Spa Day: A Trip to Poděbrady

There are, broadly speaking, three kinds of out-of-town trips expats and visitors take while based in Prague:

• A visit out of Czechia: Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Krakow, etc. are all pretty common destinations for either a long day trip (Dresden's only two hours away) or a full weekend.
• A trip to one of the famous Czech destinations, such as Český Krumlov or Kutná Hora, often suitable for a long day trip.
• An excursion to *another* Czech location, one that maybe isn't part of lists like this one.

This post is about that third kind of trip, but I have to believe that's an oversight, because Poděbrady is well worth a visit.

So quaint as to be almost painful.

Situated on the Elbe river (the Labe river in Czech), about 50 km east of Prague, Poděbrady is an easy train trip (or bus or car ride) from Prague. As an official town, it dates back to a royal decree of 1472, though there have been various settlements and fortresses there for perhaps thousands of years. It's essentially a large small town, or a very small city--only about 14,000 residents and 13 square miles in area. While it attracts many visitors, it doesn't attract as many foreign tourists, which means it's quite affordable, but English isn't spoken as commonly, though the restaurants, street maps, and museums all had English.

Poděbrady has three quite distinct claims to Czech fame: the king, the river, and the water. First, let's talk about the king, Jiří z Poděbrad.

In situ in the town square, and in scale model in the local museum.

Jiří z Poděbrad (George of Poděbrady) was a Bohemian nobleman who, from 1451 until his death in 1471, served as leader of the nation, first as a regent for a child king, and then later as king in his own right. Jiří is a fascinating and important figure in Czech history, well worth an episode or two of the Prague Cast (look for them soon), but suffice it to say here that he was wise and just, victorious in battle, and, most interestingly, actually proposed something like the EU. Just 500 years too early for it to be agreed to.

Poděbrady Chateau

Jiří's ancestral home, Poděbrady Chateau, sits right on the town square (named Jiřího náměstí in his honor) and overlooks the river. Most of the chateau (I'm still sussing out when Czechs call something a chateau and when they call it a hrad, or castle) is actually used for university students studying Czech, but there is a small museum in the former chapel that's a decent way to spend an hour or so. 

Notice the shoeless gentleman. Sometimes Czechs are weird.

It focuses mainly on the story of Jiří's life and times, but there are also...wait for it...Gothic frescoes!

Veterinary dentistry

Dating from around 1400s, the frescoes were covered during one of the many remodels the building has gone through over the centuries, though they were rediscovered in the early part of the 20th century. They were restored as well as they could be, and they feature several scenes from the life of King David, among other images.

Apparently Goliath can remove his head to prevent injuries.

My favorite image, though, was contained in a scene depicting The Last Judgment. Much of it is gone, but a pair of figures (angels? the redeemed?) poking up out of the ground tickled me.

Cue Caddyshack music...

In a cellar below the chapel, there are also remains of boats and cannonballs used during the Hussite Wars that were reclaimed from the river.

Onto which visitors tossed coins. For reasons?

The chateau also features a coffee shop and cinema, as well as a courtyard filled with hearts that spin when touched or when blown by the wind. Seemingly reflecting Jiří's dream of European unity, which now is closer to a complete reality than ever before, each heart is painted to represent or evoke a European nation, from Malta to Ireland, from Germany to Portugal.

The weather was partly cloudy that day...

If you ever go to Poděbrady, it's a rather fun game to try and identify which countries all the hearts represent. Some, like the UK, which features images of Harry Potter among other British icons, are easy. Others rely on a fairly detailed knowledge of European traditions, culture, iconography, and vexillology.

As I said, Poděbrady largely sits on a hill overlooking the Elbe, but there paths for pedestrians and cyclists along the river (feature #2) on both sides, making for a quite lovely place to have a walk or a ride on a sunny afternoon. There are various places of historical and natural interest all up and down the trail on both sides--and boat rides available along the river for those who don't want to exercise while they enjoy The Nature.

One member of our group (we were 5--my flatmate, a Czech colleague who teaches German, and two friends of his) had discovered that, just across the river, there was a lake with swimming facilities, and he was very determined to get a quick dip. So, we took the slightest of detours to humor him and found ourselves at a small community park, with a beach and some basic facilities.

The nude beach (nudistická pláž) was just to the left through some pine trees. We didn't peek. Much.

This place was Czech and local AF. Most of the locals--and plenty of visitors--were off along the river, but there were a few here at the lake, enjoying the sunshine (with or without clothes) or having a beer at a small refreshment stand. Only my colleague was silly enough to go swimming in the rather chilly water.

However, Poděbrady is probably best known for its mineral springs which produce naturally carbonated water that's exceptionally high in minerals. Discovered in the early part of the 20th century, this Poděbradka quickly became a trendy cure, and within a few decades, Poděbrady became a spa town, with people coming to "take the waters" and receive all sorts of hydrotherapy. Many of the spring sources are now part of spa hotel complexes, and you can but bottled Poděbrady water all over the country, but several sources are still open to the public, mainly in the Spa Park  (Lázeňský park) just off the town square.

The park, which runs hundreds of meters and ends when it reaches the town's train station, is meticulously landscaped and immediately recalls the Art Deco period of the 1920s and 30s.

I kept expecting Poirot to appear from behind a tree.

The effect is heightened by the hotels, shops, and restaurants which overlook the park--establishments built at the same time in the same style, and seemingly perfectely preserved. Visiting in early Spring, we saw only a portion of the park's beauty, as many of its trees and flowers had yet to bloom, but it was already filled with locals and tourists from the area enjoying the sunshine and the green all around. Some were even filling up bottles of water from the spring to take home and drink for their health. (The belief in natural cures for illness is still prevalent in Czechia--a country recently named the most unhealthy in the world.) Regardless, all were enjoying this beautiful park. And I even found something that reminded me of home!

Cherry Blossoms!

Bonus: if you're a fan of architecture, especially Art Deco or functionalism, make sure to check out the train station at Poděbrady. Build to help all those spa visitors arrive in style, the building literally looks like a film set for a period piece and has been declared the most beautiful train station in the country.

Designed to (sort of) resemble a train engine, the station has amazing touches, like stained glass windows all along the upper level, showing scenes from life in this spa town at its fashionable height and from the surrounding countryside.

King Jiří stands ready to welcome visitors to his hometown.

So, while you won't find Poděbrady on many lists, if you're looking for a beautiful town where you can just relax and enjoy some history, some nature, and some nasty water, I can't recommend it enough.

Traveler's Tips: In the interest of service journalism, here are some tips for how to see Poděbrady (and other Czech destinations) while still saving a buck or two. I'll add these sporadically as I find good ones.

Today, how to save money on a train ticket!

• Train tickets are cheaper in advance. www.cd.cz (the Czech rail website) is pretty easy to use, and if you buy more than 3 days out you can get a discount.
• Czech Rail offers group discounts beginning at 2 people, and the discount gets bigger with more passengers. So, if you're travelling in a group--even of only two--buy your tickets together.
• This one is trickier, but, within the city's metro transit area, Czech Rail trains are considered part of your transportation pass. So, if I needed to get to the far side of the city, and I was near a railway station, and my destination was as well, I could hop on an actual train instead of a subway, tram, or bus. This matters because, assuming you have a valid Prague transit pass, you can buy a ticket that covers you only from where the metro transit system ends instead of buying one from the station itself. You've already paid for the portion of your jounrey inside the transit zone, so they don't double-charge you. If you don't speak Czech, though, this may be difficult to explain to the person selling tickets.

Using the second and third of these tips, the train trip to Poděbrady and back cost us 85 Kc per person, which was maybe a 50% savings. So, worth trying to get those discounts!

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