What is it with Danish bath tubs? I’m in Copenhagen again, doing a bit more learning – more Z health this time. This time and the last I have encountered weird baths. Last time, the bath was very long – and very narrow. Even my skinny hips had to slide into the bottom of the tub. Anyone rather wider of girth would have got wedged, probably only about ¾ of the way down. On the other hand, despite the length of the tub, at least the tight squeeze around the hips meant I didn’t slide down the bath. This time, the bath is very short. I decided to have a nice relaxing bath and clambered in, only to find my knees bent at an angle of about 85°. The back of the bath leaned back, as baths normally do, but to lean back on it one ended up in a sort of U shape – so that only lasted about 2 minutes before becoming too uncomfortable. So I sat bolt upright with my knees sticking up, feet jammed at the end of the bath. After about 5 mins, I’d had enough, so had a quick wash, only to find it nearly impossible to rinse the soap off my legs – they wouldn’t straighten, of course. I’m sure I’ve just been unlucky and that most Danish baths are normal affairs – wide enough for most bottoms and long enough for most legs. The best bath I ever used was on holiday in France, and that was a sitting bath. Utterly wonderful. You sat on a ledge, chest deep in warm water, not slipping down in a bath too long or squished up in a bath too short – and it didn’t use a pile of water.
Baths should be relaxing affairs, shape of tub allowing, and as such are best used before bed – or at the end of an exhausting day on holiday. Showers belong in the morning – when we need invigorating. It isn’t a good idea to shower before bedtime, since all that splashing water wakes us up. A fact worth remembering if we travel across the globe and need to be awake, despite our poor body clock telling us otherwise.