This famous Spa Town, only 80 km from the Slovakian Capital Bratislava, has thermal mineral springs which are renowned for their health and restorative benefits.

 Unlike modern day so-called spas, European spas are traditionally linked to the presence of thermal springs and in the case of Piestany the whole town is dedicated to this health activity. People come from all over the world to take the healing waters here and a visit to the Spa is considered a health treatment, whether you have a health issue, such as shoulder aches and pains, or just want to feel reinvigorated.

Piešťany is situated in the western part of Slovakia, only 140 km from Vienna, capital of Austria.  This beautiful town attracts visitors from all over world, most of whom return again and again after discovering the secrets of it’s curative and natural therapies. Many use it as a base for their discovery of Slovakia as the area is surrounded with historical sites and ancient castles.

The Spa Island of Piestany provides the perfect environment for wellbeing and relaxation through the use of high-quality curative treatments, application of state-of the art medical and rehabilitation methods and use of sulphurous mud. Balneo-therapy (a combination of spa treatments, thermal mineral water and mud)  at Piestany Spa is designed to refresh and revitalize. Whilst this Spa resort has a world wide reputation for delivering high quality medicinal treatments for arthritis, rheumatism and mobility problems, its famous therapies combined with the beauty of the Island and wide choice of relaxation treatments, also make it an excellent de-stress escape for the health-conscious.

 A visit to Piestany is part of a 26 day luxury three-country tour of Eastern Europe which is personally escorted by Slovakian born Eva Santo, director of European Spa Tours, who conducts specialised spa tours to Eastern Europe. She speaks the languages of each country fluently and knows each of the destinations intimately.

 Santo’s Explore and Re-Energise Tours are like ‘holidays with health benefits’. Unlike other tours where you might get one treatment thrown in – this is four treatments per day. You won’t recognise yourself when you get back.

 As well as a stay at the specialised 200 year-old European Health Spa at Piestany, the tour includes visits to Budapest and Prague, staying at the luxury Hotel Thermal on Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube, with a cruise on the Danube, concerts, gypsy music, dancing, and excursions to see the romantic countryside, historic castles and the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

For further information see www. europeanspatours.com.au

To request a story on Eastern European spas contact the author.

Pleşu may well have had the Danube-Main-Rhine rivers in mind. When a cruise ship gets stranded in the Bavarian city of Würzburg after swollen river levels prevent it from passing under the city’s low stone bridges, the result becomes an exercise in "What if...?"

The crew handle the situation with a good deal of aplomb, as passengers are bussed to some of the places on the ship's scheduled itinerary. But eventually the long wait becomes a muse on the very nature of rivers and their role in “The New Europe”.

Hungary's rich cultural heritage is also being revisited. Ruins in the Aquincum precinct date from Roman times, and the city's Turkish, Jewish and Austrian cultural roots are also being highlighted.

However, as Hungary takes its place within the European Union, the country has to balance its new European future with its ancient Central Asian past. Maybe the youth of the country will show the way, through music and continent-straddling attitude.

One of the special things about Budapest is the prevalence of thermal springs right in the centre of the city; around 120 springs and boreholes supply the city’s spas and baths with more than 15  million gallons of water daily, ranging in temperature from 21-78°degrees C.

Along the Danube, at the meeting point of the Buda Hills and the Great Plain, a geological fault causes thermal springs to bubble to the surface. This beneficial feature of the area was recognised very early by the people who settled down here. The Celtic tribes, which inhabited the region in the 1st century, named it "ak-luk", which means abundant water. The Romans called the province Aquincum, (aqua also means water) and 14 Roman baths have been excavated in the Buda area.  The Hungarians quickly discovered the medicinal effects of the water and took advantage of them. 

The palatial Gellért Spa is one of the best known and most favoured among the thermal baths of Budapest. Part of the art nouveau style Hotel Gellért, which was built in 1918, it is full of Roman style columns and elaborate mosaics including a gold dome and other oriental decoration. During the Turkish occupation of Hungary in the 15th century a bath house was built on this spot.

Most of Budapest’s thermal baths are reminiscent of Turkish mosques or Roman temples, with indoor baths, swimming pool and an open-air section. The thermal water is said to cure nervous system problems, respiratory diseases and locomotor disorders. However visitors and Hungarians alike crowd into these social gathering spots to relax, take the waters and soak up the atmosphere. You can even endure a massage with a masseuse who looks like a former in the Communist army. Then jump from the hot water to the freezing cold shower and after, the steam room; just the thing to make you feel like an invincible Roman or Turk.

Definitely worth a visit, but be sure to follow it up with a stop at the legendary olde-worlde Hungarian café Gerbaud’s for some of their wonderful Hungarian style chocolate torte….

Copyright ©Karen Halabi 2007 Story and images

• Article can be tailored to editorial requirements.
• Images of Budapest and its spas available on request from author.