Travel: A walk around Karlovy Vary, a Czech spa town
Karlovy Vary is home to over a dozen hot springs, all revered for their healing properties
"You must have a sip," the guide insists, in a gentle but persuasive tone. The sip in question is from a thin shooting geyser around which is built a wide, shallow basin, enveloped in warm steam. In the bright afternoon sun, falling droplets and steam from the geyser catch the light rays and convert them into rainbows that vanish as quickly as they appear. Any lingering doubt about the nature of the spring is swiftly dispelled by the distinct sulphurous smell that hangs in the air. A changing tableau of people approach the spring, fill tiny, fist-sized juglets from the geyser, chug it and move on. How bad can it be, I think to myself and follow suit—and promptly gag. The water is metallic, acrid and vile. Yet, in the Czech town of Karlovy Vary, about two hours west of Prague, more than a dozen hot springs (as well as 300 smaller ones), are revered as the springs of health, wellness and longevity.
Known locally as Karlsbad/Carlsbad, Karlovy Vary (literally Charles’ spring) was a European spa town for centuries before Czechia got swept behind the Iron Curtain. It is named after Charles IV, the 14th century Roman Emperor and king of Bohemia.
During and after Charles’ rule, the thermal springs gained a massive reputation for having incredible medicinal properties, ranging from relieving muscular and gastrointestinal problems to curing gout and obesity. So much so that the fashionable to fawning and everyone in between flocked to the town—Russian Tsar Peter the Great, Kemal Ataturk, Goethe, Marx, Beethoven, Wagner... What the fashionable set also did was inspire wedding-cake like architecture: a blend of ornate neo-Baroque, neo-Renaissance and art nouveau with pastel facades and frothy embellishments that invoke luxury and grandeur. As if all this fame was not enough, the town has also hosted an annual film festival since 1946, considered eastern Europe’s biggest. The town suffered a period of ignominy during the Cold War but as the Iron Curtain crumbled, its popularity soared again. To the extent that Unesco named it one among 11 great spa towns of Europe in 2021.
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Spread over both banks of the river Tepla, Karlovy Vary is situated in the pristine Sokolov basin surrounded Slavkov forest full of bogs, lush green meadows and pine woods. Just outside the historic centre of town, an ornate 19th century building is the first indication of the town’s celebrity status. Called Kaiserbad locally, it is better known as the famous Casino Royale in the eponymous James Bond movie. A cobble-stoned pathway from here along the river leads to the town centre. Inserted between the cobble-stones are metallic plaques with globally-recognised names: Marx, Kafka, Beethoven, Wagner, but also movie celebrities such as Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Gregory Peck, Antonio Banderas, Scarlett Johansson and many more, as a tribute to its famous visitors.
The cobbled path follows a bend in the river and opens into Stara Louka, the main street, which is also dubbed the Hot Spring Street for obvious reasons. Located along this path are nearly a dozen thermal springs ranging between 30 and 73 degree Celsius, housed in elegant colonnades. These are interspersed with stacked 18th and 19th century buildings in beautiful pastel shades housing swanky boutiques, swish showrooms, restaurants, bars, cafes and souvenir stores. It is from one of these that my guide Natalie buys me a pretty white and blue ceramic juglet, called a spa cup, for tasting the spring water.
During peak season, the street swirls with tourists but on a pleasant weekday afternoon at the end of April, it isn’t crowded at all. The river bends once more and in the crook is the first of the colonnades, Vridelni Kolonada (Hot Spring Colonnade), my first encounter with the spring water. Made of glass and concrete, the colonnade is relatively new and is dedicated to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. And for good reason: it houses the most spectacular of Karlovy Vary’s geysers, the Pramen Vřídlo, which shoots up 10m. At over 73 degrees Celsius, it is also one of the hottest of the springs. Inside the structure, the vapours are denser and tickle the nose and I hastily exit the building. Further ahead are two of the town’s most beautiful and iconic buildings built around the springs. Mlynska Kolonada (Mill Colonnade) is a neo-Renaissance building from the late 19th century; it is a longish structure stretching for more 120m and held up by over a hundred Corinthian columns. The ornate architecture encases five springs that spurt water at temperatures ranging from 53 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius. “They are not as bad as the first one," Natalie says.
Having done it once, I decide I may as well try the others. Each one is a different: pungent, salty, tingling, bitter. “That’s because of the different minerals the water encounters when rising to the top. Each is also known to have its own medicinal properties," she says.
Round the corner is the Trzni Kolonada (Market Colonnade), also from the 19th century. But where the previous one is ornate and solid, Trzni feels pretty and delicate with an intricate white lattice-work facade. Inside are three springs gushing out of hydrant-style contraptions. I taste some more of the warm waters, by now having becoming inured to the strong flavours. Once or twice I am surprised by a mildly fizzy taste. “That’s because of carbon dioxide content," Natalie says.
As the evening shadows lengthen, it calls for looking at the town from a different perspective: a hot air balloon ride over the spa town. From up above, Karlovy Vary feels like something out of a fairytale—lush green forests, meadows and hillocks framing houses and buildings topped by red gabled roofs with the Tepla winding through it.
Back in Stara Louka, dusk has fallen and golden light spills from every establishment, their reflections shimmering on the Tepla’s surface, turning the street into an enchanting place. It is the perfect setting to taste Karlovy Vary’s other famous liquid, Becherovka. The first sip, out of a shot glass, is almost an assault on the senses, leaving me sputtering and teary-eyed, as the liquid burns a path as it goes down. It is sharp, with menthol being the overwhelming flavour but is laced with notes of ginger and cinnamon.
Drunk as an aperitif or digestif, Becherovka was created over 200 years ago by pharmacist Josef Vitus Becher as an antidote for gastric problems, combining 20 or more ingredients. It is unclear why and when it made the transition from the medicine cabinet to the bar. Its ABV strength at upwards of 40% could be the overpowering reason. I sip some more and discover subtler flavours such as citrus, spices and herbs. With each sip, it tastes better and better. As I begin to enjoy it, I am amused that becherovka, much like the town’s hot springs, has begun to grow on me.
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