Prague Day 8 - Karlovy Vary
Today we took a bus tour to Karlovy Vary, a beautiful spa town in Western Bohemia, near the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. This time our tour was heavily populated by Russian tourists, with a number of Germans and only a handful of English speakers. Our tour guide did the whole tour in three languages - Russian, German and English! It was amazing to listen to her switch back and forth between all three as she narrated the tour!
Karlovy Vary is the home of the famous Czech crystal known as Moser crystal, founded in 1857. It is elegant and the finest crystal, used by kings and queens (including the Queen of England, we were told) and heads of state and very wealthy people the world over. The museum has some spectacular pieces of engraved crystal, truly breathtaking. We stopped first at the factory, saw the museum where we learned how the crystal is made and then had a fascinating tour of the factory itself. It was mesmerizing to stand and watch the glassblowers making the various pieces. It was nice in the factory area because with all the ovens going it was warm! I came away with a whole new appreciation for the work that goes into even the most common vessel, like a wine glass! If I ever win the lottery, I'll come back and buy some Moser crystal, but thats what it would take!
Then we went into the town, which is known for its hot springs, believed to have healing and restorative powers, and the many elegant, expensive spas that were built on those hot springs. People come from all over the world for really serious spa treatments, involving the mineral waters and other treatments, many of which last for 3 to 4 weeks at a time. This is not a place you come for a one hour treatment, this is serious healing work! The hot springs are all over the town so as you walk along you can stop at any of the spigots that are everywhere and help yourself to some hot, mineral water. People come along with water bottles or cups to fill up and drink up. The water is hot, about 50-60 degrees centigrade and fairly salty, although smooth in texture as you drink it. Many people buy little beakers which are ceramic, and look like flattened tea cups with a handle that acts as a straw that you drink the water through, thereby saving your teeth from stains from the minerals in the water. This town has been visited by many famous artists, musicians, intellectuals, heads of state throughout its history. We saw the house that Mozart stayed in when he visited, and another in which Goethe lived at various times. The place is quite popular with Russians we noticed. Not only were they the majority of our tour group but everywhere we went in the town the signs were in Russian as well as Czech and German. Little to no English visible anywhere!
During our free time we stopped into the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, which is a beautiful, baroque church. I've included a picture here. There was to be a concert there this evening so while we were visiting we heard the musicians practicing for tonight. Brass music was playing from the balcony and the soprano was warming up at the same time! We walked all over the town, which is pedestrian traffic only -cars not allowed in the main area, which is nice. I tried the waters at several different spots. The picture included here is one of the spigots near the big geyser in the middle of town. The geyser shoots way up in the air and they pump the water into the spigots along a walkway where the water has had a chance to cool. As it comes up from the earth it is way too hot to drink. By the time it moves out to the various spigots nearby, it is a drinkable temperature!
Karlovy Vary is also known for sweet wafers called oplatky wafers. They are a very thin, sweet cookie/wafer (actually they look like large communion wafers!) and they come in a variety of flavors. They are popular in the spa towns to neutralize the flavors of the mineral waters. They are delicious, so I bought a box each of chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon. Just hope I can get them home in one piece! They are pretty delicate. I noticed people buying them in large quantities. They are quite a hit and only available in Karlovy Vary and one other spa town.
By 5:00 we had to return to our bus for the two hour drive back to Prague. We were let off at the Old Town Square, where the Christmas market was having its last night of events (feast of the Epiphany today!) I had my daily dose of mulled wine and my trdelnik as we walked back through the Old Town Square towards home. We stopped into the famous Tyn church where they were just finishing the Epiphany Mass, so we caught the last few minutes of that as we headed home. Having had my dessert first, I then got a kielbasa from one of the street vendors for my dinner. We had a big lunch at one of the hotels in Karlovy Vary so I didn't need much of a meal this evening.
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