Every person has heard fairy tales and legends about the water of life since childhood. But those who have visited resorts where hydrotherapy is practiced no longer perceive them only as fairy tales. Mineral thermal waters have literally put people with various ailments back on their feet. Thanks to the magazine "Voyage and Leisure", we will briefly tell about the most popular routes "to the waters".
Karlovy Vary is a Czech spa with a long history. It is named after Emperor Charles IV, who successfully treated his sore legs in the local warm waters and ordered the construction of a health resort. The word "Vary" means "hot water": 12 hot springs emerge from a depth of two kilometers. Warm mineral water is the main remedy. It is drunk from signature Karlovy Vary mugs with a spout, people bathe in it, and for 200 years the famous liqueur "Becherovka" has been prepared on its basis. This liqueur, infused with 20 herbs, is called the thirteenth source of health. Its recipe was given to the pharmacist Becher by Dr. Frobriger, who monitored the health of Count Plettenberg-Miltingen, who came here for treatment, and at the same time experimented with herbal tinctures.
Counts and princes were regulars of this spa for many years, curing "aristocratic" diseases – metabolic disorders, stomach, kidney and liver disorders. Since the time of Charles IV (that is, since the 14th century), those suffering from diseases of the musculoskeletal system have also come here. Now they take mineral water baths, and in the last century they also dipped sore legs in warm beer, of course, not forgetting to consume it internally. The results are remarkable.
Hotels in Karlovy Vary are built in the "imperial style" – luxurious and comfortable. A single room with treatment and full board in the 4-star "Bristol Palace" and "Dom Pavlova" cost at least $150 per person per day, in the 3-star "Swiss Court" and "Sanssouci" – half as much.
The spine, arms, legs, bones, muscles, digestive organs, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels are successfully treated in Lithuania, at the sanatoriums of the Druskininkai resort. Even in the Middle Ages, local shepherds noticed that the water from springs in these parts works miracles – relieves fatigue, heals wounds, cleanses the skin. When rumors of the healing water reached the ears of the King of Lithuania and Poland, Stanisław August, he issued a decree on the resort status of Druskininkai.
Today, 28 types of various procedures are used here to restore body and soul after work and illness. 88 sanatoriums, a health center, a physiotherapy clinic and a climate park are open all year round for children and adults. The cost of one day's stay with treatment and three meals a day ranges from $18 at the "Dainava" sanatorium to $41 at the "Lietuva" sanatorium. The necessary information can be obtained by e-mail ([email protected]).
Water often returns not only health, but also beauty. The respectable French resort of Évian on the shores of Lake Geneva is famous worldwide for its mineral spring, which has a truly rejuvenating effect on the skin. Located in the palace-like hotel "Royal", the "Mieux-Vivre" Institute offers guests a full range of cosmetic services, carbon dioxide baths, mud therapy and underwater massage.
Those who choose the "Hermitage" hotel, built in the style of a chalet with fireplaces and wooden beams, will receive the same wellness programs at the "Tone and Relaxation" balneological center. This is not surprising – any treatment in Évian is based on the healing properties of the local spring water. In addition to the miraculous treatments, the resort offers other joys of life – a casino, tennis courts, a riding school. The best thing is to attend the annual "Musical Encounters" festival, which Mstislav Rostropovich holds in the local concert hall with the frivolous name "Hayloft by the Lake" and, admiring the tiled roofs of Lausanne across the calm expanse of Lake Geneva, listen to the maestro himself or the performers he invites.
Treatment in the clinics of Évian is a pleasure for wealthy people. A week's stay with a rejuvenation course and regular sessions at beauty institutes costs from $900.
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