Karlovy Vary

Time for a day trip out of Prague. Karlovy Vary is a spa town that is reached by bus. The outgoing station is Florenc which is close to the metro station of the same name. Bus services from all over Europe use it. It was easy to reach from Anděl.

However I was glad I allowed some time margin because I wasted some time looking for the bus station on street level. I later found out that there is a connecting passage which you see here. You can also see it was an overcast day.

Part of the bus ranks. Regiojet is a major private provider of bus and rail transport in Central Europe. I used many of their services. In all cases I bought tickets online from their website which was very easy to use.

About 90 minutes later I was in Karlovy Vary. In former times it was known as Karlsbad. The German speakers were expelled to Germany after WWII so don't use that name.

The art nouveau Grandhotel Ambassador.

Another decorated building.

Mosaic fountain. At this point I took a lunch break before exploring further.

The spa is some minutes walk out of town eastwards. I passed this obelisk landmark outside the post office.

The post office.

Accommodation and restaurants line the bank of the warm (from the hot springs) Teplá River.

This looks like the hotel Kirvan, one of dozens of hotels in the area. Getting closer to the spa.

This is the Park Colonnade, a walkway passing several springs. Visitors can taste some of the waters from the fountains.

At this point we are on Mlýnské nábř. hugging the western bank of the Teplá. The main sanatoriums line this walk.

One of the specialties of Karlovy Vary is oplatky, or spa wafers. They are slightly sweet and are sold as street snacks. You can see that they are embossed with a design.

A snack shop selling the wafers and other sweet stuff.

One of the long spa houses.

You can taste some of the waters from this outlet. What can I say? Heavy in minerals. Composition depends on the spring.

The porticos have marble floors.

Incidentally many of the visitors are Russian. For some reason spas are popular with them.

Metal equine statue.

It's possible to take an elevator to the upper town.

The river takes a bend and passes the Grandhotel Pupp. This was cast as the hotel in Casino Royale. Other scenes were also shot in the town.

I didn't venture past this point as the buildings peter out.

A scenic look back.

Walking back I stayed on the east bank most of the time. This bathhouse and swimming pool, the Vřídelní kolonáda, straddles the river in the centre of this stretch of the river.

A hot water fountain.

I see Goethe has diversified from writing to innkeeping.

The east bank, near the bathhouse.

A view of the spas.

An edible platform for the pigeon.

Back near the hotels, a resident of the park.

Park statues.

A small market was underway outside the large Spa Hotel Thermal.

With products from Sardinia even.

The park outside one of the older spas.

Well if you can afford it, you can have a beer bath.

I was a bit peckish and had some time to kill so I decided to have a bite as I would not get a meal until regaining Prague. This cream cheese bagel with potato soup was really tasty and quite affordable. In general meal prices in Central Europe were less than Western Europe.

One last look at the town before leaving. Gloom was setting in.

I found upon reaching the bus stand where we were dropped off, that it was not where the buses to Prague picked up. I got directions from a convenience store to walk a couple of hundred metres to the west where the terminal was. Fortunately I had enough safety margin. The journey back was unevenful and we reached Florenc after dark. It was drizzling and I used my jacket's hood to get home.