photos from spa promotional materials
Outside Munich is the spa to end all spas, Therme Erding, parts of which have a Celtic Theme. And bowing to the ubiquitous misconception that Stonehenge was built by the Celts, the spa includes a Stonehenge replica! And, yes, our title may be gratuitously sensational (we are not above anything, however low!), but it is true. Nudity in the sauna areas, which are shared by both genders, is mandatory.
Babelfish translations are all we have to work with in order to learn what we can about this replica. One says: “the Erdinger Stonehenge consists of 30 blocks of Italian volcanic rock, of which everyone is heavy about four meters highly and 17 tons.” Babelfish insists on translating something to do with spas as sow kidneys. Examples: “Sow kidneys in the original Stonehenge reproduction, ease everything in the garden Eden” and “refreshing rain showers and a spring water-fed torrent, which in-loads sow kidneys to a style-genuine refreshment to that.” We’re guessing they’re not discussing pig entrails. Heh. Have we mentioned we ♥ Babelfish?! If one of our gentle readers knows German, perhaps they can help us out with the kidney thing. Here’s a link to one of the translated pages.
At any rate, what about a score? Do we give an extra druid for the suggestion of the skyclad tradition? 6 druids for the Therme Erding Stonehenge. This is our second Stonehenge near München, and our fourth in Germany. We detect megalith envy!
[See comments for explanations of the sow kidney conundrum by helpful readers.]
CLONEHENGE 
Thank you, Andi, for the information! How interesting to hear from someone who has been there and seen it. It’s fascinating how Stonehenge is reproduced in different ways and for different reasons. Would love to see this one someday!
Hi there,
I happen to live in Erding, and have seen, even touched, this wonderous saun-henge replica. Yes, in all the nakedness god gave me.
The spa people have a good PR departement, so if you write them an email with info about your blog there’s a certain chance they’ll invite you out of kindness. They host TV stations or red bull events every now and then and like crazy ideas.
To the stonehenge replica: It’s located between two outdoor pools and a hut-like round house, which has another sauna inside. As I’ve been there in winter at freezing temperatures, I’ didn’t leave the pool to get close to the structure.
If you’re not into nakedness, Erding spa is split to equal parts in clothed/naked areas and a waterslide park.
Finally stopped laughing. Well, mostly. I’m afraid this is about the only use I get from Babelfish, whose results tend more toward the comical than the reliable. “Saunieren” (“to sauna”, if there were such a verb) split into “Sau Nieren” (“sow kidneys”) — yup, should have seen that coming. Not meaning to beat up Babelfish, it’s just trying to bite off more than the current technology can chew.
I could probably translate this, if it’s still wanted, though I expect the original posting was some time ago now.
Enjoy your refreshing sow kidneys 🙂
Alastair
Thank you, Alastair. We now have 2 comments explaining the sow kidney thing. I’ll make a note of that at the end of the article. If it’s still making people laugh, there’s no point in changing anything else. 🙂
Thank you, Matthias! We did learn that some time after but didn’t remember to come back to this and add it. Now people can read your comment and know, after having a chuckle.
Hey,
haha, the sow kidney thing is funny:
“saunieren” is the verb of sauna, and has nothing to do with pigs whatsoever.
But it consists of sau (sow) and nieren (kidneys)..
Thanks for posting all that great stuff!
Greets from bavaria,
Matthias