When it comes to wellness, the Swiss are anything but neutral.
By Debra Bokur
For as far as I can see, the peaks of the Alps shape the horizon, daunting in their majesty. Lake Lucerne unfolds below me, a sparkling mirror filled with snowy summits and cloudless sky. As I wrap my scarf more snugly around my face and stand gazing out over the icy water, a couple passes me, the woman’s arms filled with a soft blanket, and the man’s with a basket and a bottle of wine. They smile and say hello, then walk toward the lake’s edge, spreading their picnic out in a snowless patch of sunshine near the shore. The scene is cinematic in its serenity, and somehow seems to perfectly reflect the Swiss population’s tradition of a healthy, balanced approach to life.
Weggis
In Lucerne, the train and ferry stations are located across from one another along the edge of the lake in the heart of the downtown district. A sleek ferry, part of Switzerland’s exceedingly efficient and comprehensive public transportation network, takes me on the hour-long journey across the smooth waters to the charming village of Weggis.
Each snow-peaked view is more panoramic than the one before. After we dock, a pleasant, ten-minute stroll along the shore (with a pause at the Dahinden Café for tea and apple strudel) brings me to the stylish and very hip Park Hotel Weggis. While the hotel’s Art Nouveau exterior faces the lake, there’s a decidedly Scandinavian vibe to the interior décor. My room boasts cherrywood floors and sophisticated electronic equipment, with soothing hues of lavender and blue in the upholstery and linens.
The theme here is Sparkling Wellness, which embraces cuisine, fitness, and spa therapies, while encouraging guests to take advantage of the clean Alpine air and walking paths along the shore of Lake Lucerne. The fitness room faces a Japanese meditation garden and is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment including a Power Plate machine with its multidimensional vibrating platform.
Six private, themed spa cottages – each named after a gemstone – provide personal havens for treatments. The Ruby Cottage spotlights life force and love, while the Amethyst Cottage focuses on spiritual alertness. A host of body treatments, massages, and facials are available, including Aroma Shiatsu, which combines classic Shiatsu with aromatherapy and an application of rosewater or cedar oil to the face and head. Additionally, there’s the traditional Japanese cleansing ceremony of senjo, along with Kanebo Facials featuring the famed product line from Japan. Offerings range from Shirabe (advanced anti-aging), to Onkan (luminescence), and Kinsen (balancing).
Dinner at The Annex features gourmet Mediterranean cuisine. I opt for an appetizer of goatfish lasagna, made with layers of multi-hued pasta sheets, poached fish, spinach and tomatoes. The entrée is Turbot Medallions, served with vegetables and a saffron and milk sauce. It’s served on Versace dinnerware at a corner table with a night view of the rugged, peaked horizon. The wine list, under the direction of sommelier Christian Bock, has consistently received awards of excellence from publications including Wine Spectator, Feinschmecker, and Wein Wisser.
Bad Ragaz
Next on the agenda is the enchanting spa town of Bad Ragaz. During the five-minute trip from the train station to the Grand Hotel Quellenhof (German for “spring house”), the taxi driver entertains me with local history. In 1242, I learn, monks from the Benedictine monastery in Pfafers stumbled upon natural thermal water surging from cliffs in nearby Tamina Gorge. Shortly thereafter, a bathhouse was constructed close to the source – though access to the water remained difficult, requiring that bathers be lowered by ropes into the warm pools below. In 1840, a conduit was built to pipe the thermal waters from the gorge directly into the Grand Hotel Hof Ragaz; which, along with the adjoining Quellenhof, make up the Grand Hotels Bad Ragaz complex. This piping project gave the Hof Ragaz the distinction of offering the first indoor thermal pool in all of Europe.
The Quellenhof’s motto is Tranquility, Time, and Space. Besides the enormous spa and bathing complex that make up the To B. Health Club, this is also the location of one of Switzerland’s Olympic Medical Centres, with a comprehensive medical spa complex that staffs twenty-one doctors. I’m told that the poet and writer Rainer Maria Rilke, who adored Switzerland, kept a suite here, known as the Princess Suite. When the staff learn that I’m a writer, they graciously show me through the rooms. Rilke’s desk is still positioned against the butter-yellow walls, exactly as it was when he sat here, writing and contemplating the dazzling view from his windows.
After a morning spent meandering through the crisp air admiring the many eclectic sculptures scattered throughout the grounds and in the town, I treat myself to a vinotherapy session. With a glass of wine close by, I’m left to soak in a tub swirling with grapeseed oil. By the time I climb out of the water and onto the massage table, I’m already relaxed – and as my therapist works more grapeseed oil deep into my muscles, I fall fast asleep. The Quellenhof is all about balance and deceleration, and it’s unlikely I could slow down any more than this.
Interlaken
Between the lakes of Thun and Brienz in the Bernese Oberland region lies Interlaken, resplendent in the cold morning light. A broad boulevard connects the eastern and western portions of the city; in the center, the Hoehematte, a wide stretch of parkland offers open views of the imposing trio of peaks forming the Jungfrau, Mönch, and Eiger.
Along the boulevard, and directly across from the Hoehematte, is the historic and elegant Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa.
Originally two separate buildings, the Victoria-Jungfrau has played host to royalty, celebrities, and world dignitaries – among them, Mark Twain, Mendelssohn, and Mozart. The extensive ESPA wellness facility was added in 1992, featuring private treatment rooms, a solarium, saunas, relaxation rooms, steams, saltwater baths, a columned indoor pool, salon, and a Clarins Beauty Center.
My room in the new Bel Air wing, designed to be a haven-within-a-haven in the spa complex, resembles the interior of a luxury yacht, all wood and glass and decks and air. Wandering past the spa’s long Tea Bar, I find a well-cushioned chaise overlooking the closest mountainside and daydream until my therapist comes to collect me. She leads me into a spa suite for a two-hour treatment called Time, and brings me a cup of steaming ginger tea. As I sip, she bathes my feet in a deep bowl of warm, petal-strewn water, massaging my calves, heels, and soles, and asking me specific questions about my health and fitness habits. She uses the information to customize a facial and full body massage that actually relieves my aching, travel-weary shoulders, and then sends me off to complete my recuperation over dinner at Brasserie.
Decorated in Belle Epoque style, with an intricately carved ceiling, Brasserie’s specialty is Swiss cuisine. While the fondue is tempting, I finally decide on a delicate roast duck served with roasted spring vegetables. There’s a local wine to accompany it, followed by a selection of regional cheeses set amidst a plate of dried figs and cherries. The waitress tells me a variation of this same meal has been on the menu since the restaurant opened, and I wonder if this might be what Mozart ordered when he was a guest here.
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