A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I took a roadtrip to Marianske Lazne. I wrote about that town in last week's post. While we were there, we decided to spend one day exploring a couple of the nearby cities as well. After studying the map and bus schedules, we decided to spend a day in Cheb and Frantiskove Lazne.
Cheb is a relatively large city, with 33 000 inhabitants, and skimming Wikipedia led us to have if not high, then at least some expectations. Cheb, as it turns out, was once a centre of the Nazi movement: the Nazi manifesto, the 25 point programme, was developed here, and Hitler had visited the city.
I won't lie: we were disappointed. As we walked from the Soviet bus station into the city centre. we found a pedestrian street with a timeline running its length along the ground, transporting the curious and the bored through Cheb's events of historical significance, beginning with its first mention in 807 AD. It seems the street they picked was too long, as events such as Johann Wadmann of Cheb being the first person in history to use + and - signs, and the forced removal of the Sudeten Germans, are casually interspersed with ones such as this:
'Czech genius Jara Cimrman visits the Spalicek complex to have a few glasses of beer.'
,and the fact that in 1723 the population of Cheb was (a very specific) 6 483.
'Czech genius Jara Cimrman visits the Spalicek complex to have a few glasses of beer.'
,and the fact that in 1723 the population of Cheb was (a very specific) 6 483.
At the end of the street is the historical main square of Cheb. This square is very pretty: the colourful houses in different styles are very typical of the main square of every Czech town, but being very large, and with unusually few cars, we found this square exceptionally nice. Unfortunately, it's the only thing Cheb seemed to have going for it. We walked a little further to the main church, St Nicholas, but were disappointed again, and after a quick lunch and a piece of strudel, we headed back to the bus station, and got on the next bus to Frantiskove Lazne.
Note: I was concerned the attached photos of Cheb made it look too pretty. As I'm not interested in sharing ugly photographs, these photos are the colourful highlights of an otherwise monotone and uninspiring city.
It was clear from the moment the bus pulled into the town that we had made the right decision by leaving Cheb early in favour of spending the rest of the day here. Frantiskove Lazne is another spa town, and the concept is basically the same as that of Marianske Lazne; that is to say that you will spend time strolling through manicured forest park, from water source to water source, silly little cup in hand, sipping on salty water. Though much smaller than Marianske Lazne, this town somehow feels much more alive. Just a 10 minute bus ride from gloomy Cheb, you are transported to the French Riviera, sans sea. Grand pastel yellow hotels make up the main pedestrian boulevard, Narodni (National Street). Palm trees in large pots line the promenade, and three vintage cars, charmingly marked as belonging to the Veteran Car Club of Karlovy Vary, are the only vehicles in sight. At the end of the boulevard is a square with various mineral-water-drinking facilities, from springs, to shops selling cups and Lazenske Oplatky (spa wafers), to perhaps the most important - the public toilets. From here we walk along the paths of the expansive park, stop at each spring along our way, and watch the little yellow tourist train twist through the trees back towards the boulevard.
Like Marianske Lazne, the water here comes in many different temperatures, chemical compositions and colours. Signs indicate the mineral content and physical properties of a particular source, and we brave the foul smells, pour ourselves half a cup, and try to ignore the unappetizing colour --
At least it's good for you.
Despite all the horribleness of the taste, it's fun to spend the day trying and comparing and discussing whether the second source really tasted worse than the first one, or if perhaps the third was worst of all.
Despite all the horribleness of the taste, it's fun to spend the day trying and comparing and discussing whether the second source really tasted worse than the first one, or if perhaps the third was worst of all.
Our visit to Frantiskove Lazne was short, and although we saw everything there was to see, I think that we would enjoy coming back again, to unwind, recharge, and rest: as such, Frantiskove Lazne is our constipation-curing spa town of choice.