Wellness Journal - Week III

November 9 - Day XVII

It was so interesting to see out the window this morning when I woke up. Actually it was a little alarming for a mo

ment because I could no longer see any of the beautiful buildings I had gotten used to as the fog that had rolled in over the evening was so dense that I could see only grey from my bed.

I got up early and was out of the hotel by 8:15am and although the fog had not cleared completely it was a bit better out so I took a few pictures to capture the beauty of a foggy day in Karlovy Vary.

I got my morning 200ml of water cure number 1C and then off to mass at Saint Mary Magdalena at 8:30am. It was another beautifully sung mass.

After breakfast where I made a final goodbye to Tatiana who turned out not to have transportation until 12:00pm. It was nice to see her one last time. It is also Ida's 70th birthday today which is very exciting for her and she seems happy to be celebrating here.

Next came treatments and it was exactly like yesterdays with swimming pool first for some exercise and a treatment of Pearl Bath, Hydrotherapy by Kneipp, and some inhalation therapy.

The sun came out while I was walking about the spa and I got so excited since we had seen so little of it in the last three weeks I had them push the times of my treatments closer together and by 12:00pm I was already up at the top of the mountain enjoying the beautiful sunshine and the cool breezes. I walked for two hours through all the winding paths and up and down the hills and came out at the end of it all near the newner town center area. When you first come off the mountain you come out to the Karlovy Vary lake which is about the size of a very small pond but really cute and with some ducks just paddleing themselves around.

I had two hours more of inhalation therapy in the salt cave and then it was off for another walk and although the sun was pretty much gone and the air was even cooler than this morning I was just so happy to enjoy more of this oh so fresh air.

Ida took me to the famous Elephant café after dinner for tea and a light dessert. She wanted to celebrate her birthday by going there and her husband isn’t in to that kind of think so I was happy to keep her company. The Elephant Café was where the Russian writer Goethe celebrated his 37th Birthday and is right next door to my hotel. There have also been many other famous people who dined there and it is he oldest restaurant in the town. Interestingly, it also has on the outside to the right of the door a strange mark in the marble façade that is about 5 feet from the ground and which I am told was caused by the horrible flood that ravaged much of the Czech Republic including Prague and Karlovy Vary. The water came up as high as that mark and the buildings here in the main town next to the Tepla River were all badly damaged. All the repairs were done long ago and there is no trace of the flood visible on the buildings except this mark on the Elephant Café.

November 8 – Day XVI










I was up very early for water cure number 1C before breakfast. I met Galena from outside Moscow, Ida and Rudolph at the fountains.

As I was leaving breakfast I fortunately bumped into Mark, the manager here at my hotel that was so helpful to me this whole time and he was getting ready to leave for a two week vacation to St. Petersburg, Russia. I will miss him very much as he is so adorable and sweet and just a pleasure to be around. I took some pictures just because I think he is too cute. And since my mother is reading this I am sure she would like to know if he is single and yes he is but he is only 30 years old and has a girlfriend. It has been such a pleasure meeting him and he has a great energy, so positive. I think the more I spend time here in Karlovy Vary the more I appreciate the Czech people. Unlike the people we met working in the stores and at the hotel in Prague; the Czech people here seem genuinely happy and really make an effort to please people. They clearly are not found of all the Russian people here but I think they make the best of a not so great situation which I so admire. Everyone has challenges in life but I think it is all in how you deal with them and the people I have met here deal with it all seemingly well.

I got a picture with Mark and Simona, one of the Reception Associates at the hotel who just got married in July in a medieval hillside town with a huge castle. She had her wedding pictures with her today so Mark and I perused them and he pointed out some stuff about the Medieval town like the municipal works sometimes dress in period costumes and go about the town and Simona had a picture with her and her husband talking to one of them. If I had more time I think it would be fun to go around the nearby towns and get a real feel for life in this part of the country but with all my treatments there is only so much one can do and I will just have to be happy having had the pleasure of getting to meet these wonderful people and hear some of their stories.

And then it was off to the swimming pool for some exercise and a treatment of Pearl Bath, Hydrotherapy by Kneipp, and two different kinds of inhalation therapy. It was a busy but non stressful morning of treatments.

I met a woman from Norway in one of the inhalation rooms and she had arrived a week ago with 7 friends from Düsseldorf where she now lives. She was telling me that she lost her husband to cancer about 6 months ago and her friends thought 3 weeks here would do her some good and she seems to think it is but she did tear up when talking about her husband and said she misses him so much. She invited me to Düsseldorf and said she has plenty of room for guests and would love to have me. She said she wanted me to meet her son so I asked if he was single and she scrunched up her face a bit and smiled and said he has a boyfriend. I of course laughed and explained my abnormal ability to surround myself with only gay men. She said she had wanted me to meet him because he had just been to New York for business. He is a photographer and he did a photo shoot with some models in New York and really loved it and I guess would enjoy talking to me. She said that although she was very surprised when he first told her he was gay said he is my son and I love him no matter what. She was so happy to be talking about it all I think and told me about his boyfriend who she loves and that her son is happy and that is all that matters to here. I have met some of the nicest people who just try so hard to be welcoming and gracious and you can tell they genuinely are that way.

After lunch it was time for inhalation therapy and although Sebastien and his grandmother where not there it was very nice and Veronique and her mother were and they really are such a lovely family and they got to rest a bit except for me taking pictures with my flash once or twice

Nikola, the young lady who works at the spa and who I had tea with the other day, surprised me with a gift and I just could not believe her thoughtfulness. She got me a small container of Czech chocolate beautifully wrapped. I was so touched. It is not like most of my life people have not been kind to me because they almost always have and certainly many, many people have been beyond generous but it was still so surprising and kind of her to think of me. I really am getting very used to this city and it's people probably more than I could ever have imagined.

A lovely two hour walk and then dinner where we say goodbye to Tatiana from Vancouver, Galina and Irena from Moscow and Galina from outside Moscow as they all head home.

Tatiana and Nana, a Russian woman from Moscow who arrived here this past week went for a long walk after dinner. We stopped off at fountain number 11 and then over to the snake at fountain number 13. Apparently if you use number 13 to clean and tone your face it will make you looks years younger. So now I have to do that everyday before I leave. I started tonight and took some to my hotel for the morning.

On the way back to the hotel Nana told us how she was staying here in Karlovy Vary the day the Russians invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. She said it was a scary time not so much because she feared the Russians being Russian herself but because of the animosity and shear anger that the Czech felt and showed toward the Russian guests. She said all the lights were turned off in the hotels and the Czech hotel employees would bring the guests soup but put bugs and other horrible things in it before they served it to them. Needless to say she did not stay long on that visit and left for Prague and then Moscow almost the next day. She clearly understood why the Czechs were upset but that still didn’t make the experience any more pleasant. She also told us about Khrushchev who in the early 1960’s would, at meetings with the United Nations, take his shoe off and put it on the table. Nana says it was because he was so passionate about his country and he just wanted to express himself but did exactly have the right words or something to that effect.

It has been fun to hear things from the Russian perspective and to then get the Czech perspective from the hotel and spa employees who have been confiding in me how awful it is sometimes to serve the Russians because all they do is complain.

Having spent 10 years in the hotel business I think I understand completely about complaining guests and how they can drive you to distraction.

November 7 – Day XV

It was another early start to the day with a quick breakfast before an 8:30am Anti-Cellulite massage which was followed by a very nice long walk up a hill, past a park down a beautiful villa lined street and into the center of town.

Lunch came quickly and before I knew it I was ready for my Pneumopunkture treatment which still hurts and even leaves marks. I have several bruises from where the needle goes in but I know they will go away at some point but for now they are just reminders of the measures one must take to get well or thin whichever is your goal or perhaps they are basically the same for some people.

I quickly changed into my swim suit and off to the pool for some laps and then a 15 minute exercise session with my Czech trainer. This time there was little laughing but he managed a smile now and again. It is like being in some strange military training exercise video from the Cold War. The walls are all white and he is dressed in a white uniform and he barks orders at me and I do my best to follow along. There are times here that I truly wonder what in the world I am doing with my life. Then at the end of the session he sort of gives me some kind of reassurance that I am doing well and that does make it all better.

Next was a pearl bath which is hundreds of jets shooting water at me while I recline in a very warm bathtub? It is oddly relaxing so I like this one very much.

Hydrotherapy by Kneipp which again is hot and cold water pools that you step into and go back and forth between the two for 15 minutes was next.

I was ready for a rest but I had one last treatment and that was inhalation therapy and I must say this I was looking forward to not only because it is relaxing but I knew that little Sebastian was going to be waiting for me with his grandmother Alison and he is just so adorable I want to scream. And yes when I got to the waiting area he was there and so excited to see me. He actually brought me a surprise. He had a picture of himself that he wanted me to take back to New York. The funny thing is I had brought my camera to take a picture of him and the little girl who was also there the last two times. Fortunately they were so excited to have their picture taken. The little girl, Veronique was there with her father this time and she is just as adorable and sweet as she was the last two times. Her father said they are from Munich and that Veronique is 6 years old. What a very nice family.

It was a lovely 45 minutes and the kids played and we all rested in the reclining chairs. I will see Sebastian and Veronique tomorrow and Sunday which is great because you just can not help smiling around them they are just so filled with energy and fun.

We had a new couple join us for dinner today from way up in some small town in Russia. They seem nice and are friendly and I am sure they will make a nice addition to our group.
After dinner it was time for another walk and Ida, Tatiana, Galena from Moscow and Irena walked through town and stopped at various fountains for the water cures. Number 11 is still my favorite before bed because you just wake up ready to face the day the next morning. It

was a nice hour or so walk and just the prefect way to end the day. The weather has been overcast most of the time I have been here but it is so mild and very little actual rain that none of us could possibly complain. Actually Ida told me an old Russian saying which translated means “There is no bad weather only bad clothing”. So if you have a scarf, hat, boots and a warm coat you should have no problem bearing a Moscow winter.

On the way back to the hotel we met a couple from Florida who were staying at the Grand Hotel Pupp for two nights with their 10 year old daughter. They live near Regensburg, Germany now and the husband works in Computer Security for the US government there. They were so impressed with this town and I guess it really is hard not to be since it is so unique and beautiful even at night.

November 6 – Day XIV

Today was a hectic treatment day staring off at 7:40am with a Carbon dioxide Dry Bath then a quick walk to fountain 1C for my morning water cure then I was off to breakfast. I am going to miss my daily morning red cabbage and unsweetened, unflavored yogurt and kasha/oatmeal/unsweetened granola mix. I have gotten so used to it and actually look forward to it each morning. I was then off to a 10:00am Anti-Cellulite massage (still a little painful) and then I actually took a 45 minute nap as my body just simply refused to move out of the room for my morning walk. After that quick nap I was down to the pool for some water exercise (about 45 minutes) and then in to the water therapy room for a Scottish Shower (still not liking the freezing cold water). It was time for a quick walk to my afternoon water cure and then to lunch.

I had the pleasure of sitting with Galena and Irena from Moscow and Galena from a town outside Moscow. Only one of the Galena’s speaks a little English but it was fun to figure things out. They are in there late 40’s and 50’s and all left their husbands and children and, in the case of Irena, her grandson to come for two weeks for a wellness retreat. They are all very lovely ladies and Irena was even a champion volleyball player for Russia many years ago. I was also given a little more information about life in Russian and the upcoming holiday season there. It turns out they celebrate Christmas on January 7 and the celebrate the New Year on the 1st of January as we do but they also have a unique holiday called Old New Year which is observed on January 13. No one could tell me exactly what the Old New Year celebration is all about and basically they said it is tradition so they all still observe it. I love these little bits of information and it is so nice to see them get so excited to talk about their country and they are very clearly proud to be Russian.

I was then off for a Twiggy Massage followed directly by 15 minutes of individual gymnastics with a very uptight looking Czech man. I have 5 sessions of 15 minutes each between now and when I leave and basically we do stretches and squats and other painful exercises that he does along with me and as he counts in Czech and says up, down, left right, etc. all in his language I do as I am told. I caught myself at one point saying the words in Czech along with him. I can’t think of what they are now but when you are in the moment and there is a rhythm to your movements you just seem to want to repeat whatever he is saying.

Toward the end of the session I had a few squats left to do and let me say they were a bit much for me and when I couldn’t get myself back up he had to help me and for some reason we both found this whole little adventure hysterical. I am glad I was able to make the strict Czech trainer laugh which I am sure does not happen very often and certainly not to the degree I had him laughing. I mean I really could not get myself back up without help and I suppose it was better to laugh then to do anything else. It sort of broke the tension for both of us.

Next came a Subaqua massage and then hydrotherapy by Kneipp which is when you spend 15 minutes stepping in to a large freezing cold water basin and then 30 seconds later into a, just under scolding temperature, hot basin. You go back and forth from cold to hot and hot to cold until the 15 minutes are up. This is all good for circulation.

I spent about an hour in the pool just bopping around and enjoying the warmth and basically just moving all my limbs around in a non-stressful way which is really how I prefer to exercise.

Some time for walking is always a wonderful way to spend an hour or more in this town. Here is the Post Office building which was, at one time in the early 1900s the largest in Central Europe.

Dinner was lovely and sadly it was time to say goodbye to Larissa and Tamara as they are off tomorrow morning at 5:00am for their flight back to the Ukraine. They are so lovely and as they hugged me goodbye they said in Russian that they wish me great luck that I should find a husband soon. Yes, I actually understood what they were trying to say after two weeks with them we kind of just found our own way of communicating. It was funny though since just this morning in the pool a very nice older Russian man who now lives in Hamburg, Germany was asking me if I was married with children and when I said no he responded only with “Come to Germany and you will find a husband.” Lately it seems everyone asks me the same two questions “do I have children” and “am I married”. I think they find it strange since it seems Russians and even the Czech people I have gotten to know get married early like in their mid 20’s and for me to be 41 is just not right in some way. I do appreciate all their well wishes and as long as they are hoping for me to find a good husband and not just a husband then it is all fine with me.

November 5 - Day XIII

The day stared early with a Twiggy/Anti-Cellulite massage. Hannah is now combining things for optimal effectiveness. Next are a subaqual massage and then a Pneumopunkture treatment. I have another doctors appointment today and will have a few more treatments added for my last week depending on my current assessment.

I had afternoon tea with Nikola, the Czech spa attendant who is just so sweet and she took me to this Moroccan tea house near the spa. We had to sit on the floor on cushions but it was fun and she reminds me so much of Stacy (little sister as I call her) and I know if they met they would be great friends. She is only 20 and I can not help but think she would be perfect for my cousin Giuseppe in Italy but alas neither speaks each others language and the distance between Italy and the Czech Republic is pretty great that I am sure it is fruitless to even think of it. I just can not help but want to match people up when they are so nice and she told me she is not seeing a boy here in Karlovy Vary because although they are very nice and have good hearts they are not very bright. She made me laugh at that one since the boys she is considering dating are only around 20 themselves and therefore are not exactly mature and, as for being bright, I am sure they have other concerns at the moment that supersede their brain function. She really is such a nice young lady and she could not wait to share thoughts on her country which she really seems to love. I think the younger generation of Czechs seems more willing to accept being happy. She works a lot at the spa and doesn’t seem to be disgruntled like many other Czech people I have met along the way and she even, after we left the tea house, was headed to the Karlovy Vary Magistrates office to apply for a job as a traffic officer. She said she loves working with people and talking to them and she doesn’t even mind if they get upset with her when she gives them a ticket for driving too fast. I am sure that the Czech people are nothing like New Yorkers who scream and yell at the parking officers when they are writing them out a ticket so for her, it won’t be so bad.

I have so enjoyed meeting all these interesting people and learning a lot about the culture. After I left Nikola I went back to the spa for some inhalation therapy and was very excited to see Alison and her grandson Sebastian who were there for treatment as well. I had told 4 year old Sebastian on Monday that I would see him on Tuesday but I did not have a treatment schedule for Tuesday so I was not there and apparently, according to Nikola and Alison, Sebastian was very upset and even told Nikola she could not close the door to the inhalation room because Debra had not gotten there yet. Alison said he was very concerned about me. How adorable his this little boy? I just want to take him home with me but I am sure his grandmother and mother, who I met when she came to the spa after work to pick them, would never ever want to part with him. He talks and talks and talks and even showed me his picture book on fire engines and he spent a great deal of time explaining each picture to me. I tried my best to understand but he was talking very quickly in Czech so I just smiled and nodded my head and he seemed very happy with my general responses.

We were also joined this time in the inhalation room by a daughter and her elderly mother who were visiting Karlovy Vary from the Ukraine for a week. They were so sweet and knew a little English and were able to talk a bit with me. Then there was a mother and a young girl around 6 years old who came in as well. The young girl was there on Monday with her father and I watched her that time as she played and she reminds me so much of my Goddaughter Amelia. The young girl played with her dolls and with Sebastian and they were both so well behaved as the adults all relaxed for the 45 minute treatment. The only other people in the room with us were a young couple and their 6 month old son. The mom fell asleep with in minutes as did the baby who was snuggled in her arms and the husband spent most of his time playing on his Blackberry phone. It was a really interesting group that came together today and at one point I sat up in my extremely comfortable reclining chair and just looked around and thought what an amazing world when you think about it and how incredible that such different people from different backgrounds (Ukrainian, Russian, Czech, American and German) can just sit quietly in a cave like room and breath in the healthy air and just basically be still with one another. I think we should get world leaders together in this kind of room and just let them be quiet and simply observe one another. There is something very peaceful about watching other people relax and with the unique air quality and the dripping salt water and soothing lighting effects they could perhaps each have epiphany’s that would help the peacefully solve the world’s problems. I know I am over simplifying things, but right now my head is so clear from all this fresh air, clean healthy water and the company of some wonderful people that I just wish the so many others could feel this good.

November 4 - Day XII

It started out to be a very cloudy gloomy day but by 11:00am it was sunny and fabulous. I started the day with Lymph Drainage and then my first treatment of Dry Carbon Dioxide Bath which consists of getting naked and stepping into an enormous white plastic bag that covers the whole body then laying down on a table where a technician comes and wraps a collar around the neck area and just leaving your head out. The bag is then inflated with carbon dioxide and you sit for about 30 minutes with your skin absorbing it all in. It is very relaxing and 15 minutes into the process the technician comes back in and re-inflates you. The purpose of this treatment is to improve blood circulation and positively influence the central nervous system

Prior to the carbon dioxide treatment I had the pleasure of sitting in the waiting are with a lovely gentlemen I met about a week ago. He and his wife are here from a small town in Russia near the Siberian border. They are an older couple and he is so distinguished and such a gentlemen that every time he has seen me over that last week he has made a point to stop and say hello and chat as best he can since his English is extremely limited and my Russian is only 5 words strong. Today was our first opportunity to really talk as we were seated together for about 10 minutes. His name is Oscar and he is a petroleum executive. Somehow with our limited ability to communicate clearly I was still able to discern that he had worked in Cuba sometime ago and spoke a little Spanish, that he had two daughters and one spoke English well. At one point he took out a pocket watch which somehow fit his persona perfectly. He has an elegance about him and I was watching him as he checked the time on this amazing gold piece which he then showed to me and, although I expected it to be a lovely work of craftsmanship, which it was, I had not expected for this antique piece to have an etching of the Statue of Liberty on it. There is something very familiar about him, possibly because he reminds me of my Uncle Victor in appearance a little. And to add to my confirmation that he is a perfect gentlemen when his wife came out of the treatment room he said slowly, but in perfect old English style, “may I introduce my wife to you?” It was so charming and his wife whose name is “Josefania” of something very close to that. What a lovely couple and I am more and more impressed with the quantity of truly wonderful people who come here.

What was most interesting and I was thinking about it as I laved in my big plastic inflated bag, was that Karlovy Vary is a step back in time. The more I get to know the place and the more I am entrenched in the happenings around town and in my spa I feel more like I have been transported to early 1900’s Bath, England. Yes, there is only Russian and Czech spoken here for the most part but in every other way I am sure this is what it must have been like in Jane Austen’s time when she wrote Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (My favorite of her novels). The day is spent strolling through the beautiful Victorian town socializing with other guests, congregating around the fountains (or in Jane Austen’s time the pump) conversing about the day and life in general and then in the evenings there are lots of theater and music events which keep everyone who is interested in Russian entertainment very busy. It is an extremely social atmosphere with a main focus on getting healthy. It is all so civilized and pleasant.

I had a twiggy massage after lunch which consisted of today a special Hannah body scrub concoction which she massaged all over and then washed off to only begin again with an oxygen oil combination she created. After a few minutes of absorption she then mixed up some kind of paste substance which she slathered all over me and wrapped me up in cellophane and warm blankets to stew a bit except this concoction had peppermint in it and was like sitting on a block of ice for a half hour. I don’t think any number of blankets would have helped this situation. I did endure and after she washed all the paste off she did a full body massage with a different cream that smelled great and had not unpleasant side effects. I think Hannah is a bit of a chemist with all her special mixes and she seems absolutely determined to eradicate all cellulite from my body which I greatly appreciate but she may not have ever faced a preservative rich/fat and sugar based American diet which helped create the cellulite in the first place and therefore more stubborn than she is used to. I do applaud and appreciate all the effort she is putting into my treatments though.

On my way out of the hotel Hannah was leaving for the day so Mark, the hotel manager translated some things she had wanted me to know about the treatments she had been doing and also she wanted to know if I was losing any inches yet. I think I have but I never measured myself before hand so I really am not sure. Some clothes are bigger now but who knows what that really means. Mark was kind enough to take a picture of Hannah and me.

Some inhalation therapy and then I am done with treatments for the day. Alison said she would be there this afternoon as well so perhaps I will be entertained by another one of Sebastian’s Czech songs.

It is also such a lovely day for a hike and the leaves are pretty much all changed and many of the trees are bare already.

One thing did surprise me this morning and that was the appearance of some pink and yellow roses along the river when I went for my walk. It has been so cold yet they are out and blooming beautifully. I think the healing waters have a profound effect on the plant and flower life as well. It certainly has affected the ducks who I found simply sitting in the water not doing much of anything but enjoying the water as the current brought it down toward them. The river is directly about the hot springs so I am sure the water is somewhat comfortable for them and they certainly seem happy to be in it.

I try to make my way to the public library everyday to do the blog. It is nicely situated just on the edge of the old town and the newer town and in a very pretty yellow building. There are always a few people enjoying the magazines and using the internet. They have such a variety of current magazine issues (easily over a 100 or so) and many are Russian or Czech translations on US magazines. Now why I mention this is that I was looking around while the pictures loaded on the blog and notices among the many publications they had very prominently displayed near some beauty and current news selections was Playboy. I was taken back at first as you would never, and I mean never see one on a shelf in the New York Public Library or in any US library for that matter. Europeans do certainly seem more comfortable with this kind of thing but in a library I just think that goes against the general nature of the establishment but who am I to criticize so I am simply just mentioning it as an interesting and odd observation I made.

A picture looking out over the more modern part of town and in the distance the complex of contemporary apartment buildings.

After dinner Tatiana, Ida and I took a long two hour walk around town. We made it to the Elizabeth Spa and then back again. It was such a balmy sort of night and so pleasant for a long walk. We finished with a visit to fountain number 11 for some colon cleansing water and then off to our rooms for some rest.

November 3 – Day XI

Today starts a count down of my remaining 10 days which are packed full of lots and lots of treatments and exercise. I am looking forward to it and today began at ten this morning with a subaqua massage which basically is a massage performed by a therapist while you are in a tub of warm water. Then came the Scottish Shower and some water exercise. The twiggy massage was next and basically special cream was slathered all over me and then I was wrapped up like a mummy with cellophane and left to stew for about thirty-five minutes at which time Hannah removed all the cellophane and I had a half hour, somewhat painful, massage.

Time for a nice walk through the town and around a the hills.

In the afternoon before inhalation therapy I met Alison and her 4 year old grandson, Sebastian in the waiting area. What an adorable little boy and his grandmother and mother have been teaching him English which he was happy to share with me. He can count to 10 and say various other words and one of the first questions he had for me was if I had a dog. He of course had a dog. While we waited for the room to be opened he sang a Czech song for me which his grandmother said had something to do with apples. They live nearby and are doing some of the therapies which I found so interesting as it seems very few of the native Czech here do them and as I have been told by many at the spa they would never do the water cures because the water tastes so bad. I am use to the water now and really can not taste much of anything but some salt now.

At dinner we were very happy to see Tamara and Larissa back as they had gone for three days to Paris. They are so sweet and I had missed them while they were away. They told Ida who translated it in English for me that they missed me as well and could imagine that if I am so happy here in Karlovy Vary that I would be incredibly happy in Paris. Well they are right I do love Paris but they were so funny when describing to Ida that I would basically be all smiles there.

After dinner I took a nice walk with Ida to fountain number 11 and I must say that it is working very well each morning. Number 11 is known for it’s power as a colon cleanser and it most certainly is that.

After our walk I went up to Ida and Rudolph’s room to see their accommodations as they are in a sister hotel to mine, the Mozart Hotel. Their room is very nice and Rudolph read a few of his poems and Ida showed me the book he had written 4o years ago to teach foreign languages. It was really interesting as he combined visuals and text with a constant repetition process. He is retired six months now but he clearly loved what he did.

Wellness Journal - Week II

November 2 - Day X

A DAY IN PRAGUE

Sunday I had no treatments scheduled which will be my last day without treatments until I live on the 13th so I took the opportunity to visit Prague for the day? It was an overcast somewhat foggy day but warm for the month of November so I very much enjoyed the visit. I took the Student Agency bus from Karlovy Vary around 10:00am which makes one stop at the airport and made it into Prague in just over 2 hours. What a fabulous bus, you actually get better service on this bus than on some planes nowadays. First the seats are so comfortable and roomy and then they provide complimentary cappuccino or coffee as well as hand out headsets so you can watch the in-bus movie which turned out to be Sahara with Mathew McConnhey and Penelope Cruz. I just enjoyed the ride and saw all the little towns as we passed and admired all the beauty in the foliage turning.

I got to Prague around 12:15pm and headed directly t o the Galarie Josefa Sudka which I was unable to visit when Melody and I where there as it was closed on Monday and Tuesdays. The gallery is intimate and I only had the opportunity to see a little of Josef Sudka’s work. They were showing another artist, Bohumil Stastny’s work which is in some ways like Josef Sudak’s. The gentlemen attending the gallery was very nice and explained that the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the sponsor of this gallery, have in their possession around 25,000 of Mr. Sudka’s photographs but keep them very well preserved in one of their storage areas so that there is minimal light or air damage. Josef Sudka is one of the Czech Republic’s most famous photographers and they have worked hard to keep all this art safe so they only display it in large numbers on occasion. The young man did tell me that if I had time I could arrange with the curator at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague to have a private tour by him of the works that are stored. It takes weeks of previous arrangement to make that happen so I guess on my next visit I will have to try and make that happen.

As I was walking down the hill I realized that November 2nd last year I was in Prague as well. I had landed November 1st and on November 2nd we had a tour of this same area with our group from the river cruise. I am not sure if the weather was exactly the same but I kind of remember it being a bit overcast as well but what fun to be here exactly on year later doing pretty much the same thing.

Off next to lunch and seeing that I was only feet away from that wonderful Bosnian restaurant Melody and I had dinner at I thought it best to go there since they had the incredibly healthy and delicious bean and onion dish. It was again perfect and the atmosphere is so pleasant in there that it was a great choice.

I took a long walk through Kampa and past the charming river and over their small bridges and reached the Charles Bridge which always affords some great pictures. Once over the bridge I went across the street to the Klementinum which is a large complex of buildings that were erected in the early 1700’s for use by the Jesuits as a teaching college. There was a Modern sculpture exhibit going on in the garden area and along the path to the Astronomical tower. One area had a life-size tree made out of steel and a little girl sitting high up on a ledge and when you first pass her by you do a double take thinking at first there really is a little girl reading so high up there.

It is an impressive complex and holds in it besides the many classrooms and living spaces a Mirror Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Baroque Library Hall which holds over 20,000 treasured books one even dating back to around 1,000AD, and the Astronomical Tower which houses mid-18th century astronomical devices and the Prague Meridian which is similar to the Greenwich Meridian in London. I took the tour which was fascinating and well worth the time. The tour did, however, include I climb all the way to the top of the Astronomical Tower which if you are like me and are afraid of heights may be a little daunting. Fortunately when you get to the top there is an enclosed are and you can stay safely away from the sides the balcony outside and just take some pictures from the inside area. I really needed Melody to go out there and get pictures as she seems to enjoy the heights but since it was an overcast day I suppose my pictures are just fine.

For the rest of the day I just walked around and enjoyed the old town square and went into some of the churches hoping to find mass but no one seemed to know exactly when mass was held on Sunday afternoons and where so I just enjoyed the day as a whole.

I walked to through the shopping area and was absolutely shocked when I went past the same Tesco Melody and I had gone in just over a week ago and which is now decorated for Christmas. The front is lit up beautifully and when you walk inside there are Christmas trees and other decorations all around. I am amazed that they have already begun their holiday push but I think since there tourist season ends in about three weeks they make the most of it all as much as they can.

I stopped off at Our Lady of Snow church for a quick rest and a hope that there would be mass but there was not so I headed toward the Florenc train station as I had to catch my bus back to Karlovy Vary. I made it back quickly so I had plenty of time for dinner which I had at the Teatro Restaurant located next to the bus station and in one of the newer theaters in Prague interestingly enough showing Mel Brook’s The Producers. The restaurant was very modern and lovely and the food was great.

The bus ride home was as pleasant as the ride going and this time I did watch the movie Sahara which in Russian still made sense to me. We got home about 15 minutes early so that was perfect and I stopped off for my water cure number 11 and then back to the hotel for some rest.

I love Prague and am glad I had a little more time there but it was nice to come back to Karlovy Vary and know for the next 10 days it was all about health and well being.

November 1 - Day VIIII

Saturday has proved to be beautiful here with sunshine and not too cool temperatures.

I had to say goodbye to Ena today as she left for St. Petersburg at ten this morning. She is such a lovely woman and she made me promise that when I visit St. Petersburg that I will call her the moment I get into my hotel and her and her son will drive right over and get me and take me all around. The city, according to her and many others of course, is suppose to be so gorgeous and wonderful that it is a must visit. She did say, as I am finding most older people do, that I must visit within the next 3 years as she is not sure if she will be alive after that. So crazy since she is so energetic and still working and all but I told her at this point I have not plans to visit Russian put I will try to make it sooner than later.

I took the most fabulous walk this morning up a wooded hill and then back down another way. There are so many entrances and exits to the town center and people are always out and about in them. The town makes it very easy to take a walk and whenever you get tired you either rest on one of the hundreds of benches or simply walk a little further and you will find a path leading right into the center of town.

This town holds so many architectural treasures that you can never get tired of walking around looking for new buildings to see. There are also so many wonderful sculptures I have come across both religious and purely artistic.

I did spend some quality time at the main rotunda where the geyser is as I was told by Tatiana that you should spend a half hour everyday breathing in the mist from the mineral water that is shooting sky high. It helps the whole body apparently.

Even fountain number 13 is gorgeous housed in the ornate wooden colonnade with a fountain spout that is a sculpture of a snake and a vase placed on top. You can even see the carved sculptures on the wooden gazebo sides.

The rest of the day is for swimming, massage treatments, mineral baths, hot and cold water therapy and oxygen therapy. Busy day but truly what a wonderful way to stay busy.

October 31 – Day VIII

I had Lymph drainge, Scottish Shower, aqua aerobics, anti cellullite massage andneumopunkture all before 1.30pm.

Two new woman joined us today in the pool. One woman must have been in her late seventies and she was so wonderful to watch when she got in. The water is very warm and you could see such delight in here that she was here and could enjoy it all. I love seeing people exude such happiness and take such pleasure in the little things in life like a warm pool. One of the other Russian woman who have seen before said I smile all the time so I asked her if that was good thing and she and the other two woman in the pool, with a pretty good attempt to speak English said it was a very good thing. I think would be we hard not to smile around here. Yes, the treatments can be a bit much at times but to have the opportunity to do this and to be in a place so completely different than pretty much anywhere on earth and filled with such beauty I think smiling just comes naturally for many here. Even the staff in my hotel and in the places I have visited in the last week are so much happier than in Prague and I think many people notice it. It may be the air or the water or just that people who live here just like where they are as much as we guests seem to.

I had the pleasure of walking up a new hill which provided lots more gorgeous buildings to admire. I first came across a small old church that is in desperate need of some tender loving care. Saint Lukes does not look like it has been used in a while which is such a shame because from the outside it looks like there are some wonderful stain glass windows and unique architectural features that would make it well worth preserving and from what I have seen of all the construction going on here this past week and specifically the renovation projects on some of the older buildings I believe that the town administrators take great pains to save as much of the history as possible. I am sorry that I won’t have the pleasure of going into Saint Lukes but I do home many others do in the near future.

A little was away from the church is the incredible Bristol resort and spa. It has an envious position in this town as it sits nicely at the top of this small hill only a quick walk to the water cures and standing right in front of it is a wonderful wooded hilly area. I had not heard of this spa which is probably a good thing this is was rated with 5 stars and I am sure beyond my reach.

I came across a small hotel with an adorable private garden behind it with some sculptures. You never know what will be lurking around any given corner or behind any stately fence.

I found this adorable little cottage building that says Telegraph on it and I am going to presume, for lack of having anyone to consult on this, that it was the building years ago where the wealthy guest would come and get messages from loved ones and such. The building is now a home and the inhabitants love plants and flowers as every single window is occupied by a myriad of plants and flowers. It almost looks like he or she is using the space as an odd sort of green house so of course I had to spy in the windows a bit and to my amazement the plants really do occupy much of the living space inside as well.

Coming down the hill was another 5 star property the Savoy which truly does look like a doll house. It has a modern spa building a short walk across its drive way but the hotel itself is just perfect. Everything about it seems elegant and polished.

Much to my surprise my walk brought me to the street right behind Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s Russian Orthodox Church where Melody and I visited a week ago.

I took a turn down one hill and found a lovely park overlooking the town and more beautiful buildings to see.

This is the home of fountain number 11 which I added to my daily water cures as it is said to clean out the system very well. I have been taking it right before bed and yes mornings are a bit brighter from that stand point.

October 30 – Day VII

This morning brought a very beautiful surprise with snow. Just enough to make the town even more magical but not enough to accumulate anywhere and by 8:00am there was no trace of it at all.

I had aqua aerobics which was a lot of fun. The instructor is just so sweet and she did a great job keeping us active. I think my dear Kevin would love to teach a group of woman like this as there were no complaints, comments or sighs throughout and everyone did as they were told happily.

My Scottish Shower got moved to tomorrow so my first treatment was Pneumopunkture. Again, now that I am prepared for the pain it doesn’t seem as bad.

45 minutes of Lymph drainage came next followed by some salt air inhalation therapy for an additional 45 minutes.

A new hilly route through town makes for a great hike today and even the rain does not prevent those of us eager to get some exercise. I saw some lovely hotels and even the parking garage is pretty.

I found out, from Ida at dinner, what that statue, that I mentioned days ago, is all about. It is just down the street from my hotel in front of the restaurant that is connected to the statue in some way, U Sveska. The famous Czech writer, Jaroslav Hasek, a humorist and satirist wrote his most well known book, The Good soldier, Svejk which has been published all around the world. The story is about a World War II soldier and his humorous escapades and clearly there is some connection to this town as he seems very popular here. I love these little bits of trivial information but now I am curious to read the book. Sadly there are no English publications in the town of any books so I will have to wait until I return home and I am sure it will be easily found at the New York Public Library.

October 29 – Day VI

Day three of dampness but still so lovely around here and I had a full day of treatments to keep me busy.

First was Lymph drainage which was not painful at all and consisted of being warped tight from waist all the way down to my feet with fabric that has many points where air comes through small tubes. It basically feels like you are having a blood pressure test done all over the lower part of your body. The pressure is increased when the air inflates the fabric wrapped around you and then deflates when the air is released. It is a 45 minute procedure and is very relaxing in a strange way. After it was over I can honestly say I felt lighter and my skin felt tighter. I won’t question it I will just be happy with the results. I have many more of these to go.

I then went for my second Scottish Shower which now being prepared for the freezing cold water did not seem as bad. 45 minutes of water aerobics and swimming followed and then a quick shower and walk to my water cure number 7.

Lunch was particularly good today with some incredible roasted eggplant salad, fresh beets and carrots. I am enjoying the vegetables very much. Tatiana joined me before she headed out for a tour, in Russian, to Regensburg a wonderful little town in Germany that is not very far from here. I would take the trip as well on one of the afternoons when I don’t have treatments but to do it Russian would be pointless. I was in Regensburg last year for just a few hours and it really is such a charming town and it would be nice to see again during the day as we arrived at night right before our river cruise sailed. There is a train that will get me there from Karlovy Vary so maybe I’ll do that on a Sunday when we have no treatments.

I also met, at lunch, a very nice doctor, Ilana who was originally from Russia but now living and practicing in Dresden, Germany with her husband and two year old son. Her husband dropped her off here for a three day mini vacation. She usually comes a week each year but it seems she just needed a little break and she speaks very highly of the curative powers of the water and air here.

My next treatment, Pneumopunkture is like acupuncture but with compressed air and I believe there was something like a freezing agent coming out at the same time. It can be painful but I only last a moment on each of the points she hits. She did several on my shoulders, neck, and upper and lower back and knees. I have had acupuncture before but which involves littler of no pain but this is something very different. There is an itchy sensation at the points she hit well after the treatment is over and as time goes on there is a little more pain at some of the locations. It’s all good though as I like to say.

The last treatment for the day is Anti Cellulite Massage which I mentioned before is not exactly relaxing but I know the benefits will out way the pain many times over.Of course it is time for a walk and it is desperately needed after all the treatments.

October 28 – Day V

It was another damp day in Karlovy Vary but it did not seem to affect the mood or the spirits of the hundreds of guests who were out walking and enjoying the clean air as I was. It is also a national Czech holiday today celebrating their independence as the Czech Republic and not as Czechoslovakia. There was no fanfare as you would think there would be on such a holiday but I think here in Karlovy Vary where the Russians out number the Czechs perhaps they prefer not to demonstrate too much exuberance for being their own nation separate from Slovakia and, of course, separate from the former Communist Russia. This town makes their money almost exclusively from Russian guests so I can imagine that they do very little here to upset the status quo.

I walked in the direction of the nature park which is only about 10 minutes walk along the river past the Hotel Pupp. It is a lovely place to stroll and many people were doing simply that as others were on a more aggressive hike.

I walked for a while and then stopped of at the Galerie Umeni Karlovy Vary, a small museum housing modern and contemporary Czech art from roughly 1906 – 2006. I did not recognize a single artist but was extremely impressed with so much of what I had the pleasure of viewing. Some stand out pieces were the Jakab Schikander (Nightfall), Antonin Hudecek’s (Bath) with it’s lovely portrayal of a bather in the forest by a creek and waterfall, Antonin Slavisek’s (Holly Hocks) which is one of the large pieces in the collection and Jiri Hilmar’s (The White) which was a mesmerizing working of cut out triangles and black, gold and cream circles. I particularly appreciated Otakar Slavik’s (Nude) for all its bright colors and forms and although it looked nothing what so ever like the human form it was a wonderful work and Vladislav Mirvald’s (Romberg’s Curves) which draws you in with the deep purple, white and black spiral tubes. It was a highly enjoyable hour and well worth the visit.

I walked another hour or so around and almost forgot my water cure number 7 and was heading directly back to the hotel. I did make my way to number 7 in plenty of time to drink, digest it for a half hour and still make it to lunch. You would think it wouldn’t be so hard to remember to drink 200 ml of water three times a day but every once in awhile it slips my mind.

Some inhalations therapy today and then plenty of time for more walking and perhaps I will try a new route this time.

There is always something special to see on each of my normal routes but change is good. I am including some pictures of some of the buildings I find most interesting so far. They vary in design and each have something unique to admire. I love the national theater building here in Karlovy Vary. I haven't been in it but the facade is gorgeous.

This one is my hotel and the balcony above and to the left of the right red flag is mine. I have only spent a little time out on the balcony as it has been too cold. I like to greet the day out there and end it that way as well.
I learned a new Russian word today at dinner from Ena. Lublu which means “I love” and it is a very pretty word to hear and is applied to most anything one can love. Lublu my family, Lublu my friends, Lublu my cat Sooty and yes , I suppose, Lublu Zabo too, see it works for everything.
So now it is off to bed early as the morning will come soon and they have lots of treatments scheduled for me.

October 27 - Day IV

It is a rainy day in Karlovy Vary but the air is still so clean and the water so filled with all its usual health benefits that it remains a lovely place to be and even the ducks in the river think it is pretty special as they play around near the mini waterfalls today.

I had a Scottish shower treatment at 10:3oam this morning which unlike the one I had at the public spa is administered by a spa attendant here at my hotel spa. You first stand in front of a 3 foot high apparatus with what looks like two battle ship guns stuck to the top of it. The young lady working on me turned on one of the guns and out came very warm water. She then proceeded to aim the water at assaulting my body with what I liken to the water pressure from a fire hose. She started at my feet and worked her way up to my torso. She then had me turn to my right side and repeated the process. Next were the left side and then the back. I got used to pretty quickly and although I would never use the words pleasurable it was by no means a miserable experience and as I was thinking just that particular thought it occurred to me that this could be much worse sine the water could be freezing cold. Well much to my surprise when I turned the last time and was now facing front again she turned on the second gun which shot out freezing cold water. It is best to refrain from thinking too much sometimes. She than alternated between assaults of cold water with assaulting me with warm water as I turned from left to right to the back. Fortunately this addition of the cold water lasted much less than the initial only warm water process. Once completed I was quickly back to normal but I did remember that I have many of these Scottish showers over the next few weeks and I think knowing what will becoming will only make the experience stressful. I would love to know where the term Scottish shower came from and does it imply that the Scottish have a masochistic streak in them.

Next came 45 minutes of water aerobics in our hotel pool. The water was equally as warm as the other day and two Russian woman tried very hard to explain all the movements to me. They are so helpful and were determined to see me work hard. They kept point to different parts of the body in an attempt to get me to understand the importance of the move we were doing. Clearly I was working on getting rid of love handles and that turkey neck like part of the upper arm that giggles. Although the aerobics lasted 45 minutes I was not ready to stop so I spent another half hour swimming around the pool. I do love the water.

I had lunch with Tatiana, a Russian woman who moved to Vancouver, British Columbia from Saint Petersburg 16 years ago. She speaks English well and will be joining our table at dinner from now on as the two women she was dining with have left for New York this afternoon. Apparently they live in Brooklyn but didn’t speak much English.

It is so interesting that although this town is occupied almost entirely by Russian guests the cities where they are living are not often in Russian any longer. Interestingly as well it seems many of the guests have been regulars here for years and are in some case the third and fourth generation from their families to come here.

After lunch I had an anti-cellulite massage which was not exactly relaxing but Hanna, the massage therapist, was so nice and worked so hard beating me up that I felt worse for her and all the energy she had exerted. By the end I looked like I had at terrible sun burn and my whole body was overheated. She explained as best she could with the little English she spoke that I was to drink lots of water and not bathe until the morning. Fortunately I had showered after the pool so it all worked out fine. It turns out Hanna and I will be meeting often over the next few weeks for this and several other treatments which I imagine will be just as aggressive.

Of course it is time for another walk and it even looks like the rain may have subsided so it should be rather pleasant for the rest of the day.

Dinner was particularly lovely as we had our whole group together. We have become very much the social table so Tatiana joined us, Rudolph and Ida were there as well as Tamara and Larissa.

Ena, an older woman from Saint Petersburg who traveled here by herself stopped by our table for tea. In the last few days she has appeared very unsocial to me as she sat seemingly in judgment just a table away. She even told me yesterday, through Ida’s interpretation, that certain foods like spaghetti taste awful so avoid them at all times. I had Ida explain to her that I am Italian and spaghetti is pretty much what I grew up on but Ena wanted to hear nothing of that and I am told by Ida that Russian woman mean well when they give advice but they only expect you to take it without any of your own opinions mixed in. She also said never eat the skin of the tomato, for what reason I am not sure, but it seemed best to listen and not question at the time. Russian woman and certainly ones of that age group are very sure they know what is best and you need only listen to them to be happy.

Now it turns out she is very lovely and sociable and she has taken a liking to me and wants to find me a husband but not a Russian one which I think it a pretty good idea. Our little dinner group is becoming quite a sensation and we are looked at by everyone who is sitting quietly at their tables while we laugh and make lots of noise. It just figures I would have gotten in with the rowdy group or maybe it is me who has somehow created it. It was very interesting to hear about Ena’s life as the others interpreted for me and she has been working for the last 40 years or so as a foot nurse of kind of a foot doctor without a degree. She has hoards of clients who refuse to let her retire and even with her hip replacement in March she is still going strong. I think like my grandmother, there is just something about woman who grew up in that certain time period who just can not seem to slow down. They have to go, go, go for as long as their legs, their mind and their spirit will let them.

I was also given some Russian lessons tonight by Rudolph who taught it in California for over 30 years. I have yes (da) and no (nayet – not sure of the spelling) but good and bad are still in the works. It is a hard language but I think Rudolph is determined to teach me something. He is very sweet and each night after dinner, at the table, he reads me one of his poems. Tonight was about success and a very observant piece. I think it makes him very happy to have a willing listener and one who can talk about the writer’s process, although poetry and playwriting are admittedly very different, the creative process in general is pretty much the same.

This is the building where my number 7 water cure is as well as 4 other fountains. It is a beautiful structure and always a very busy place during the day.