Hot, steamy, and totally natural
Greta Rybus on hot springs. A seriously fun line-up at the Culture of Bathing Variety Show.
Photojournalist Greta Rybus spent seven years researching and photographing for Hot Springs – Photos and stories of how the world Soaks, Swims and Slows Down (Ten Speed Press, 2024, $30). From sacred sites in India and onsen in Japan, to high-altitude Chilean springs and Budapest’s famous baths, we spoke to Greta about her passion for geothermal waters.
CULTURE OF BATHING: How did you get into thermal bathing?
GRETA RYBUS: I grew up in Idaho, where there are many rough and rustic hot springs. We’d often go hiking or backcountry skiing, then take a soak at a little riverside pool afterwards. My parents honeymooned at Burgdorf Hot Springs, and we went there often while I was a kid. The pool and surrounding buildings are a relic from its days as a stagecoach stop for miners and travellers.
My parents were both schoolteachers and, when I was a teenager, they taught in rural Northern Japan, where I became acquainted with onsen culture. The ritualistic, calm way of bathing was a marked contrast to the wild, ebullient bathing I grew up with in the American west.
'I cried when I first visited Gellert in Budapest, it’s like a palace dedicated to thermal water, and its beauty and heat astounded me.'
CoB: What is your most memorable bathing spot?
GRETA: I loved every bath I visited! But I’ll admit that I am partial to very, very hot water.
I cried when I first visited Gellert in Budapest, it’s like a palace dedicated to thermal water, and its beauty and heat astounded me. I loved the glowing red-hot pool in the austere granite Therme Vals in Switzerland. And the temple bath in Vashisht, India with water so hot it made me feel renewed.
CoB: Why do you think hot springs (and heat bathing in general) is gaining in popularity at the moment? Do think this resurgence will sustain over the long term?
GRETA: Perhaps this return to public bathing stems from exhaustion with the pace of a hurried, disconnected culture. Bathing allows us to be with strangers in an intimate, platonic way. It encourages us to be with ourselves and our bodies. And, it can remind us of the ways nature provides for us.
‘I am partial to thermal bathing because it also connects us with the inside of the planet. Each hot spring pulls minerals from the earth’s strata.’
CoB: What is the most unusual or unexpected bathing culture you discovered while working on the book?
GRETA: I was struck by how often the communal nature of the hot bath was echoed in the management of the hot springs themselves. In Greenland, I learned about how land there cannot be legally owned, it can only be borrowed. In Grutas Tolantongo, Mexico the land including the hot springs is managed by an ejido, a type of cooperative ownership that allows for communal work, decision making and profit sharing. In South Africa, Alaska, Bolivia and India I found similar models of collectivity.
CoB: What have you learnt about the qualities of the waters?
GRETA: Altering the body’s temperature is a way to feel alive. Hot bathing, and its cousins sauna and cold plunge, acquaint us with our insides: the thrum of our blood and the pulse of our heart. It’s a sensational experience: pinpricks on the skin, feeling our circulation, the arrival of sweat.
I am partial to thermal bathing because it also connects us with the inside of the planet. Each hot spring pulls minerals from the earth’s strata. Everywhere I traveled, I met people who swore by the specific components of each spring. Some drank the water, some bottled it to apply to sore joints at home, others relied on submersion in the waters to find the healing they sought. Thermal water is a healing archetype across cultures and throughout history: the truth is that its healing quality is multifaceted and deeply individual.
Hot Springs – Photos and stories of how the world Soaks, Swims and Slows Down (Ten Speed Press, 2024) $30
All photographs by Greta Rybus @gretarybus
What’s your favorite hot spring? We’d love to hear where you soak.
Last call for the Culture of Bathing Variety Show!
Only in New York City could you go from a stage full of comedians and Rockettes to cold plunges and saunas, with a variety show in between. For one night only, The Culture of Bathing is coming to life on stage and in bathhouses all over town. And just like bathing itself, it will be a night full of contrasts, imperfections, and deep joy.
Tickets are limited, get yours here. Head to @cultureofbathing for more details.
Culture of Bathing Variety Show
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
6:30-8:00pm at New School Auditorium 66 West 12th St. NYC
Bathhouse Bathe-Around - almost sold out!
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
8:30-10:00pm
After the show, keep the night going and join us to experience modern social bathing at Elhani, Othership and Russian + Turkish Baths. If the Tuesday night is sold out, purchase a pass for the next day to: World Spa, Bathhouse and SoJo.
Tickets $10 for the show, or $25 for show and bathe-around.
In the news
“As we expand globally, we’re not just growing our portfolio, we are redefining how cities can integrate spaces that prioritise health, connection and inclusion, making urban wellbeing accessible to all.” Therme Group acquires the world’s largest wellness destination, Therme Erding.
European Spa Magazine, December 18, 2024
“The water gushes out of the spring hot enough to brew coffee. By the time it reaches the pools, it’s just pleasantly warm. But one wouldn’t want to drink it.” The New York Times profiles a radioactive spa in Tajikistan.
New York Times, December 22, 2024
“Oakland County seeks public input on future of Waterford Oaks waterpark” Michigan’s oldest water park will be closed for 2025 due to its dilapidated state, but officials have launched a public survey for locals to share ideas for the site’s future.
The Detroit News, January 7, 2025
One last thing
A human fountain? Check out the incredible bathing routine in Busby Berkley’s Footlight Parade, 1933 – pure cinematic magic.
It reminds us of The Sarafinas - catch their Esther Williams inspired slot in the Culture of Bathing Variety Show!
We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathing.com
I love this answer : ‘I am partial to thermal bathing because it also connects us with the inside of the planet. Each hot spring pulls minerals from the earth’s strata.’
Thank you for sharing, i love bathing 🔥