Tuesday, October 20, 2009

One fine Sunday morning, we took the train two hours west from Prague to Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad, as the Germans call it), a spa town made famous during the 16th century and whose 18th and 19th century architecture make it a place definitely worth visiting. Its a small but wonderfully preserved city, the perfect place for a weekend getaway. From the small train station, which sits above the city, it's an easy 1-mile walk down and across the bridge to the city center.
After walking to the city center, we went directly to the Thermal Hotel where Melinda read about an outdoor mineral pool overlooking the city. Sure enough, it was there. We spent some time in the pool and would have stayed longer if the water wasn't so deep - we got tired of having to rescue Lolo.
Time for a snack break in the city park. Lolo also took some time to chase away every pigeon within 200 yards.
After walking along the riverfront shops, colonnades, mineral fountains, and parks for a while - we decided to hike up to the neighborhoods overlooking the valley. We took those steps you see behind the building.
"Gonna fly now, gonna fly now." Only 987 more steps to go.
The neighborhood at the top of the stairs, overlooking the river and main drag below, was absolutely beautiful. This "residence" was our favorite.
The city has a number of colonnades, each has its own distinct architectural style. Here are my two girls at the Park Colonnade, made famous for its wonderful design and sewer-flavored mineral water.
Fill 'er up! The mineral water at first tastes like lemon juice, then it just tastes like crap.
Don't touch that! Some of the mineral fountains are hot, hot, hot.
One last cathedral, then it's time to take the train home.