Frantiskovy Lazne

Finally, in a short time, I have closed the Triangle of Bohemian SPA towns in Czechia. After visiting Marianske Lazne and Karlovy Vary I have arrived to Frantiskovy Lazne, located only in 10 kilometres from the German border. Congratulations to me! Obviously, it is not like climbing the Seven Summits, the great mountains from every continent, but still this is something to be proud of :-)

Usually, to get to Frantiskovy Lazne you should make stopover at nearby city Cheb, but if you are lucky enough, you can get the direct train from Prague. I was lucky. Three hours exactly and I am here.

The city was founded in 1793 by Emperor Franz I and it was designed like a "garden city" where streets blend into large parks. Today it is a UNESCO spa town, famous for its yellow neoclassical buildings and healing mineral springs. There are 24 state-approved medicinal springs, but in use only 21 springs.

Another distinctive feature of the town, to my mind, is such architectural detail as a tower in the house. Looks like the owners here are the lovers of the castles.

The city looks very compact and in 10 minutes of slowly walking from the train station I was in front of my hotel. Esplanade hotel. They do not have their own reception here, and you should go for the keys to the hotel Monti Spa, just across the street.

The hotel looks brand new with the pretentious to offer luxurious service to the guests.

Now I am ready to observe the surroundings and to find the healthy springs, which are spread all over the town.

Unlike many older Czech towns that grew organically with winding streets, Frantiskovy Lazne was laid out on a regular, orthogonal grid plan, showing the Ideal Town design principles of the Enlightenment era, emphasizing order and harmony.

Surely, I like the idea of the garden city. And I feel that these parks are very beautiful and fresh during the summer season. So, I should definitely experience it as well.

So, the first spring which I have discovered on my way was the Luisa Spring, located in the wooden pavilion with the unique elliptical layout. Discovered in 1806 and captured in 1810, it was named after Empress Marie Ludovica, the third wife of Emperor Franz I. The spring is a cold, carbonated mineral water with a temperature of approximately 11°C. It contains high levels of sulfate and carbon dioxide. Actually, you will not find hot springs in Frantiskovy Lazne. The average temperature of most mineral springs in the area is about 9–11 °C.

I am not sure about the quality of the water from here, but I was brave enough to taste it. The usual taste of mineral water.

I continue my walking around the town in search of the new sources of healing mineral water...

The Frantisek Spring (Frantiskuv pramen) is the oldest and most significant mineral spring in Frantiskovy Lazne, serving as the official symbol of the town. They claim that water from this spring has a moderate, refreshing mineral profile without extremes in specific minerals. And it is used primarily for drinking cures to treat general exhaustion, digestive tract issues and metabolic disorders.

Still, you easily may get the digestion problems after drinking from any springs. I even felt a bit dizzy after drinking this water. So, be careful, and only after consultation with you doctor!

Like many of the springs in town, it contains dissolved iron and calcium. When the water is exposed to oxygen, these minerals oxidize, creating a yellowish-orange or ocher-colored sediment.

The Glauber Springs consist of four main springs (Glauber I–IV) famous for their extremely high content of sodium sulphate (Glauber’s salt). For example, the strongest spring, Glauber IV, contains the highest concentration of Glauber salts in the world (over 20000 mg/l total mineralization). They are globally recognized as natural rarities for their powerful effects on the digestive system. Some of these springs are housed in this monumental Neoclassical and Moorish-style hall built in 1930.

Many of the Glauber springs and other mineral springs in Frantiskovy Lazne naturally contain a significant amount of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2). This dissolved CO2 makes the water slightly acidic and bubbly, a characteristic that historically made these waters prized for their "acidulous" taste and therapeutic effects. And even in the 18th–19th century spa guests often compared these mineral waters to "nature’s champagne", which is lively, sparkling and refreshing. “Kyselka” this is how the Czechs usually call naturally carbonated mineral water. By the way, in Karlovy Vary you will not find such bubbly "kyselka", because springs there are much hotter (from 30 °C up to 75 °C).

The last discovered spring for today was the New Spring. Because the New Spring is exceptionally rich in iron and sulfate, it carries a heavy, metallic or "bloody" smell alongside the sulfur (or "rotten eggs"). By the way, in the world of spa therapy, the stronger the smell, the "healthier" the water is often considered to be.

After such long walks, it is the right time to go to spa and relax a bit. Aquaforum. Primarily, it offers several indoor and outdoor swimming pools with bubbles and without. They also have one Finnish sauna there, but unfortunately it was overbooked and I could not get there.

Honestly, I was not impressed by this place at all, because it does not provide as much facilities as for example in Toskana Therme in Bad Schandau. The only thing which cheered me up was definitely the 82 metres tobogan for sliding in water stream. It was real fun for me. Not very scary, with two tough turns only, but enough to scream loudly.

Its time for dinner now. Indeed, it is not easy to find an open restaurant in Spa town when it is not the season. But I was lucky one. The fish restaurant "Rybarska Basta". It is a very interesting place with authentic interior and mounts of the fish heads.

I already ordered food when I suddenly found out that they do not accept cards here. The waiter did not make me to run to the ATM, instead he offered to pay by QR-code with the transfer to his bank account. I happily finished my trout from the oven with garlic. 

Such a long post I have written about Frantiskovy Lazny. This is one of the best indicator of a good place, which worth visiting not only for one night. So, I would come back here again, but probably not because of the Aquaforum. Definitely, I should find the better spa in this town for the next coming.

Marianske Spa, The Misty Day

It was a good sleep indeed... Looking out of the window I have seen a wonderful mist over the neighboring roofs. It reminded me of another amazing morning in Italy, when I had very similar feelings of solitude and pacification...  Anyways, I should hurry to breakfast!

Luckily, at breakfast, contrary to the buffet-dinner, we have many kinds of drinks for free. Of course, I allowed myself eating as much as possible, because I am planning to walk a lot today and to skip lunch.

I am ready for hiking now. There are so many trails around Marianske Lazne, but I am not a professional hiker, so I go in the direction where the wind blows. It is very important in my case to have the smartphone fully charged!

By the way, in Czechia hiking is extremely popular, and there is an interesting system of trail markings all over the country. For example, on the trees/rocks/signposts you can see the different coloured lines - red, blue, green or yellow. Red colour is for main long-distance routes, often more challenging and demanding. Blue colour is for significant regional trails linking towns, landmarks or scenic areas. Green and yellow are for local short trails. Many Czech people are using mapy.cz, which can be very useful when walking in the forests.

Out of the blue I have discovered an interesting object, Hamelika lookout tower. Of course, I have climbed the numerous steps to the very top.

 

A very good view from the observation tower... It could be, if not the heavy mist around.

A very nice skiing from the slopes... It could be, if not the absence of snow at the moment. I wonder, if there will be any snow this year here. Still, I cannot complain about the weather, because it is very comfortable for enjoyable walking.

I have walked so long, that eventually I have reached the park of miniatures Boheminium, which I initially was not planning to visit due to its distant location from my hotel.

The park features detailed scale models (mostly 1:25) of famous Czech castles, chateaux and landmarks, all made with great architectural accuracy. I have understood that I had not seen most of the significant landmarks in Czechia, even though I am traveling quite often here.

It was a surprise to meet ponies and goats in the park. Moreover, due to the fact that it is located in the forest, you also can meet the wild birds and squirrels in big numbers.

So, park Boheminium includes over 70 detailed miniatures of important Czech monuments from all across the country - especially castles, chateaux, lookout towers, technical sites and rural heritage. And it is not just Western Bohemia as you may think first because of its name "Boheminium". The tricky thing is that Bohemia is a historical region in the western part of Czechia, but other regions are Moravia (east) and Silesia (northeast), so I have no idea why they called the park in such way.

On my way back, I did not want to make the same path, because it was quite slippery in some places, and with all these ups and downs I could easily fall, get hurt and get lost somewhere in the woods. So, I decided to walk along the road, even if it is longer.

There are several pavilions with the different springs in Marianske Lazne, but year-around, where you can drink mineral water, is Krizovy Pramen (Cross Spring) Pavilion, which looks like a church with neo-classical columns and a dom. The spring received its current name from the wooden cross erected at the site of its source. That cross also served as a guide for pilgrims who traveled in search of its unique healing power. These days two other surrounding springs, Karolinin and Rudolfuv, are brought to the pavilion of the Cross Spring, which can also be tasted here.

At the hotel, I headed to the spa. Obviously, I needed some relaxation and recharging my batteries. 

The same procedures: swimming in the Roman baths, saunas, jacuzzi, some short nap.. Several repeats. And it is already the dinner time. Such a wonderful life! Sometimes a little boring, but wonderful.

After food, of course, I was enjoying my solitude time in the deserted streets of the town.

To sum up my experience in Marianske Lazne, I have decided for myself to stay only in Ensana hotels next time, because I could see what I can get for the money spent. But I think, I am not the only one, who has such a good review about this resort, so in high season (i.e. in Summer) it must be fully booked.