Best Spa Town in Poland

The guidebooks are wrong!  They say Krynica Zdroj is the best spa town in Poland, but it's not true.  I'll grant you it's bigger than Iwonicz Zdroj, but it doesn't have half its charm.  Plus, there is a distinct urine smell on the wooden benches, hopefully from dogs.

I'm pleased with myself for walking ten minutes uphill and standing for another ten minutes at the bus stop.  I even manage to find the right bus and get off at the right stop.  This may sound easy to you, but believe me, it's quite a feat when you don't speak the language.

I wander into the old pump house and peek into a treatment room, where they're filling a copper tub with steaming mineral water.  By the way, you can tell the spa patrons from the tourists by their canes.  If anyone stops me at the spa, I just limp away. Works every time.

Of course, there's the requisite whitewashed church with a tall steeple and mosaic tiles on the ceiling dome depicting Jesus and his disciples.  I even say a prayer or two for my family.  I've been to enough churches in Poland to last a lifetime, and a few synagogues as well, and not just to cool off from the oppressive heat, although this is a major draw!

I decide to try the ice cream, but the lines are too long. You can always tell which ice cream is best by the length of the line in front of a nondescript window.  Usually I can cheer myself up with a good lunch, but not today.  The restaurant/gallery is atmospheric, but the food is bland.  I actually leave half of it on the plate, which if you know me, rarely ever happens.

So I decide to pack it in and head back to the bus stop. The ride is uneventful, but naturally I miss my stop and end up at the central bus depot. There I find a little sklep and buy myself a bottle of orange Fanta and a Snickers bar.   Hey, don't judge! They import most of their soda and chocolate here anyway.

Finally, I take a taxi back to the Hotel Cynamon in Nowy Sacz, where the hotel owner makes me a lovely cup of tea, along with some bickies (cookies for you Yanks).  Thankfully, I'm safe in my room when the thunder starts, heralding more rain.  Time to watch Polish TV

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