1936 On the Continent

besides the various waters containing sulphur and iron, acids and alkalies, iodine and radium, Czechoslovakia has the further advantage of the long tradition which the use of these natural assets has entailed, and which has ensured an ample supply of skilled doctors thoroughly acquainted with the proper use of the potent resources at their disposal. Thus in the Medical Faculties of the Czechoslovak Universities great attention is devoted to the science of balneology, which forms the subject of careful research. A correspondingly high standard is reached likewise by all those who are responsible for the well-being of the patients who pass through their hands.
    Hence, particular attention is paid to the comfort of visitors, for whom the Czechoslovak spas provide the greatest possible choice of accommodation, from high-classhotel to furnished lodging, with everywhere the same scrupulous attention to the patient’s individual needs.
    This variety of accommodation involves a wide range of prices, and it is therefore difficult to quote any exact figures in this respect. The average middle-class Czechoslovak visitor who takes the cure in one of the large spas at the height of the season, which, of course, is a most expensive period, will expect to pay about 80-100 crowns per day with full board, i.e., roughly 14-16 shillings. To this should be added a few incidental expenses for light refreshments in the town during the afternoon or evening. Those who are under the doctor’s care will have a number of additional charges for medical attention, etc., but even so the total daily expenses will not come to more than about 150-200 crowns per day, and for this maximum sum the visitor will receive the best accommodation and the most skilful medical attention. I may here point out that the Czechoslovak railways grant a reduction of fares to passengers who are spending at least ten days in any spa. Particulars of this arrangement can be obtained from any travel bureau.
    The period spent in a Czechoslovak spa should be regarded as part of a systematic medical treatment, and expert advice should therefore be obtained as to the most suitable locality for a cure. It is not possible here to give a complete list of all the Czechoslovak spas because, in addition to the large and important resorts which have a world-wide reputation, there is a very large number of smaller spas which may prove in individual cases at least as efficacious. A detailed handbook to the Czechoslovak spas is already available, and I will therefore confine myself to those which are likely to be most suitable for the visitor from abroad. I have arranged the list according to the ailments which are treated in the respective spas:
A NÆMIA
    Mariánské Lázn(Marienbad)
    Františkovy Lázn(Franzensbad)
    Podbrady
    Slia
    Tatranská Lomnica
    Karlova Studánka
    D IGESTIVE D ISORDERS
    Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) (including disorders of the liver and the gall bladder)
    Mariánské Lázn
    Františkovy Lázn
    Korytnica
    Bilina
    Luhaovice
    D ISTURBANCES OF M ETABOLISM (including G OUT )
    Jáchymov (St. Joachimstal)
    Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad)
    Mariánské Lázn
    Luhaovice
    Františkovy Lázn
    Dolni Lipová
    Podbrady
    Bilina
    Pištany
    Trénianské Teplice
    W OMEN’S D ISEASES
    Karlovy Vary
    Mariánské Lázn
    Františkovy Lázn
    Jánské Lázn(Johannesbad)
    Darkov
    iz
    D ISEASES OF THE U RINARY O RGANS
    Mariánské Lázn
    Františkovy Lázn
    Karlovy Vary
    Korytnica
    Bilina
    C ARDIAC D ISORDERS
    Františkovy Lázn
    Podbrady
    Slia(especially artero-sclerosis).
    D ISORDERS OF THE J OINTS , B ONES AND M USCLES
    Jáchymov
    Teplice Sanov
    Trenianské Teplice
    Pištany
    Františkovy Lázn
    Stubnianské Teplice
    iz
    Darkov
    B RONCHIAL C ATARRHS (NON-TUBERCULOUS) AND ALSO A FFECTIONS OF THE T HROAT AND N OSE
    Luhaovice
    Jáchymov
    Františkovy Lázn
    Mariánské Lázn
    Lubochña
    Herlany
    T UBERCULOSIS OF L UNGS AND B ONES
    Matliary
    Nový Smokovec
    Polianka
    N ERVOUS D ISORDERS
    Jachymov
    Slia
    Teplice Šnov (Jeplitz)
    Gräfenberg
    If only a rest cure is sought the patient cannot do better than to spend the time at his disposal in one of the Czechoslovak resorts near the border, where the advantages of both mountain and forest can be enjoyed. At these altitudes the beneficial effects make their appearance very rapidly, and the gain of weight in convalescents is most marked.
Sport
    I have already made several references to sport in Czechoslovakia, and here I will only add a few supplementary