Birthday in Bohemia

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Karlovy Vary is a quiet little spa town situated on the northern border of Czech Republic, very popular in summer with western tourists and film stars, who come for the annual film festival. For us three little travellers, however, Karlovy Vary was a sleepy Czech town in winter, with just a few young families and elderly couples. The town is set around the River Tepla, in a basin surrounded by visible trees and hills. Along the main street are lots of quaint jewellery shops and deluxe (read unattainable) hotels.

The spas are fed by thermal springs deep underground, and their water is said to have healing properties. We gave it a go. We got sick! It tasted purely of salt and metal and Ciara had to spit it out into the river - a cardinal sin!

The main site of the town is the beautiful Church of Mary Magdelene, set above the main street. The town also boasts the stunning Dvorak and Mozart Gardens, with pretty white gazebos for promenading on birthday walks.

So, the birthday... We awoke to the most incredible breakfast feast we'd ever had, lovingly prepared by Ciara. Here's the menu:

Scrambled egg on toast
Bread and honey
Plum pastries (a Czech delicacy)
Pain au chocolat
Fruit muesli
A flask of tea

We wandered about town slowly soaking in the atmosphere, window shopping and stopping for lunch along the way, before heading out to dine at the four star 'Aqua Marina Spa Hotel' in the centre of town for an excellent birthday dinner. Here's the dessert menu:

Blueberry pancakes
Tiramisu
Peppered bananas with caramel sauce

All accompanied by a bottle of bubbly - Bohemia's finest!

We had a quiet drink in the film cafe en route back to the hostel and then fell into bed, possibly a little tipsy - must have been the spa water!

We walked out of the basin back up to the train station in the snow. Next stop Prague!

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