Saturday 4 June: We caught the bus from Prague to Karlovy Vary (formerly Carlsbad when part of Germany). The quality of the service was great, with movie screens etc. for each seat, free headphones & coffee and power charging sockets in the floor. Unfortunately we were sandwiched into in the very last seats in the back, over the wheels and motor.After a 2-hour trip we were supposed to be dropped in the city centre rather than the bus terminal. We got out, started walking, then found we were at the terminal, and had a 20 minute walk with our suitcases. After getting quite different information from different people about which way to go, we decided go to a café, have a baguette with beer and a coffee and relax.
Then we walked into town. Karlovy Vary is nestled in a valley, along a small river. It’s famous for its mineral water which is drunk rather than sat in. There are many ornate hotels with their own spa baths if you want to do that – no public facility.
The Windsor Spa Hotel that Frances booked is right in the centre, and is a relief after 2 studio rooms, although I think it's past its glory days. After settling in, we went for to explore.We actually found a public swimming pool that was closed – we've since found that it is to be refurbished by the government, but there is no funding. Blackheath revisited? Here are some photos taken in the late afternoon that give a general impression.
The mineral water here is the big deal, and so the activities are based around this.The water is available at a number of public fountains, mainly located in colonnades, and at each fountain the water temperature is posted. Visitors buy special ceramic cups to collect and drink the water. They then go from small fountain to fountain sampling the water, almost like a pilgrimage.
There is a whole industry around manufacturing and selling these cups. They are specifically designed for capturing the water and then drinking it without burning your mouth.The handle is in fact a narrow spout. Most are pretty tacky, but we bought one with a list of the fountains and corresponding temperatures listed on the side.
We also found a shop that had some versions with modern designs which were quite nice. Frances liked the water, however it wasn't exactly to my taste! There are also some large fountains in the town, where the water shoots up under pressure.
Another big deal here is the tradition of making Oplatky (Oblaten).They are large wafers “made from all-natural ingredients; wheat flour, crushed almonds, whole milk, powdered sugar, egg yolks, unsalted butter, natural flavours. No preservatives are used or needed to keep these delightful wafers fresh for months.” Mind you, they are quite sweet, but also very delicious.
They now come in a number of different flavours as well. The photos show a shop where they make them, the machine that they use, and the finished packaging.
Dinner at the Windsor Spa Hotel was included with our tariff, so within the allocated time we went to the dining room. Salads and vegetables were self-serve and were OK. The main components had to be ordered – Frances had fish and I had chicken. When the meals arrived, we were completely baffled. The poached chicken looked like fish, and the crumbed fish looked like fried chicken! The chicken, even with herbs tasted like leather, and the fish was not a fillet, but a piece, including the spine so it was full of bones.The concepts were great, but the execution was very poor. We can only look forward to tomorrow evening. Hotel exterior, hotel interior, guess the meal in the photo – fish or chicken?