story and photos by Kayte Deioma
After exploring the haunted halls and hearing about all the skeletons in the closet, the Queen Mary has one last secret to reveal. Tucked into a suite on the Main Deck right off the hotel elevator is the Queen Mary Spa, the perfect place to leave your tired feet in the hands of a pedicurist or have your luggage-burdened back massaged by one of the talented masseurs and masseuses. If you’ve got all day or just half an hour, you can treat yourself to a bit of royal pampering.
The ship’s original spa and Turkish baths were located near the first class swimming pool which can be seen on several different ship tours. A sign near the pool lists the spa services that were available in 1936. The location has changed. There are no Turkish baths. But a massage can still be had for a smidge more than the $1.90 charged in 1936. The infra-red treatment listed for $1.25 is now incorporated into the price of your facial.
I have never been to a spa. The closest I got was having a pedicure once at a 
nail salon and periodic therapeutic massage from physical therapists and acupuncturists in clinical settings. So, for the sake of research, I have to try out these treatments that managed to stay on the spa menu for 70 years. Both of these historical services are incorporated into the Queen’s Royal Secret, a luxurious hour-long facial followed by a half hour general body massage.
The smiling Jennifer greets me from behind her art deco glass counter in the gleaming wood-paneled reception area. Potted plants in the curtained portholes add a homey touch. A pitcher of water with strawberries and orange and cucumber slices stands invitingly on the counter. After filling out the requisite paperwork, Jennifer introduces me to Joseph Garcia, my “esthetician.” I wonder when they dropped the aesthetic a.
Next door, in another wood-paneled room, Joseph invites me to get “as comfortable as I want to be” under the sheet and towels provided and leaves me to it. I get as comfortable as I want under the sheet and bid him “enter” when he knocks. How regal of me. Soothing Native American flute music is playing in the background. From the first smooth of cleanser gliding whirls and swirls across my forehead and around my cheekbones, I am entranced. I ask Joseph to narrate the process, elucidating each texture as it is applied. This is, after all, research.
A steamer is directed at my face to open the pores. After two moisturizing 
cleansers, a gentle rice-based exfoliant
discovered by women working rice fields in Asia
and why do I need to remember this again? Oh yeah, research. A gentle massage of my face
hands
arms
shoulders with stress relief and toxin relief oil. All the stress is gone. In between layers I glean from Joseph that he has also done make-up for Pamela Anderson, LA Fashion Week, photographers and filmmakers, as well as visitors to the Queen’s Spa.
Hot towel. Painted on masks – two flavors at once. Eyes covered. Now comes the traditional infra-red lamp. Joseph brings something warm and heavy, smelling of oatmeal and places it over my already-covered eyes.
a few more moments and the weight is lifted. The darkness is peeled away. Another hot towel, then a spray of cool mist toner, hydrating booster, moisturizer, sunscreen, protective sealer to keep the pollutants at bay
As the last layer is smoothed over my skin, I am thinking
this is the best hour of work I have ever accomplished. And there’s more to come
Joseph hands me a robe to change into to cross the hall to the massage room where Michael Mata is waiting to give me my 30 minute body massage. We determine that the most practical use of our 30 minutes together is to work on getting the kinks out of my typing and camera-carrying shoulder through a combination of massage techniques, mostly Swedish with some therapeutic spot massage.
An afternoon well spent.
I’ll have to watch the weather forecast and come back and try the Queen’s Royal Bath or a Royal Body Polish the next time it rains. The Queen Mary Spa has a variety of beauty and wellness professionals available by appointment. If you just want to be pampered and aren’t particular, you can stop by and take your chances with whatever treatment happens to be available. Special bridal packages are also available.
Hours of operation:
Tuesday through Thursday - 12 noon to 6 p.m.
Friday and Saturday - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday - 12 noon to 3 p.m.
www.QueenMarySpa.com
The Reichstag, the German Bundestag or parliament building, is an architectural and environmental wonder, rain or shine. On a sunny day, the wait to get into the Reichstag to visit the dome can be over an hour. This may be due as much to the time it takes to get through security and the limited capacity of the elevators as much as the occupancy limits of the dome itself. In any case, rain significantly shortens the wait, making this a good opportunity to visit the Reichstag Dome.
German Republic. Hitler seized power in 1933. With a fire in the Reichstag he put a quick symbolic and real end to parliamentary democracy in Germany. The ruined Reichstag building was just on the west side of the Berlin divide after WWII. The Berlin Wall, built in the 1960s, ran right along side it. It was restored to some extent, but with the new capitol of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn, it was used primarily for non-parliamentary purposes. After the Wall came down, when the capitol of Germany was moved from Bonn back to Berlin, the Reichstag was brought back into use for parliament business.
The transparent glass dome, as well as glass interior walls and glass panels looking into the plenary chamber from all sides and from above are designed to represent the transparency of the united German government. A cone of mirrors in the center of the dome, which extends through to the lower floors, gathers solar energy for heating and cooling, while reflecting natural light to the chambers below. With tourists looking on from 8 a.m. to midnight, there are no secrets here.
elevator to the dome entrance. Once inside the cupola, information panels around the base of the central mirrored cone provide the history of the building and its reconstruction. Between the circle of history and the central cone are glass panels, which look down into the plenary chamber when it is in session. When the chamber is not in use, these glass panels reflect back up to the dome, creating the effect of being inside a giant disco ball.
change focus through the translucent noise of the beaded water on glass to the shifting grays of the moisture-laden sky. A thick swath of the Spree River cuts through the concrete, metal and glass skyline, past the remodeled Friedrichstrasse Station. The beaded needle of the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) peeks out from behind the rectangle of the Internationale Handelszentrum ( World Trade Center). As you climb higher, the muted beige and green of the Brandenburg Gate comes into view behind the German flag flying over one of the four corner towers of the Reichstag building. A panoramic guide helps to identify a few landmarks on the horizon.
The dome is open at the top, allowing waste air from the chamber below to escape and bringing fresh air into the building. There is a circular bench in the center of the viewing platform, but since it is under the opening, it gets rained on. A better bet to find a seat out of the rain might be the Käfer Café just outside the dome, if it isn’t fully booked as it was on our visit.
Visitors who wish to attend plenary sittings can view the proceedings from the mezzanine level that extends down into the plenary chambers like a balcony in a theatre. There is a separate line from the lobby to go up to the mezzanine.