Trip log #7: Europe - Piestany, Slovakia

It's been a little too while since I have updated this blog- so I shall continue with my trip log today! :)

The trip to Slovakia was purely for business. We visited to check out one of the largest plant-science facility in Slovakia to discuss issues with our plasmids and potential partnership in their business. After all the business meetings were over, we decided to check out Piestany, Slovakia--a famous spa-city.

At the entrance to Piestany, I spotted a very unique town mascot:

The mascot is breaking his crutches in half, which is a depiction of a famous belief that the Piestany spa water heals any injuries. Piestany is known for its rehabilitation clinic and health mud massages that cost up to $150 per hour or more, and each spa houses their own physicians to check up on the progress of their patients. In addition to the elderly who come for relaxation, celebrities and sports players apparently visit the spa quite often.

After passing this mascot, I walked down a short bridge into a small spa-land (Kupelny ostrov). Though a part of Piestany, the area where the spa houses are located is somewhat isolated from the main part of the town.

As you can see, the spa house neighbors a river that passes through Slovakia.

The river was quite wide, and housed strange-looking water fowls.

Look at those swans in the river on the left. That bird on the right looks like a seagull, but not really...

As we crossed the bridge, the spa house became more and more visible... and wow!

The house was ginormous. (Yes, it says Thermia Palace in English)
Famous for its healing peloid, the harvest/maturation pond was located right on the back of the spa house.

Another interesting thing about this spa town was that the "healthy spa water" was readily available for drinking at the water fountains installed in the walls of these spa centers.

The spa water was pretty warm (at 60C, or 140F), and the spa centers ensured that the water was fresh from the hot springs. The taste? Hm.. tasted somewhat like a boiled egg.

Afterwards, we headed towards the main streets of Piestany.

These street shops had Slovakia traditional dolls and crystal vases and dishes:

After a long trip, I noticed that the power was out at the faculty housing facility due to rain. Unfortunately, I only had a card key access to the building, so I was pretty much locked out. After about an hour, a maintenance guy showed up, who did not speak any English. Luckly, I had picked up a few Czech phrases to explain the situation to let me into the building. Of course, it was about 5% Czech and 95% body language.

Due to the power outage, I had a simpler meal for the night.

The beer, Budejovicky Budvar (sold as CzechVar in US), is the original Budweiser that Anheuser-Busch company apparently got the idea from. Light and crisp lager taste, perfect with a greasy meal like those slices of salami.

That concludes my Trip log #7. Thanks for reading!

(The photo was taken per request from my parents who wanted to see my face while I was @ Czech)