Letter from Prague
A lot of foreigners complain about the Prague winter, but I have to say - coming from Ireland, a country where it never really gets cold - I've actually come to enjoy true brass monkey weather. Of course, weeklong smog and blanket grey will bring a fella down, but give me minus five to ten degrees and clear skies and I'm a happy man.
A lot of foreigners complain about the Prague winter, but I have to say - coming from Ireland, a country where it never really gets cold - I've actually come to enjoy true brass monkey weather. Of course, weeklong smog and blanket grey will bring a fella down, but give me minus five to ten degrees and clear skies and I'm a happy man.
One of the pleasures of winter in Prague for me is swimming outdoors at Podoli, the largest public pool in Prague, which is by the Vltava and around 15 minutes from the centre of town. Stating the obvious perhaps, but the pool is heated.
A tent-like structure leads from the main building to the water but as shelters go its pretty flimsy. Once you get out those doors you really feel the cold, I can tell you; after those few freezing seconds, the water comes as a welcome relief. To be perfectly honest, once you're in, it doesn't feel so much different from swimming in a regular pool. Except that is when it's very windy, and just coming up for air is quite unpleasant.
When the sun is out its really beautiful, especially when you swim into the low sun; with the steam rising, above water you can only see a yard or two in front of you. If I didn't wear goggles I'd be forever colliding with people. Some people go to solariums to try and stave off Seasonal Affective Disorder, depression caused by lack of sun. When it's sunny at the weekend, I prefer to go down the pool and I swear you get a little bit of colour no matter what the time of year.
As for swimming when it's snowing, I get a huge, possibly childish, kick out of it every time.
On top of all the pleasures of braving the elements in the outdoor pool, Podoli also has a wonderful steam bath. I do like saunas, but they tend to wind me down a little too much. Steam baths, by contrast, are more intense but also more refreshing, and you'll never feel as clean as after a good session in the steam. Many of Podoli's patrons never go anywhere near the pool itself, and are perfectly content to spend the whole time in the steam bath, often moaning and putting the world to rights, but at least it's a healthier environment than the pub.
I go quite often, but some people seem to be in the pool literally every day. There is a wonderful group of old ladies who I see always there, slowly swimming up and down and chatting about everything from their families to what they're having for dinner. They wear an amusing array of hats and sunglasses and some of them - bizarrely - like to swim topless, rolling down their swimsuit tops once they get in the water. I'd never be brave enough to ask a group of babicky why they swim topless, and can only imagine they're trying to get as close to an all over tan as possible. Either way, I can assure you it's a sight which gives me no pleasure whatsoever, especially when I'm feeling, as I often am of a Saturday morning, a bit fragile after a night in the pub.
