Mon 13.Oct.2025
Prague and Franzensbad, CZ
Imagery June 2025
I apologize to the town of Franzensbad for using only its German name in this page. I do this
regretfully, because my composing and uploading software does not do well with the special
characters in its proper Czech name. (Before the Second World War, this part of Bohemia was
German-speaking. That lame excuse is the best I can offer.)
On with it!
Rhodes pix are already piling up.
Time to get the last of this year's Czechia pix out the door!
Prague
Some sort of festival day in Peace Square.
The Illusion Art Museum in Prague Old Town.
What you see depends on where you look from.
Franzensbad, Western Bohemia
The pre-WW1 spa town near the German border, that has become my default entry point into Czechia
after May's Grateful Deadheads gathering in nearby Saxony. An absurdly picturesque little place,
where elegant resorts are still happy to charge big bucks for 19th-century Cures, featuring
waters (and mud!) from the abundant natural mineral springs in the area.
SALE OF CUPS
These days, ordinary tourists can ignore the aristocratic resorts, and enjoy, town, springs, and
woods on an ordinary budget.
This pavillion offers mineral waters piped in from several different springs. The water is free,
but the cups are not - unless you bring your own, which is OK.
Outside the center, extensive woods play host to lakes, camping, cycling, and hiking trails, both
local and long-distance.
A pair of blaze marks tell us that this stretch of trail belongs to two marked routes.
The mineral springs have names. The ones out in the woods have decorative settings, and even
analyses of their mineral content. These waters may have been trendy in the 19th century;
to me they all taste like sulphurous gunk.
The mineral lists look rough on damaged livers, so I taste of them very
sparingly. (Your mileage may vary!)
An abandoned spring.
Did it cease to flow?
Don't forget to get out of town and stroll the woods. Choose an official route, or just
follow your nose and see where it takes you.
The trails are all well-maintained, and well-signed.
One even leads past an improbably noisy frog pond! How many of your friends can say they have been
serenaded by a hundred or more European frogs in the woods?
And where but Czechia do you find Reality Cancellers in any town you visit?
I have discovered a nice, well-located apartment, rented out by a charming small family. If it is
available on my dates, I'll stay there. (When I returned this year, the owner
actually remembered me from two years previous!) When this apt is unavailable, there are
plenty of hotels and pensions in this walking-size town.
I suspect that a full week in Franzensbad would drive me stir-crazy. But four days at a time
is a treat to savor!