Number 49: Healing Waters, Austria's Gastein Valley, an Alpine beauty.

Finding the thermal waters on our early morning walking. Glorious!

Fred and I are completely charmed by Bad Gastein, a picturesque spa village in the Gastein Valley in the heart of the Austrian Alps. 

Sheep wander through the village with their bells tinkling; music wafts up to our third floor apartment, snow peaks float high above our balcony, a world apart.

Number 49:

Healing Waters, Austria's Gastein Valley, an Alpine beauty.

We are surrounded by Belle Epoque hotels and villas built into the impossibly steeply forested slopes above the raging waterfalls along the Gastein River.

Bad Gastein from the upper bridge.

Our morning walking along the Gastein River.

Waterfalls in Bad Gastein 

It has been all about water, hot thermal springs known since the Roman times and enriched with minerals and radon.

We have been finding thermal hot streams along our walks; drinking copious amounts of the icy cold mountain water from the interesting sculpture pieces in each of the towns in the valley; swimming daily; in and out of whirlpools with jets soothing post walk weary bodies; stream rooms, saunas have been nudist so have not had the courage to go into them...

And we spent an early evening session last night at the local thermal baths, called Felsentherme Gastein, floating in the 32 degree water, in an outdoor pool, with steam rising in the cool air, and the snow capped mountain in the background. 

The water felt buoyant, light on the skin and very relaxing indeed. 

And healing? not sure I was still weary after the 18km morning walking, but maybe.....

Healing water is all its wonderful forms. Our daily swimming is special here in Bad Gastein.