Germany's Best Sauna is Too Cool to Be Hot

Imagine experiencing a warm tropical rain in a jungle-themed sauna... listening to underwater music in a true-to-life Roman villa... taking a citrus or rose sauna, and then relaxing in a sauna garden.

Sound like heaven? Not at all. It's all at the Therme Erding in Erding, Germany. Voted Germany's best sauna and spa, Therme Erding Wellness Center has 25 themed saunas, massage centers, hot tubs, and gardens. Besides the Roman, Finnish, and tropical saunas, there are also two Bavarian saunas, a Swiss stone pine sauna, and an Icelandic geyser sauna.

As if saunas weren't hot enough already, the Finnish log cabin sauna at this famous German spa has a fireplace (go figure - those Fins must be cold-blooded). Sauna temperatures range from a warm and comfortable 95˚ to the sweat lodge-like 212˚. Note to Americans: the sauna area in Therme Erding is a nude area. Guests wear towels or robes to and from saunas. Hey, this is Europe, after all. Maybe we are just behind the times when it comes to sauna etiquette. After a hot sauna, shower and jump into a cool pool.

Therme Erding has two pools, a brine grotto for respiratory disorders, salt baths, and an oxygen garden (in case all the nudity leaves you light-headed). The outdoor thermal pool, surrounded by palm trees and a natural lake invites visitors to swim and relax in turquoise mineral waters. The indoor pool has a huge dome that can be opened in the summer. This famous German spa is more aptly called a mega-spa.

If a sauna doesn't do it for you, get a massage (regular or water jet), float on a bubble meditation bed, or meditate under real mango and papaya trees at this, Germany's largest spa. You can also float down a slow-moving river at Therme Erding or take a shower where 15 ft. calla lilies spout 80 gallons of water per second.

After a swim or sauna, have a drink in a palm tree garden at Therme Erding or lounge on a sunny beach chair sitting on white sands. Hungry? There is a snack bar and restaurant in this German spa... serving German beer, no doubt. All the better for relaxing.

The big surprise is that this German spa can be a fun family experience. Galaxy Erding is Europe's biggest water park and is accessible from the spa area through a "space channel". Twelve fast rides (the fastest propels you along at 30 mph) and many slower rides make this water park suitable for all ages. Therme Erding is home to the longest indoor slide in Europe. It first shoots you up 100 ft. to the Space Glider, then plunges you down 400 ft. for an exciting ride you will never forget. At nighttime, the Galaxy Erding and Therme Erding can become quite the party scene.

The town of Erding, Germany is located in Bavaria, Germany, just 28 miles northeast of Munich and close to the Munich airport. It is famous for its Erdinger brewery, the world's largest wheat brewery. A visit to Germany just seems incomplete without a tour of a brewery, so take the tour.

Lodging available in Erding includes four 4-star hotels, the Best Western Hotel München Airport, the Hotel Kastanienhof, the Hotel Henry, and the Hotel Am Schlossberg. All have restaurants, bars, and Internet access. Hotel Henry has themed rooms that feature a variety of countries and famous cities. Just a half hour by train to Munich, Erding is an historical town that will be sure to delight and please all of your senses when you relax and have some fun at Germany's most famous spa, the Therme Erding.

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