The Wild West... of Bohemia

The excursion we made this Sunday was rather megalomaniacal for a day trip. We started in Cheb, one of the westernmost towns in the Czech Republic and a two hours’ drive from Prague. More German than Czech in its architecture, Cheb offers some rather unique sights, which include a colourful block of buildings with outer wooden beams nicknamed Špalíček (“the little chopping block”) or an almost entirely black castle tower.

Our next stop was Františkovy Lázně, a spa town favoured by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Strauss, and Franz Kafka. Its main attractions are the numerous ornate buildings – hotels and sanatoria – built atop the salutary springs, which are rich in sodium sulphate and carbon dioxide (I have no idea what either of these are good for, but they must be popular for a reason). The town continues to serve its original purpose to this day and was designated a UNESCO site shortly after our visit.

It was a good a time as any to make a stop in Aš, one of the Czech Republic’s westernmost towns. Aš has a nice church and chateau but would hardly be a tourist attraction if it were not for one geographic quirk: driving north, south, or west, one inevitably reaches the German border in a matter of minutes. On our way back east, we passed Seeberg Castle and explored the Soos nature reserve – a placid fen with oligotrophic lakes, mineral springs, and mofette (little fumaroles).

Our last destination was Mariánské lázně, another famous spa town, though we did not see much as the sun was already setting and we wanted to get home in time for a sensible dinner.  

Cheb's "Špalíček"
Another view of the Špalíček
The Špalíček with the Church of Saints Nicholas and Elizabeth in the background
A passage
Cheb's Roland Statue
The same
The town hall
The Franciscan Monastery
The Black Tower at Cheb Castle
The view across the river Ohře
The Mill Tower at Cheb Castle
The Black Tower again
The Church of Saints Nicholas and Elizabeth
David and Goliath on Market Square
A façade on Market Square 
More houses on Market Square
Market square
The "Hall of Glauberg's Springs" in Františkovy lázně
Franz's Spring
"Carbon and Gas Spa"
The Colonnade
The Social House
Statue of Franz
More of the same
More of the same
Sphinx in front of the New Colonnade
The Parish Church of the Ascension of the Cross
A pavilion in the City Orchards
An equestrian statue of Francis I
Orthodox Church of Saint Olga
A fancy house
Meteorological pillar
The same
Imperial Spa
Salt and Meadow Springs Colonnade 
Another fancy house
Aš Chateau
Church of Saint Nicholas
An oxeye 
Lupins
Seeberg Castle
A wooden structure (perhaps a silo?) at Soos
Birches and bogs
The dried up lakebed covered in salt
I could not decide which picture looks better
The wooden pathway that leads along the dried up lakebed
The same
A moffetta
The pathway again
More birches
A tiny lake
Ensana Hotel
The Colonnade of Caroline's and Rudolph's Spring
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
The same
Saint Vladimir's Church

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