Karlovy Vary, formerly known as Carlsbad, is a nineteenth century spa town set amidst thickly forested hills in Western Bohemia. The spa sprawls for 3 km up the Tepla Valley. The Spa was founded by Charles IV in 1358 and has been a popular magnet for visitors ever since. Schiller, Goethe, Beethoven, Brahms Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Liszt and Grieg have been amongst the most famous visitors. Dvorak's symphony From the New World World was premiered here and the spa hosts an annual Dvorak Festival every September.

Karlovy Vary- The Queen of Spas. We had been here before several years ago but it is always nice to come back to such a place. Russian and German visitors were there in abundance but the crowds did not seem to matter. A lot of Russian money has gone into bringing the old town back to life. Much of it from the Russian oligarchs.

Set amidst a steep wooded valley beautiful nineteenth century houses seem to cling to the hillside:

In front of the floral calendar showing 12.08.06 : We were enjoying the town with good friends of ours- Petr, Dagmar and young Petr.

You can see what I mean about houses clinging to the hillside : Promenading along the river side towards the main spings

Shops galore: Porcelain and Glass were in much demand. Stephany and Dagmar wondering whether to go into the shop behind them. It was a shop just along from here that young Petr got his lovely china cup and saucer.

Market Colonnade:A wooden structure with delicate 1883 whitewashed woodwork beginning to show the progression of time

The river looking north: To take the picture we are standing in front of the Grand Hotel Pupp.

Grand Hotel Pupp: Named after its founder the eighteenth- centrury confectioner Johann Pupp, the hotel was rebuilt in the late nineteenth century and for many years was the place to be seen in by Europe's elite. It is still a grand edifice and when we were here last time it was just changing it's name back from Hotel Moscow- a name that had been given to it during communist times.