卡罗维瓦利，波西米亚，捷克共和国 Karlovy Vary, Bohemia, Czechia (© Henryk Sadura/Getty Images)
卡罗维瓦利，波西米亚，捷克共和国 Karlovy Vary, Bohemia, Czechia (© Henryk Sadura/Getty Images)
波西米亚温泉故事 A Bohemian spa story
卡罗维瓦利，波西米亚，捷克共和国
在今天的图片中，冬意已悄悄落在捷克的卡罗维瓦利，这座坐落于浅色山谷中的城市，因山间温泉而闻名。关于这座城市的起源，可追溯到14世纪：据说当时的波希米亚国王、后来成为神圣罗马帝国皇帝的查理四世路经此地，恰好遇见一池冒着白雾的温热泉水。正是这次邂逅，引领波希米亚这片宁静的山谷走上了温泉疗养圣地的道路。
小镇顺着特普拉河与欧赫热河一路生长，它的轮廓也随之清晰起来：长长的柱廊、精致的建筑外立面，以及静静立于河畔的旅馆，共同构成了一种平缓而有序的气质。欧洲各地的贵族、作家和作曲家慕名而来，被温泉的暖意与慢节奏的生活吸引，停驻于此。久而久之，这座城市的独特气质在慢节奏、建筑与温润水气里逐渐显现出来。
凭借着历史悠久的养生传统，卡罗维瓦利在2021年被纳入联合国教科文组织的“欧洲著名温泉古镇”名录，成为众多因天然温泉而发展起来的历史疗养城市之一。即使在冬日，这座城市仍展现着从容与自信，它的根脉依旧系于那股最初吸引人们走进山谷的温热泉水。
Karlovy Vary, Bohemia, Czechia
In today's image, winter settles over Karlovy Vary in Czechia, a pastel valley that built its identity around the hot springs rising through its hills. The eponymous city traces its beginnings to accounts of Charles IV, then king of Bohemia (a historic region of Czechia) and later Roman Emperor, encountering a steaming pool here in the 14th century, an early moment that set this quiet part of Bohemia on the path to becoming a spa retreat.
As the town expanded along the Teplá and Ohře rivers, its character took shape: long colonnades, ornate facades, and riverside hotels that reflected a calm, deliberate rhythm. Visitors from across Europe—aristocrats, writers, composers—came for the warm springs and the slower pace they offered, giving the city a personality rooted in routine, architecture, and water.
That steady link to wellness earned Karlovy Vary a place among the Great Spa Towns of Europe in 2021, a UNESCO group recognizing historic resort cities shaped by natural springs. Even in winter, the city holds a quiet confidence, its story still anchored to the water that first drew people into this valley.
安德尔施帕赫-特普利采岩石林的哥特式拱门, 捷克 The Gothic Gate in the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks, Czechia (© Kseniya_Milner/Getty Images)
安德尔施帕赫-特普利采岩石林的哥特式拱门, 捷克 The Gothic Gate in the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks, Czechia (© Kseniya_Milner/Getty Images)
通往石之奇境的大门 A gateway to stone wonders
哥特式拱门, 捷克
从18世纪的最早来访者，到大火烧出小径的故事，这座“岩石之城”一直在诉说着生存的传奇。阿德尔什帕赫–特普利采岩石群位于捷克赫拉德茨–克拉洛韦州，是中欧最大的砂岩迷宫。几个世纪以来，这片悬崖与通道一直被森林覆盖，直到一场大火将树林烧尽，岩石的拱门、塔楼和蜿蜒的廊道才从灰烬中显露出来。最初的徒步小径由此开辟。不久之后，探险家和诗人用石刻铭文留下了他们的印记，描绘出一个既狂野又迷人的目的地。
如今，这片自然保护区占地超过5平方英里，位于布罗乌莫夫斯科自然保护区之内。其中最引人注目的瑰宝之一便是建于1839年的哥特式大门。这座拱门由卢德维克·卡雷尔·纳德赫尔尼下令修建，与步道、桥梁和阶梯一同构成了进入“岩石之城”的标志性入口。哥特式大门不仅是历史的遗迹，如今仍作为迷宫的守护者，迎接着每一位踏入公园的游客。
The Gothic Gate in the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks, Czechia
From 18th-century visitors to fire-carved trails, this rock city tells a story of survival. Hidden in Czechia's Hradec Králové Region, the Adršpach–Teplice Rocks form Central Europe's largest sandstone labyrinth. For centuries, the cliffs and passages lay cloaked in forest, until a great fire stripped the land bare. Arches, towers, and winding corridors emerged out of the ashes, and the first hiking paths were carved into the rock. Soon after, explorers and poets left their marks with stone inscriptions that captured a destination both wild and enchanting.
Today, the reserve stretches over 5 square miles, preserved within the Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area. Among its treasures stands the Gothic Gate, featured here, which was built in 1839. Commissioned by Ludvik Karel Nádherný along with a network of hiking paths, bridges, and stairways, this striking archway became the symbolic threshold to the City of Rocks. More than a relic of the past, the Gothic Gate still stands as guardian of the labyrinth, welcoming every visitor who steps into the park.
雪后的布拉格，捷克共和国 Skyline of Prague, Czech Republic (© benkrut/Getty Images)
雪后的布拉格，捷克共和国 Skyline of Prague, Czech Republic (© benkrut/Getty Images)
Prague, Czech Republic
As a haze of blowing snow diffuses the streetlights of Prague, try to count the steeples, belfries, turrets, and towers that make up the Czech capital's skyline. You may lose count like 19th-century travel writers did when they dubbed Prague the 'city of 100 spires.' The number is closer to 1,000.
A few 'points' of interest: The Church of Our Lady before Týn in the foreground boasts 18 spires total between its two towers. Looming behind it is Prague Castle, built starting in the year 870 and currently the world's largest ancient castle. And the Old Town Hall, its clock tower brightly lit at left, houses an even more impressive timepiece at its base in the city square: The Prague Orloj, the oldest working astronomical clock, which has tracked celestial movements since 1410.
捷克共和国布拉格
当吹雪的烟雾弥漫布拉格的路灯时，试着数一数构成捷克首都天际线的尖塔、钟楼、塔楼和塔楼。你可能会像19世纪旅行作家将布拉格称为“100个尖塔之城”时那样数不清这个数字接近1000。
有趣的是：前景中Týn之前的圣母教堂在两座塔楼之间共有18个尖塔。它后面隐约可见布拉格城堡，建于870年，目前是世界上最大的古堡。旧市政厅的钟楼在左边明亮地点亮，在其位于城市广场的底座上放置着一个更令人印象深刻的钟表：布拉格奥尔洛伊，最古老的工作天文钟，自1410年以来一直跟踪天体运动。
蒂萨附近的波希米亚瑞士国家公园, 捷克共和国 Bohemian Switzerland National Park near Tisá, Czech Republic (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset)
蒂萨附近的波希米亚瑞士国家公园, 捷克共和国 Bohemian Switzerland National Park near Tisá, Czech Republic (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset)
Bohemian Switzerland National Park
Today we rhapsodize about the beautiful Bohemian Switzerland National Park, but we're hundreds of miles from Switzerland. The park's name originated with Swiss painters visiting the Kingdom of Bohemia, now the western half of the Czech Republic. They were reminded of their homeland by this region's dramatic sandstone formations. Turns out the acclaimed artist named Mother Nature finds inspiration here, too, turning the park's pockets of thick forest into a canvas of warm oranges and yellows every autumn.
波希米亚瑞士国家公园
今天我们为美丽的波希米亚瑞士国家公园狂想曲，但我们离瑞士有几百英里远。这个公园的名字起源于瑞士画家访问波希米亚王国，现在是捷克共和国的西半部。这个地区引人注目的砂岩地层让他们想起了自己的祖国。事实证明，这位名为“大自然母亲”的著名艺术家也在这里找到了灵感，每年秋天，他都会把公园里密密麻麻的森林变成一幅温暖的橘子和黄色的画布。
伏尔塔瓦河上的查理大桥和老城桥塔，捷克布拉格 (© Markus Lange/Offset)
伏尔塔瓦河上的查理大桥和老城桥塔，捷克布拉格 For the 30th anniversary of Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution, bridges over the Vltava River, including the Charles Bridge and Old Town Bridge Tower, Prague, Czech Republic (© Markus Lange/Offset)
Remembering the Velvet Revolution
Today we're visiting Prague for the 30th anniversary of the start of Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution. On November 17, 1989, during their annual International Students Day observance, 15,000 students in Prague began demonstrating against the Communist Party's authoritarian rule over the country. After the official end of the demonstration, the students continued marching to the center of the city. When they reached Národní Street, they were met by security forces who, after blocking all escape routes, began attacking. Afterwards, unfounded rumors of an injured or possibly dead student triggered strikes among students, actors, and other theater workers. These groups began calling for a general strike later in the month.
Within days, mass demonstrations were happening in Prague's Wenceslas Square and spreading to other cities. By November 27, the movement had grown so large that 75 percent of the population participated in general strike across the country. Demonstrators and dissidents would successfully achieve the nonviolent end to communist rule over Czechoslovakia on December 10 and within months Soviet troops would leave the country.
伏尔塔瓦河上的查理大桥，布拉格 Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague (© Martin Moxter/Offset)
伏尔塔瓦河上的查理大桥，布拉格 Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague (© Martin Moxter/Offset)
Cross this bridge if you dare
Superstition abounds on the Charles Bridge, dating back to its construction in 1357. Builders laid the original bridge stone on July 9 at exactly 5:31 AM, coinciding with a precise set of numbers—the palindrome 135797531—which was believed to bring additional strength to the structure. But the superstition didn't stop there. The bridge was also constructed in perfect alignment with the tomb of St. Vitus and the setting sun on the equinox. A more recent superstition involves the statue of the revered Saint John of Nepomuk that stands on the bridge—according to folklore, rubbing the plaque at the base of the statue will grant you a wish. Throughout history, the legendary bridge has undergone a multitude of catastrophes, from fighting to flooding. These days, however, it's one of Prague's most visited sites. Whether that's because of its superstitious strength or not—that's up to you to decide.
