I decide to take a
bus to Iwonicz Zdroj, one of the oldest health resorts and spa towns in Poland. The hotel staff assure me the bus station
is only a minute's walk away. For once they aren't underestimating and it really is a short walk. What they
don't tell me, however, is the bus is built for short people
who cram into it like sardines. After an uncomfortable ride through winding roads up the hillside, we finally
arrive.
You know how you see a photo of a place which looks idyllic, but when you get there it's not all that. Not in this case. On a gorgeous, sunny, warm day, Iwonicz Zdroj lives up to its hype. Dating back to 1578, the spa town is nestled in wooded hills, with flower beds down the center of the promenade. There are classic Swiss style buildings, surrounded by small gardens and fountains. The only odd thing is people walking around with what looks like ski poles. I need to get some of those.
Of course, under the arcade of a long Renaissance style building, there are the usual vendors selling tacky souvenirs. In a former pump room, you can buy a glass of the mineral water for which the place is so famous, but I'm not brave enough to try it. I stick to the well-known curative powers of pistachio and strawberry gelato.
After
wandering around for a while, I decide to see if I can get a spa
treatment for my bad knee. Unfortunately the building is on a hill, with the choice of walking up lots of stairs or on a sharp incline. By the time I reach
the building, I really need a treatment. I'm too late, however, for an appointment for a massage. Seeing my disappointment, a friendly girl at the counter suggests I try their salt cave. Curious, I decide to try it, especially since a 45 minute session only costs 12 zlotys (about $4).
Slipping the purple plastic baggies they give me over my shoes, I enter a pleasantly cool room, with subdued lighting, and reclining lawn chairs. It looks like an indoor beach, but there is salt, not sand, on the floor and on the walls, even hanging down from the ceiling like icicles. The center attraction is a pillar with a glass ball on top. When you touch it, a sort of light show begins, with what looks like white lightning coming from a blue flame within the glass ball.
After we settle in, they turn down the lights even more, piping in the soothing sounds of waves gently breaking on the shore to continue their beach motif. Most people are ready for relaxation, but not the fidgety little girl across from me. She keeps playing with her recliner, up and down, up and down, rubbing her feet together to make noises, and running up to touch the glass ball to make it glow, while her mother and grandmother ignore her.
Eventually even she settles down. The next thing I know they're switching on the lights. I wake up, feeling completely relaxed and rejuvenated. Not even the bumpy ride back to my hotel in Krosno can disturb my newfound serenity. I must find a salt cave in Chicago.
You know how you see a photo of a place which looks idyllic, but when you get there it's not all that. Not in this case. On a gorgeous, sunny, warm day, Iwonicz Zdroj lives up to its hype. Dating back to 1578, the spa town is nestled in wooded hills, with flower beds down the center of the promenade. There are classic Swiss style buildings, surrounded by small gardens and fountains. The only odd thing is people walking around with what looks like ski poles. I need to get some of those.
Of course, under the arcade of a long Renaissance style building, there are the usual vendors selling tacky souvenirs. In a former pump room, you can buy a glass of the mineral water for which the place is so famous, but I'm not brave enough to try it. I stick to the well-known curative powers of pistachio and strawberry gelato.
After
wandering around for a while, I decide to see if I can get a spa
treatment for my bad knee. Unfortunately the building is on a hill, with the choice of walking up lots of stairs or on a sharp incline. By the time I reach
the building, I really need a treatment. I'm too late, however, for an appointment for a massage. Seeing my disappointment, a friendly girl at the counter suggests I try their salt cave. Curious, I decide to try it, especially since a 45 minute session only costs 12 zlotys (about $4).Slipping the purple plastic baggies they give me over my shoes, I enter a pleasantly cool room, with subdued lighting, and reclining lawn chairs. It looks like an indoor beach, but there is salt, not sand, on the floor and on the walls, even hanging down from the ceiling like icicles. The center attraction is a pillar with a glass ball on top. When you touch it, a sort of light show begins, with what looks like white lightning coming from a blue flame within the glass ball.
After we settle in, they turn down the lights even more, piping in the soothing sounds of waves gently breaking on the shore to continue their beach motif. Most people are ready for relaxation, but not the fidgety little girl across from me. She keeps playing with her recliner, up and down, up and down, rubbing her feet together to make noises, and running up to touch the glass ball to make it glow, while her mother and grandmother ignore her.
Eventually even she settles down. The next thing I know they're switching on the lights. I wake up, feeling completely relaxed and rejuvenated. Not even the bumpy ride back to my hotel in Krosno can disturb my newfound serenity. I must find a salt cave in Chicago.
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