Luhačovice became my drug: I feel better when I approach it!

But according to the number of visits, the post office is certainly not the only reason why you come back to Luhačovice?

There are many reasons that keep me coming back to Luhačovice! First of all, I always say that I'm getting better after Zlín, that I can just feel the healing energy approaching, and secondly, I can't help but mention the local genius loci headed by the local architecture. Whether it's the concept of the entire spa valley, including the well-kept park, where lavender smells in spring and summer, Jurkovič's buildings or other spa houses in the art deco style, or the functionalist White Quarter, where I really enjoy going to see the post office building by architect Ladislav Machona every time I go. Last but not least, Luhačovice has another great advantage - it is very strategically located on the border of three regions, namely Moravian Slovácko, Haná and Wallachia. So whether you go south, west, north or east, there is something to discover everywhere!

When was the first time you were in Luhačovice?

First time? That was when I was a teenager and my parents and I traveled to Slovakia for a vacation. But I knew Luhačovice from photographs, because not only my grandparents went there, but also my great-grandparents who were close by, and especially during the Protectorate it was one of the few spas where you were allowed to go at all. Although they were affected by the German occupation, so some of the spa houses, such as the Palace, were confiscated by the Germans, but on the contrary, some were saved by the locals for the regular spa operations and the Czech clientele. At that time, the spa functioned as we know it from First Republic films and literature - as a social meeting place and a place for, today we would probably say, wellness stays. Otherwise, the first real spa stay I had was in 2011...

...also a wellness stay?

While my first stays were really relaxing vacations and I decided that I liked to return to Luhačovice in spring and autumn, in 2018 I took my first stay, so to speak, "on the cross" - because my cancer returned with metastasis in the lower right lung lobe. To make matters worse, after the operation I also had an infection of the middle right lung lobe, which was only just cured, and just when it seemed that all my troubles were finally over, my heart collapsed and I was back in hospital, where I was fitted with a pacemaker.

Do you say the cancer came back when you first dealt with it and did you take advantage of the spa treatment then as well?

That was back in 2008 when I had a complicated surgery and unfortunately with unpleasant consequences in the form of colon cancer. So I was not only prescribed chemotherapy, after which I also suffered from neuropathy as a concomitant effect, but also a spa. At that time I was supposed to be sent by the insurance company to Karlovy Vary, but I ended up choosing Františkovy Lázně, which is beautifully renovated and is a kind of "confectioner's dream" for me (laughs), but still they are not as connected to the region as in Luhačovice...

...where they have repeatedly helped you with diagnoses that were certainly not few!

The header of medical reports about me always says - Galuska, Jan, PhD., 1950, polymorbid. (laughs). I'm enjoying that word a little bit, it sounds horrible, but I think that I'm a living advertisement for our spa industry and especially for Luhačovice, because despite all medical expectations, it helped me to prolong my life, in fact it allowed me to live to see other diagnoses (laughs)! However, I have also fulfilled probably all the main indications that they can help with, whether it is conditions after cancer treatment, pneumological indications or diseases of the digestive tract.

We have not talked about digestive tract diseases yet, is that a current difficulty?

Yes, I was in Luhacovice again in late summer 2019, after a very difficult gallbladder operation that had to be done conventionally, not laparoscopically, and which was preceded by an infection of the gallbladder and biliary tract. So I really enjoy Luhačovice not only as a carefree wellness spa guest, but also as a really serious patient after various diagnoses. Very varied, diverse diagnoses...

What specific treatments have helped you with their treatment and what effects have you felt on yourself?

Personally, I think the classic treatments that have helped me the most are the ones that have made Luhačovice famous - inhalations, massages and carbonic baths. For example, professional physiotherapy has helped me tremendously with my neuropathy and with loosening and healing the post-operative scar on my abdomen and preventing adhesions. Then as for the effects, it depends on the type of treatment. For example, with massages, one feels immediately that one's back stops hurting, but with treatments such as baths or inhalations, the effect only becomes apparent with some distance. In the same way, one may feel rather tired during the first days of a spa stay, as the energy usually returns only with time - after two or three weeks, and not only that! A very pleasant added value is the fundamental feeling of health and zest for life!

And on the other hand, is there any procedure that you couldn't undergo?

I personally have no such experience, we guests are in the good hands of qualified professionals headed by spa doctors who can advise on different forms of disabilities and tailor treatment accordingly, so despite my numerous diagnoses they have always assessed my complicated medical condition holistically and then empathetically selected appropriate treatments.

Of the treatments we haven't yet named, traditional drinking cures and springs. Have you had any favorites over the years

I've tried just about every spring, you can't do that just out of curiosity! (Laughs) But I've always liked Vincent, which helps me in everyday life - it loosens up mucus and the airways in general. And for my gallbladder treatment, the doctor recommended Aloisca, which I must say is very tasty and has helped me tremendously, but it has one big drawback - it's uphill to get there (laughs)!

What spa houses have you actually tried during your stays?

I haven't lived anywhere else but Jurkovic's house yet and I'm not changing that just yet! (Laughs) Recommendations from friends, sensitive renovation, everything in one place from the pool, to treatments, to the restaurant, and of course the great location in the spa park, just a short walk from the colonnade... these are all compelling reasons. But mainly? The people! Over the years, I've gotten to know everyone - from Mrs. Suchackova and her colleagues in the stay department or Miss Alice at the reception, to nurse Marcelka, the manager and her colleagues in the treatments, head bartender Martin, the staff in the restaurant and the maids. They are wonderful people who radiate a tremendous sense of well-being, which is then transferred to us guests. I see it as such an important secondary effect of the spa, and moreover - because I am already a regular, I think I can say that I am already welcomed here with a bit of exaggeration like a lost son (laughs).

What advice would you give as an experienced spa guest to those who, on the other hand, are going to the spa for the first time?

When I talk about the spa with some friends who have never been there before, many of them feel a strange kind of shyness. They ask, what are they going to do with you there? They feel it's like a continuation of a hospital stay. But it's not like that at all! And certainly not in Luhačovice, where you will be helped with everything by the friendly staff, whose loyalty to not only their profession, but above all to the spa guests is immense. Thanks to this, many of them will be happy to return here, even if it is their first time at the spa. For me, for example, Luhačovice has become such a personal drug, so I will definitely go again!

Thank you for the interview.

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