Busko-Zdrój is a Polish health resort. The health resorts are very different in Poland to what an Australian person may imagine, unless the person has read some novels about spa life in the XIX and beginning of XX century. Health resort here is about slow, non-sporty life. There are tennis courts but I have not seen anyone playing on them as yet. Mind you, I have been here only four days.
When I think about a spa I imagine ladies in flimsy dresses, hats with big rims carrying lacy umbrellas. In my imagination, they either take a walk down shady alleys protecting their complexion from unwanted sun, sipping their spa waters. They are surrounded by admirers or sit in coffee places smoking cigarettes in long cigarette holders, drinking their aperitifs. To me an old fashioned spa is flappers territory. I am not sure if my romantic imagination did not take me in a wrong direction, though. Spas were also places to cure people who were not well or at least thought they needed extra attention. Leaving my imagination populated by beautiful, flirty flappers aside, I will move on to my observations and experience of the last four days.
Current Europe, Poland included, is more egalitarian than in was in the period between the World Wars however there are two social categories of guests here. People who stay in elegant and expensive sanatoria and people who stay in rented rooms belonging to the locals. The first group eats in their canteens which are sometimes elegant and sometimes not so much. The second group has a choice where they want to go for their meals or they may want to prepare some of it themselves. However what two of the groups have in common are health treatments. All guests take sulphide or iodide-bromide baths, drink curative waters from natural springs, take inhalations, massages, compresses, water jets and similar. This needs to be supervised by a doctor, so the first day in a Polish spa starts with a visit to a doctor who chooses appropriate treatments. Typically people are prescribed 2-4 treatments per day. A day here starts early, my day today started with a massage at 7am, it was followed by a sulphide baths which is supposed to be good for one and cures many ailments then inhalations completed my today’s spa program. It all finished before 9.00 a.m. Obviously, I had a good planner organising my treatments.
I am here with my friend who has some health interest in this particular spa. I accompany her for fun mainly as I do not have problems Busko specialises in curing. Its waters and climate address different problems. However, I am here in a good company, having fun with my student friend and I was not about to miss out on the Busko routine while here. Just in case any of the readers think of curing some rheumatic or bone related problems, Busko-Zdrój is the place to do it. You can have cure and fun for two weeks for less than $200. Plus accommodation and food which may vary a bit but averages $400 for a fortnight.
More exclusive sanatorium option is under $2000 per fortnight.
As I will be here for a while, I will continue with the spa subjects a bit more later. You may wonder what one does with the rest of the days here. There are walks, plenty of restaurants and coffee places to visit, dancing at night and chatting with neighbours or people met at various sanatoria. I expect that there is a degree of gossiping as holiday romances flourish.
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| Pleasures for older generation |
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| And for the younger ones |
I have not mentioned that, age average of the spa visitors is definitely 50+.
