People who know me are aware that I’m a big fan of wellness treatments. Whatever’s on offer, I’m happy to receive. That’s one of the reasons I spend time in Hungary–a nation with the label: Spa Capital of the World. In Hévíz, a thermal lake spa town, I sign-up for a 21-day treatment program which includes an assortment of things. No question, the translations are helpful as I move through my days and weeks … ~.
.~ Prepared for Edition #16 of the International BluePrint Blog Carnival>Language>Place. Theme: Translation Host: Florida-based author and artistSteve Wing
My memory of Hévíz—a Hungarian spa town—is a memory of sensation. My time there is sacred. It’s not a particularly “exciting” time; it’s a rejuvenating contemplative retreat more than anything.For close to a month, my routine consists of eating, walking, resting, sleeping, soaking in mineral hot springs, and receiving wellness treatments (massages, mud packs, etc.). For me, it is bliss. It’s the closest to I get to God.
On more than one occasion I’ve gone there to disconnect from life-as-I-know-it where I live; to disconnect from computers; phones; responsibilities. Solitude is available in large quantities. I slow down. I stop thinking. And when I stop thinking, I begin to sense life in and around me in ways I tend to overlook during the rest of the year. What I find through disconnection is a reconnection with the language of my senses—and nature.
For example …
From my window each morning
I hear and see:
.
.
From the cobblestone streets
I watch and listen:
.
.
From the lake—a thermal lake—
I feel my skin enveloped in heat and liquid nutrition:
.
.
I smell
sweetness in the earth; air; trees:
.
.
Well … there’s earth, air, and trees in that video, but you can’t really smell them.
Perhaps one year I’ll capture the scent and share it here …
This new tumblr site is devoted to spa culture, where ‘spa’ refers to: healing waters, therapeutic treatments, hot springs, mineral springs, health spas, etc. Thought it might be nice to gather ‘spa’ things, with like-minded individuals.
Something to share?
Feel free to submit things on this topic. Could be photos, quotes, links, videos, poetry, fiction, news, art, research, etc. If accepted, please be patient.
It could take a few days to appear.
12th c: monastery baths existed in this area
1880’s: first spa hotel built
1937: drinking cure hall added
1979: daytime hospital established
end of 20th c: spa thoroughly renovated and modernized
now: a popular meeting place for artists and writers
Treatments:
healing drinking cure
physiotherapy
mud packs
Finnish sauna
dry and steam sauna chambers
foot massage
underwater massage with water beam
refreshing massage
medical healing massage
carbonic acid tub bath
weight bath
A larger version of the asemic images appear in life as a journey > the direct link is here.
~
The term ‘asemic’ is variously described as “post-literate”, “nonsensical”, “non-symbolic”. Like abstract art, asemic work promises viewers the opportunity to generate personal meanings from their own cultural and linguistic standpoints rather than having meanings imposed by writers and artists.
In keeping with the spirit of asemics, I won’t tell you the origin of the images. I certainly won’t reveal that the images began as photographs I took inside the bathing complex that sits at atop the mineral-rich Hungarian Lake Hévíz–the largest thermal lake for swimming in Europe; the second largest in the world.
Something else I won’t reveal is the video below; that water in motion–a MicroMoment I captured on camera while standing inside the Hévíz Complex after a long afternoon of soaking:
Other things I promise to keep secret are the symbolic meanings in the title of the project. I won’t tell you the nonsensical three-part name carries the following interpretive content:
~
oenisplx = the letters of the word ‘explosion’
[explosion of energy that leads to the elements]
igrnimeeg = the letters of the word ’emerging’
[life emerging, colors spilling into one another]
spnimirt = the letters of the word ‘imprints’
[dried out world, only imprints remaining]
Well, not exactly. A vowel is only a vowel when it’s recognized as one,
and a vowel in the word ‘gyógyfürdő’, I’ve discovered, isn’t recognized as one in all places.
Below, the back-story, told backwards:
A steamy experience in Hungary is featured as ‘Monday’s Poem’ at Leaf Press:
The photo that appears with my words is the only one I took at the spa–the only snapshot the attendant permitted.
This bath is my favorite in Budapest–a city touted as ‘spa capital of the world’.
~
The process that accompanied publication included a linguistic snag:
The original submission was called ‘rudas gyógyfürdő, budapest’. The Hungarian word ‘gyógyfürdő’ translates into English as ‘medicinal bath’. This word–gyógyfürdő–is the one that caused the glitch.
Late Sunday evening, the night before publication, I opened an email from Leaf Press publisher Ursula Vaira:
I am working on the poem now, and am stuck on the last o in gyógyfürdő … my software (Dreamweaver) simply has no character for that. Even when I go to a website and copy the word and paste it directly in, it still turns up as a question mark.
It’s interesting that Dreamweaver understands the vowels ó and ü, but not ő.
Makes me wonder what other languages feature the first two vowels, but not the last…
This blog post is included in Edition #4 of the BluePrint blog carnival >Language>Place.
It is hosted by UK-based editor, translator, and university administrator Jean Morris.
The direct link to the carnival is here.
“The second edition is a voyage into imaginary spaces and real places re-imagined, in voices from around the world. Writers decipher what they see and hear–in words, codes, images and hints between the lines that they write. And the places shift amid detours, tender moments of misunderstanding or confusion to arrive at the heart of the stories. What’s on the page/screen is often born out of one’s search along a circuitous path.
Some of the authors included were previous contributors to the blog carnival and/or BluePrintReview. Some came across the first edition and wanted to join. The creative pieces–flash stories and photography–I solicited. The process was a little similar to that of writing a group of flash fictions: collecting impressions, then finding the right words, moods and homes for them.”
Much to my delight, Nicolette solicited my contribution: ‘Translation Treatment’.
Here it is, sideways. For full-length vertical view, click the image:
Grab onto the railing…underwater massage
with jets in all directions. Thermal bubbles like this are
commonplace in Hungary. Hot springs in Canada don’t feature these contraptions.
Prepared for Edition #2 of the BluePrint blog carnival >Language>Place.
It’s hosted by Hong Kong-based author and journalist Nicolette Wong.
The direct link to the carnival is here.
A fresh word/image combo is live in ‘just a moment’–BluePrintReview’s companion blog that publishes ‘moments’ of various kinds on a rolling basis between regular issues.
I took the photo poolside, penned those words, while keeping the company of
health tourists in Hévíz as I contemplated the meaning of life and gained perspective on
time and age.
~
Previous works that have appeared in ‘just a moment’ include olympic (dis)comfort zoneand East Vancouver Detours. While you’re there, consider scrolling through the archive of literary news and slices of life expressed through words and images by a variety of international contributors.
Drawn to the light in the sky, to the Rockies,
to the sulphates & bicarbonates, calcium & magnesium
that fill the hot springs on Banff’s Sulphur Mountain.
Two photos of Hévíz, Hungary are featured in the September issue of elimae. I took the photos of the lake in broad daylight back in May–the water was warm; centigrade, about 33 degrees.
In case you’re wondering, the correct pronunciation ofelimae is el–ee-may. It stands for ‘electronic literary magazine’. It’s been around since 1996, features creative writing and occasional images, boasts an elegant minimalist design, and is currently published under the joint editorship of Cooper Renner and Kim Chinquee in the U.S.
Mountainside, yes. There’s a blue lake, too, on the other side of the windows and loungers and mineral-rich thermal spring pool.
There’s no question about it: I’m a ‘spa culture’ aficionado. I lovemassages and mud packs and anything else that might fall under the banner of ‘leisurely wellness’. A critical part of the equation for me is spending time soaking in thermal baths–commonly referred to as ‘healing waters’. Many stunning examples are found in Budapest–the (un)official ‘spa capital of the world’. The city’s thermal baths are featured in a video I posted recently here.
Having spent a full month in the hot springs of Hungary, I found myself missing my daily soaks. To remedy my mourning I took a look around to see what kinds of thermal waters flow through cracks in the earth’s crust closer to home. The photo above is one example of a B.C. public mineral pool. It’s located in the village of Harrison Hot Springs–just a 90-minute drive from the heart of Vancouver. I hopped in the car, made the trek the other day, claimed a lounge chair by the window, then soaked and relaxed the hours away.
Water temperature at source: a scorching 62.8°C / 145°F.
Water temperature in pool, cooled: a soothing 38ºC / 100°F.
While soaking, I met some Vancouver regulars who make the pilgrimage every week. A woman I spoke with told me her weekly visits have been part of her schedule for the past three years; a man I talked to said these waters have been a weekly habit for the past fifteen.
And a question:
In your part of the world, are there hot springs where you like to soak?
The images, but a morsel of the sights and experiences I am missing …
I am dreaming:
My luggage, still brimming, I hop in a taxicab, go back to the airport, and in less than a day, arrive back in Hungary, float in thermal waters, breathe the sweet air,
and stay, this time, forever …
