by Karen Halabi

There  I was hanging by the neck in water.

I was at a spa in Slovakia, and traction is just one of the treatments recommended here, along with mud baths and hot thermal waters

I stood naked shivering looking down at the medieval style torture apparatus, then the assistant arrived. "Yah, come in!" she beckoned as she pointed towards the water. I stepped gingerly in then made my way to the edge of the platform. She strapped me in and then pushed me forward till I was dangling by the neck - a bit like Ned Kelly at the end of his tether.

Karen Halabi visited Slovakia in July 2008. For a story or images of Slovakia, Bojnice, a Slovakian wedding or Bratislava, contact the author.

 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”.