[a href="vny!://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060408/od_afp/czechrussiahealthbeer"]Beer baths challenge traditional spas[/a]
CHODOVA PLANA, Czech Republic (AFP) - Wearing only his gold necklace and grasping a large beer, Andrei relaxed voluptuously in a herbal beer bath, the latest Czech "therapeutic" offering which the rich Moscovite spa lover would not miss for anything. [/p] "We Russians love natural products. Here, the beer is the best quality, brewed in the old style without any chemicals," he explained with enthusiasm.[/p][img]vny!://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20060408/capt.sge.hdz27.080406023607.photo00.photo.default-384x250.jpg?x=380&y=247&sig=X5ifKOtvmOYuPGLdks8TeQ--"][/p] The Russian businessmen, a frequent visitor to the renowned Marianske Lazne (Marienbad) spa in west Bohemia -- the destination of Europe's kings, emperors and nobility at the turn of the 20th century -- could not resist the temptation to try the country's first "beer spa" in the nearby town of Chodova Plana.[/p] Owners of the town's Chodovar brewery, still producing along artisanal lines, launched the beer baths with the target of tempting tourists to their new hotel rather than boosting production.[/p] Tourists have been flocking for years to a "traditional Czech" restaurant converted from the brewery's ancient cellars, which along with the brewery represents the principal source of jobs in the town of around 1,300.[/p] With West Bohemia's six traditional spa resorts competing vigorously for custom with special health programmes and weekend health breaks, the brewery decided it required a different recipe.[/p] "We had the beer, we had a mineral spring nearby and we came up with the idea of beer baths," explained Mojmir Prokes, the young manager of the hotel and adjoining beer spa, who enthused over their "reinvigorating effects," especially for the skin.[/p] A doctor from Marianske Lazne was drafted in to test the concoction -- a fifty-fifty mix of beer and water. Permission was obtained from local authorities, six large tailor made metal baths ordered and a qualified local nurse recruited.[/p] Klara Kovacsova, who previously worked in balneotherapy, says the idea is "brilliant."[/p] "These baths are not competition for traditional spa treatments," said the nursing sister. She greets clients behind a bar and dispenses the free beer that comes with the 550 koruna (around 20 euro) price of a single beer bath session.[/p] Kovacsova is also responsible for mixing the slightly sulphuric mineral water, dark beer -- classical lager was tried but did not smell so good -- and aromatic herbs, testing the temperature and installing "patients" for their 20 minute dip.[/p] "The Czech Republic is known worldwide for its beer, Czechs are fanatical about it: a beer bath is an excellent concept for getting yourself known," commented Jitka Pouzorova, charged with promoting the country's spas at the state tourist office, CzechTourism, in Prague.[/p] A few local newspapers articles, some television programmes and a multilingual Internet site was all that was required for the first curious Czechs, Russians and Germans to starting turning up at Chodova Plana to test the water, and beer.[/p] "Russians have money, they want the best, irrespective of whether it is mineral water or beer," Andrei, who had arrived with a group of friends, explained.[/p] Each year his compatriots arrive at Czech spas in ever greater numbers, drawn in particular to the Czech Republic's biggest, Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad).[/p] In 2005, Czech spas attracted around 315,000 visitors, of which a third were foreigners. Although Russians are still outnumbered by Germans and Austrians, they usually stay longer and spend without counting the cost.[/p] Chodova Plana's beer spa seeks to attract well-heeled Czechs as much as foreigners. Official figures show that in spite of cuts in health insurance reimbursements for spa treatment, more and more Czechs are signing up and are prepared to pay out of their own pockets.[/p] But beyond the well developed traditional spa treatments, "the country has started to be won over by the fashion for 'health, beauty and wellness'," Pouzorova said. [/p]As the biggest per capita beer drinkers in the world, that health and beauty message might still take some selling to Czechs, but it presents no danger at all to the wider ambitions of the Chodovar brewery.[/p]
