‘Spa’ a thought for Baden-Baden, Germany

A plaque dedicated to Gogol. Photo: Anita Rao Kashi

By ANITA RAO KASHI

The rippling water caught the rays of the evening sun streaming in through the vast glass walls and blanketed the sprawling roof in a moving shimmer of reflection. Water pulsed and flowed from smaller swirling pools and circular enclosures into a large pool lined with jets and streams. At the periphery of the pool smaller enclosures were scattered. The pools were dotted with people resting against the walls or seated on shelves inside the pool. But, apart from the sound of water, there was silence, and a soothing aura filled the atmosphere of Caracalla Therme spa in Baden-Baden, Southwest Germany.