elypso

The elypso in Deggendorf is a three-part leisure bath on Sandnerhofweg, at the edge of the Danube plain where the Bavarian Forest begins, and it sells its indoor Badewelt, its Saunawelt and its summer Freibad as separate but connected tickets: bath guests may use the lido free of charge, and sauna guests may use both.

Inside, the centrepiece is the Wellness-Lagune at 36 degrees, set under a large sun dome behind an infinity glass front, with bubble loungers, a waterfall and its own pool bar. Next to it a 25 metre sports pool with four lanes is held at 26.5 degrees, at least two lanes of which stay open to casual swimmers while schools and clubs use the rest. The Multibecken at about 32 degrees carries a current channel, floor bubblers and massage jets and runs out to an open-air pool under an artificial starry sky; free aqua gymnastics is offered there on weekdays outside holidays. A whirlpool at 34 degrees, a toddler area at 34 degrees with water castle, small slide and pirate cave, a textile sauna at 70 degrees and a steam bath at 40 to 50 degrees complete the hall. Two slides, the Rafting Slide for tyres and the Black Hole tube, run to 100 and 60 metres and are open from age eight.

The sauna garden holds seven heated cabins, each with its own posted temperature and capacity: the Donau-Wald-Sauna, the largest, at 90 degrees for 90 people; a Panoramasauna at 85 degrees; a Kelosauna at 90 degrees carved from centuries-old Finnish pine; an Erdsauna at 100 degrees with a wood stove; the Duftstüberl aroma room at 75 degrees under a starry ceiling; a Sanarium at 60 degrees with about 50 per cent humidity; and a steam bath at 40 to 50 degrees. Its heart is a natural bathing pond of a good 700 square metres, cleaned without chemicals through layers of rock and water plants and ringed by wooden decks, reed and a pebble beach, alongside a foot bath at about 40 degrees, a plunge pool at 18 degrees and an infrared cabin. Tuesdays outside holidays are reserved as a ladies' sauna day.

The lido opens from mid-May to 13 September with a 50 metre six-lane sports pool, an adjoining adventure pool with a wide slide and a children's pool, all at 24 degrees, plus a lawn of some 12,000 square metres, a sand beach, beach volleyball, a football pitch and table tennis. Bath and sauna open daily from 10:00 to 22:00, the lido daily from 09:00 to 20:00.