A Trip to Vals

To relax, I took a trip to the thermal bath in Vals. Before the trip, LT said that all thermal baths can be categorized as follows: A. "Vals" B. "Not Vals".

Proudly having seen quite a bit of category B, I decided it was time to check out category A. So we took a windy trip into the mountains on the Rhätische regional train and an even windier trip on the regional postbus, taking us far into the mountains. Vals turned out to be a pretty little mountain village, which looks cheerful in the summer.

The bath was less cheerful. LT was right: Vals Therme is to normal thermal baths what Wilco is to the Backstreet Boys. It's just different. You have to have reservations to get in. The dressing rooms have dark wood panels. Inside the bath, everything is somber and quadratic and dark. The water is colder than elsewhere. None of that jolly white and cyan you see in other places. Also, it is a small place: Clearly, this therme was not interested in entering the we-have-the-most-pools competition. Everything is rectangularly Swiss and simple.

And there is beauty in simplicity. The architect, Peter Zumthor, has invested quite some thought. Even the towel holders are exactly in the right place.

Ever since it opened, the artsy set has had a love affair with Vals. LT told me the locals didn't like the design at first; they had wanted to go with a traditional way, but Zumthor made it clear he won't bend. And, turns out, he was right. It might as well have gone the other way.