Terme di Sirmione, Spa (Lago di Garda)

As the summer is fading away and fall is approaching I decided with some friends to take a daytrip to Lago di Garda to visit the outdoor thermal baths in Sirmione.

Sirmione is probably the nicest village on Lago di Garda, situated in the southern part of the lake. The location is quite unique as the peninsula lies about 4 km from the lakeshore. As old romans appreciated the spot already some ruins such as the Grotte di Catullo an be visited today. Another sight you will not miss is Castello Scaligero that welcomes visitors at the entrance of the Sirmione.

To reach the thermal bath Aquariva we just crossed the village following the main route. After having paid a hefty fee of almost 40 EUR for a 5-hour stay (there are no shorter options) we were handed bathrobes and electronic bracelet tickets and changed.

I was surprised to see the how few changing cabins were provided but they were clean. What I really didn´t like is the system to store your belongings. First you have to put everything into a garment bag, that is then stored away via an electronic system that reminded me of the carousels used in laundry shops. The place of storage is saved into the bracelet. For retrieval the bracelet is used again.
As the lockers for valuables are tiny my handbag didn´t event fit in so I had to squeeze it into a garment bag. When we retrieved our things it seemed easy for us to take someone else`s things if we wanted to. So I am not so sure about the system...

There are several pools, the nicest being the outdoor eternity pool. Unfortunately the water in this pool is not exactly hot thus the pool was mostly empty.



There is another big outdoor pool which is warmer.

The exceptional thing about the Aquariva is the location: it is directly on the lake. What I hence enjoyed the most was just lying on lounge chairs on the decks just above the lake and enjoying the view. (See Google Maps: 45.495189,10.603716 )

Enjoy!

Reina, Nightclub (Istanbul)

Had a wonderful night at Reina nightclub. This is a really elegant nightclub on the European side of this city that never sleeps. It is directly on Bosporus just underneath one of the bridges that connect the European and Asian part of the city. The club is mostly open-air reminding me a lot of Beirut's sky bar. Sadly curtains are pulled on all large windows facing Bosporus, so after approx. midnight the view onto the opposite shore is gone.

Enjoy!

Buchheim Collection, Museum (Munich)

Summer in Munich is fabulous because of the close distance to the lakes. Actually kind of similar to Milano. The largest and most famous lake is Starnbergersee.

One of my favorite buildings on the lake is the Museum of Imagination hosting the Buchheim Collection. This has been my third visit to the museum. There is usually quite a lot of expressionism (Blauer Reiter Movement) and some special exhibition.

What I like the most though is the building. It was designed by Behnisch Architekten an internationally renowned German practice. The Museum is located right on the lakeside. It is very contemporary without being cold as there is a lot of wood and green.



Due to the perfect lake location Behnisch Architekten planned a beautiful dock where visitors can step outside and enjoy the panoramic view of the lake and the Alps (about 2 hour drive).



Enjoy!