vals revisited

here are the warning bells at the ilanz train station. they look like little helmets!


this is the incredibly quaint town of vals. it´s like the fantasy you had as a child of a town in the swiss alps - only real. you can totally imagine people yodeling here.



here are the neat little graves of some locals behind the church in town.

boom! huge mountain right outside our hotel.

what is there to say about vals? just that it was just about the most perfect place on the planet to unwind, relax, and feel about a million times more healthy. just breathing the swiss mountain air is enough to make you feel like a million bucks. add the baths? forget about it. i have nothing to compare it to but the therme baths are incredible. first, go to the 42 degree centigrade pool and really get warm. get all pruny and sweaty. then move from there to the cold plunge 17 degree pool. squeal a little because it is really cold and shocking. then go back to the 42 degree pool and feel yourself turn into a noodle. go back and forth a few times until you feel the need for some lukewarm temps. hang out in the one of the 30, 33, or 35 degree pools just waiting for you. or, if you feel like communing a little with the swiss mountain air, go to the outdoor pool and float around on your back, staring at the fluffy little clouds. and i can´t forget to mention the steam rooms. or how about the 2 hour massages we got?

garrett and i have decided that we are definitely going back to vals and this time for a longer time. i wish we could have stayed longer...