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| In case I forget what town I was in this late in the vacation, they had this helpful reminder hint |
This was my one full day in Karlovy Vary, an historic spa town two hours WNW from Prague.
One thing that cinched my decision to stay at the Grandhotel Pupp was that it was right next to a funicular.
So of course this was the first thing on my agenda for the day (after washing my face and eating breakfast).
The funicular goes to Diana, a mountaintop overlooking Karlovy Vary. There's an observation deck up there. And hiking trails. But mostly it's all about the observation deck. Let's ride.
And what a ride! Some people are connoisseurs of fine wines. Others are experts in fields of science or technology. Me? I'm a connoisseur of fine funiculars.
OK, maybe not a connoisseur. But I've ridden a bunch. And I loved them all. But the funicular in Karlovy Vary just may be the best. It combined three of the most important characteristics of an awesome funicular.
The ride was long. The pitch was steep. And the car was old enough that the ride was just a little ricketty. Not too rough. Not too smooth. Just perfect.
At the top was the Diana observation deck.
The elevator ride to the top of the elevator, shockingly, was free.
The views were amazing. But amazing views where you can see forever don't make great photographs.
That's the restaurant/snack bar at the top, for some perspective. And me:
I'm on the side where the wind is not blowing hard, so I can smile.
And what funicular goes up, must come down.
Anyway, quick stop at the hotel before a walking tour of Karlovy Vary, in search of the Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church. Did I show you my room?
Very old-fashioned. And large. You can tell this is an historic hotel because (a) there is only one usable outlet in the whole room, none in the bathroom, and (b) the internet speed invokes memories of what we thought was reasonable in the ancient years of 2006 or 2007.
Anyway, in the pavement in front among the paving stones they have little plates naming famous celebrities who have stayed at the Grandhotel Pupp and when.
Some go way back:
And for a celebrity whose more within my fandom:
Although I do like Kafka, too. Anyway, lots of pictures from the walking tour of the city, so I'll keep my commentary brief:
More tourists today. But then again, it's Friday. The start of the weekend.
Hansom cabs. Which we all want to call "handsome cabs" because they are. But they aren't.
Yes, the hansom cab is handsome. But it's still not a handsome cab.
St. Mary Magdelene's church:
This is an old Anglican church.
Which was re-purposed into a wax museum. Because EVERY tourist town must have a wax museum. It's international law.
Once you get off the main line through town, which is the Tepia River, the town appears to consist of old mansions that, for the most part, have been converted into hotels and guest houses.
I can't vouch that all of these fall into this category, but most do.
And this is a statue of Karl Marx.
I hate Karl Marx. But it's nice to see him forced to wallow in the unbridled capitalism of modern Karlovy Vary.
And there it is. The beautiful Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral. There are a lot of Russians in Karlovy Vary, so they deserve a cathedral to call their own.
This building was attached. I'm guessing the orthodox equivalent of rectory?
Hotel Smetana, another of the re-purposed (I believe) mansions. Or maybe it was built new to look historic.
Back to the main drag. We now are in Dvořákovy sady.
Named after Mr. Dvorak:
The renowned turn-of-the-last century Czech composer who is here in statue form.
Apparently there was some humor festival recently, because humorous drawings were posted on boards throughout the park. This was my favorite.
You can't explain why you find something funny.
People do drink the water here. The brown color at the bottom of the pool is from the minerals.
You can drink only a little. If you drink a lot of this water, which is healthy, but it will clean your pipes.
Back to the hotel for my spa treatment.
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