently been swimming in the same lake as I had dipped my toes – was on the menu rather than myself. It tasted quite wonderful, which is hardly surprising as the lake’s water is so clean you can drink it. Not that I did, opting for a local beer instead. Ying and Yang.
Bathhouse Millstätter See
For more details of the Badehaus am Millstätter See, go to their website. There you will find details of all the facilities as well as the list and prices of treatments including massage and reflexology. A day ticket costs €38.
