찜질방 meets Römisch-Irische: recreating the Friedrichsbad at Olympus Spa
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Published: December 23rd 2015
One of the best places on the planet is the
Friedrichsbad, a true pleasure palace in the spa town of Baden-Baden, Germany. In the 3rd-century, the
Soldatenbäder(Soldier's Baths) and the Roman village of Aquae Aureliae were located here. Their ruins were rediscovered in 1846, and the neo-Renaissance "historic bathing temple" was constructed at the mineral springs in 1877.
I'm fortunate to have extended family nearby, so I've been able to make two pilgrimages (
Wallowing in luxury in 2005, and I'd swear I came back in 2008 but apparently didn't blog it). You can read about the experience at the
New York Times or on
Rick Steves' site, or get a true picture of American naked awkwardness by checking out
">Rick's original Baden-Baden TV episode on YouTube (Friedrichsbad starts around the 9:00 mark; watch for the famed Teutonic spank at 10:54).
If you're an American, especially on the west coast, it isn't practical to pop over to central Europe every time you need a relaxing spa day, and we just don't have healthful neo-Renaissance Roman ruins around these parts. But we do have a surprisingly similar option: 찜질방
jjimjilbang, the traditional Korean bathhouse and spa. Seattle boasts a few of these urban oases: the women-only
Olympus Spa and
Olympus Spa Tacoma; and the co-ed
Bella Luna Spa in Lynnwood and
Palace Spa in Federal Way.
I've visited Olympus Spa a few times and hosted my birthday party there once with several of my closest naked friends. 😊 But there's a challenge. Friedrichsbad is a pure, orderly, regimented, disciplined, German experience, with 17 Stages to Well-Being precisely sequenced and timed, directive signage throughout the facility, and kindly German proctors, to ensure that all visitors follow the carefully-designed programme and achieve complete wellness and relaxation with maximum German efficiency. I find it comforting. At Olympus Spa, I feel a little lost. There are more and slightly different offerings, and my entry fee is valid for the entire day, and while I
could do everything I have no idea what I
should do.
It occurred to me that a
jjimjilbang is similar enough to the Friedrichsbad that it's possible to design a programme fairly similar to those reassuring 17 Stages. Your German-Korean fusion experience is here!
Entry and logistics
Friedrichsbad: 25€/$27 for 3 hours, 37€/$40 for 3.5 hours with soap scrub, 49€/$53 for 4 hours with soap scrub and cream massage. All nude. Keyed locker provided. All areas are gender-separated on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Co-ed areas noted below are mixed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays, public holidays, and February 14. Spa restaurant on site.
Olympus: 41€/$38 all-day pass, half-price entry on your birthday, additional services priced as noted below. Women-only. Nude pool and sauna areas; robes provided for lounge and dry rooms. Keyed locker and numbered cubbies provided. Closed Sundays and holidays. Many additional optional skin care, nail care, massage, and waxing services. Korean tea room and restaurant on site.
Stage 1: Shower
Friedrichsbad: Thermal mineral spring water, rainfall-style, 3 minutes.
Olympus: Choice of standard western standing showers or traditional Korean/Japanese squat/sit hand shower stations or pour-over baths. Lavender, citrus, or green tea shampoo, conditioner, and body wash provided.
Stage 2: Warm-air bath
Friedrichsbad: 54°C/129°F, 15 minutes.
Olympus: The cooler earth energy rooms.
Friedrichsbad: 68°C/154°F, 5 minutes.
Olympus: The hotter earth energy rooms or the herbal dry sauna.
Friedrichsbad: Thermal mineral spring water, rainfall-style, 1 minute.
Olympus: Shower rinse, then pour-over from mugwort well.
Friedrichsbad: 12€/$13 for about 10 minutes, includes famed Teutonic spank.
Olympus: 67€/$73 for 40 minutes or 85€/$93 for 55 minutes.
Olympus recommends at least 40 minutes' soak in the hot pools (36°C/97°F and 40°C/104°F) before the body scrub service, and normally schedules the body scrub/body moisturize/body wrap/massage services together as one continuous treatment. You can't go back into the pools after the body moisturize service. Best equivalent at Olympus is to skip Stage 5, then do the body scrub service as Stage 14.
Friedrichsbad: Thermal mineral spring water, rainfall-style, 1 minute.
Olympus: Shower rinse, then pour-over from mugwort well.
Friedrichsbad: Hot mineral steam room, lower seating area, 10 minutes.
Olympus: Steam sauna, lower seating area.
Friedrichsbad: Hotter mineral steam room, upper seating area, 5 minutes.
Olympus: Steam sauna, upper seating area.
Stage 8.5: Shower
Friedrichsbad: Thermal mineral spring water, rainfall-style, time not specified.
Olympus: Shower rinse, then pour-over from mugwort well.
Friedrichsbad: Co-ed area. 36°C/97°F, large still water pool, 10 minutes.
Olympus: 40°C/104°F whirlpool. Sadly, Olympus has only jetted tubs, no still water for floating.
Friedrichsbad: Co-ed area. 34°C/93°F, 15 minutes.
Olympus: 36°C/97°F whirlpool.
Friedrichsbad: Co-ed area. 28°C/82°F, huge circular still water pool under a 17m/56' skylit dome, 5 minutes.
Olympus: 32°C/90°F whirlpool. Sadly, Olympus doesn't have a large swimming pool or a skylit neo-Renaissance dome.
Friedrichsbad: Thermal mineral spring water, rainfall-style, 3 minutes.
Olympus: Shower rinse.
Friedrichsbad: 18°C/64°F,
Olympus: 16°C/60°F waterfall pool.
Friedrichsbad: Hand-wrapped and dried by spa attendants using huge heated linen towels, 4 minutes.
Olympus: Sadly, you have to dry yourself off.
If you're getting the Olympus body scrub service, this is the best time to do it. See notes above in Stage 5.
Friedrichsbad: Choice of various fragrances, 8 minutes.
Olympus: Choice of lavender, citrus, or green tea lotions in the vanity area.
Friedrichsbad: 12€/$13, time not specified.
Olympus: 72€/$78 for Korean body moisturizing with cucumber facial treatment (additional 5€/$5 for mung bean or 7€/$8 for red ginger), 50 minutes.
Friedrichsbad: Full-body wrap in a heated blanket on a cushy bed, 30 minutes.
Olympus: Robed earth energy rooms offering various elements at various temperatures, and infrared, and a cold room.
Friedrichsbad: Comfortable recliners, beautiful views, 30 minutes.
Olympus: Robed reading lounge.
Conclusion
We love to conclude an Olympus spa day with hot stone bowl 비빔밥
bibimbap in their restaurant. I haven't tried the Friedrichsbad spa restaurant, because the (world's-smallest-violin) downside to staying with family nearby is that there's always something else to rush off and do when the spa visit is finished!
Did you enjoy your German-Korean fusion spa experience? Let me know your suggested improvements in the comments!
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