“Basically every hot spring on Earth claims to have ancient healing powers. But geothermally warmed waters are comfortable, so who am I to disagree?” – Old Sean
The Bath District
Following several days in Prague, I next caught a bus to Karlovy Vary.
Karlovy Vary or “Charles’ Bath”, was named for Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. The resort town is famous for natural hot springs, mountain scenery and quaint and beautiful architecture.
I was assigned to the location as a stop-gap before going to Germany, but one of the project leads pushed strongly for Karlovy Vary to be included. Therefore, I had a fair number of interviews for the area.
A Bus to the Hot Springs
While Prague takes the prize for top-tier city of the Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary to the west has it’s own charms.
When I arrived, I saw a beautiful village with a brushing of rain framed by searing lances of lightning. The town is nestled in a craggy valley with criminally lush surroundings.
Within, the hot spring town is filled with drinking fountains, steaming geysers, uphill hikes and a lively carp-carpeted river. Karlovy Vary has a unique town tradition with special sippy-cups. From these capped containers, the rich and classy can sample spring-water with refinement.
I didn’t purchase a tourist spa cup, although they’re quite nice. Instead, I used my old cooking pot to collect a streaming beverage and sipped as I walked.
I’m not actually sure if that’s allowed, but nobody stopped me.
Lodging in the Valley
While in Karlovy Vary, I stayed in a hostel called Dubina, about fifteen minutes outside of the city. The hostel was lovely and I had the best sleep I’ve had in a decade. Despite the fact that I often travel to cities, I generally prefer the countryside. So sleeping in a raining, quiet valley was a godsend.
Getting out of town was everything I required for a happy coma.
After eating breakfast, I met a large snail by the river where I was unsuccessfully skipping laptop-sized stones on the nearby river. I named the snail is called Wendell.
Say hi for me if you see him in the near future.
Back to Work
After breakfast, I wandered back into the city to meet with several people for breakfast interviews. I was originally supposed to head in earlier to get good morning-light for photos. However, this plan was foiled by an overcast of grey clouds.
Fortunately, the weather stayed cool and only slightly misty for my entire stay.
It was a delight to roll into the Bohemian spa town. Blocky pastel buildings grace every street, fountains shoot water and steam at once and shallow canals provide a whimsical edge to the town. Once my interviews were done, I headed off to properly explore.
Down the Central Waters
The best method for visiting Karlovy Vary is to follow the scenic central waterway, the Teplá. The Teplá passes most of the major shops, walkways and historic spas.
I first marched through Mill Collonade, a twin alley-and-pillar walkway which hosts five of Karlovy Vary’s thirteen natural springs. The area fills up quickly, even in the early morning with many tourists and residents using small spa-cups to sip at the hot spring waters.
Slightly further along is the Market Collonade, a white-trimmed elegant building housing three more of the hot springs. There are a series of stairs which surround unique statue-fountains, many steaming powerfully as broiling water is jettisoned into stone bowls.
Another welcome spring area was Vřídelní Kolonáda which has geysers on tap with purposefully cooled water ready for human consumption. Vřídelní is likely the most famous hot spring fountain point in Karlovy Vary.
Ridges and Forests
At the southern portion of Old Town, there is a steep slope with a mossy-green funicular chugging up and down the hillside. It wobbles slightly and makes a slight clatter and snapping sound during ascents. Named the Diana Funicular Railway, the rail line is a bit further off from most of the other tourist attractions. However, it leads to the impressive Diana Observation Tower overlooking the green lowlands. Also nearby is the Butterfly House Diana Karlovy Vary, which was sadly closed when I walked by.
This upper area around the Diana Observation Tower is notoriously quiet compared to the bustling spa town below. There are many soft-edged roads which lead to other interesting overlooks and a serene forest.
Most of these forested park areas can be reached by returning to town and hiking at slight upward inclines. But it’s also possible to follow the routes downhill and back into the Karlovy Vary. The roads loop and vary somewhat, so a map prior to hiking is a good idea.
Forested Walks
There are many places visitors can hike in these woodlands. For example, Rozhledna – Vyhlídka Karla IV. (Tower View of Charles IV), is a oddly serene red pagoda atop a gentle crest.
Nearby, Chopinova Chata sits in a shady patch of woods, a picturesque little building gazing into the woodlands.
About thirty minutes to the south, Vyhlídka Rusalčina Chata Observation Deck overlooks the unspoilt green hills south of Karlovy Vary.
Wandering back north into town, one can visit several small wildlife park trails along elevated boardwalks including Obora Svatý Linhart and Lávka u Divočáků. Deer and cute wild pigs ramble around in the low brush, snuffling freely.
At this point, getting back to Karlovy Vary is a considerable walk, but uniformly pleasant. I highly recommend stopping at Peter the Great Lookout, which does a splendid job looking out across the valley.
Back in Town
I eventually re-entered Karlovy Vary for another round of interviews, photos and reference materials. I only had one day left before another bus would be taking me onwards, towards Germany.
After an early dinner, my time was nearly done. I spent a few more moments visiting Park Collonade, where narrow gazebo hallways followed lines of blooming flowers. Afterwards, I continued north to the stunning blue glass Obelisk and Smetana Orchard before walking the rest of the way to the bus station.
Onward to Germany
It’s sort of entertaining to hike around major tourist cities with a fully loaded backpack. It’s fortunate I pack light, or daily jaunts would be a real struggle in the mountains. Regardless, visiting Karlovy Vary involved a lot of walking and I was happy to settle down into my bus seat.
Anyway, once again, I’m on the road, heading to Munich itself. I expect a strong surge of nostalgia as I finally re-enter the familiar West. The last time I was in Germany (during University), I had spent time in Frankfurt before heading through Hamburg with a Russian friend of mine. It’ll be nice revisiting old stomping grounds.
Currently, however, the my vehicle’s windows are speckled with rain and my bus is barreling into an oncoming storm. In front of me, the elderly instant-friends are speaking eloquently, loudly and doing justice to what looks like… seven cans of beer.
That seems practical. We’ve been driving for forty-five minutes by now.
Anyway, Germany, and storm-fronts,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written May 30th 2018
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The GoPro Hero Black is my go to Action camera. I’m not comfortable bringing my cell phone to many wet and rugged locations, so the GoPro does most of my photographic heavy-lifting. The only things I bring in my GoPro kit are the camera, a spare battery and the forehead mount. I upgrade my GoPro once every two years. It was particularly excellent to have while visiting Karlovy Vary in the rain.
