Fill your cup up with the elixir of life

Photo: Steve Woodhall

Have you ever wondered about the phrase “taking the waters”?

Europeans have been making their way to the handsome town of Karlovy Vary (aka Carlsbad or Karlsbad) for centuries to promenade up and down the main drag sipping the warm, vile-tasting mineral waters that bubble endlessly out of the ground.

Famous visitors have included Cassanova, Freud and Karl Marx. (Interestingly, the statue of Karl Marx at Karlovy Vary is one of the few socialist-era statues that remain in the country.)

Your “drinking cure” adventure starts with the purchase of a traditional porcelain or ceramic cup with a teapot-like spout from one of the many kiosks that line the promenade. You then approach one of the springs that bubble up out of the ground through small fountains, fill up your cup, and walk slowly up and down, a thoughtful expression on your face, sucking the water through your spout. Surreptitiously, you people-watch as you go up and down. The older Germans and Russian couples take this very seriously indeed.

If you can get through your whole cup, you are doing very well, and deserve your reward: a visit to the Becherovka Museum. Becherovka is a delicious herbal liqueur invented by Jan Becher 200 years ago as a medicinal drop but it is now drunk for pleasure (unlike the “waters”). At the end of your guided tour, you’ll be given generous samples to try. By the time you’ve knocked back three or four shot glasses of different kinds of Becherovka, the alcohol content may have cancelled out the health-giving qualities of the mineral waters, but you’ll be enjoying a warm inner glow.

If you’re a film buff, try to time your visit to coincide with the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.