Friends familiar with the purpose of my journey had been wondering why I
had not chosen a less distant destination (especially since long time spent
behind the wheel is a hard time for lumbar spine). Firstly, my everlasting fondness
for Dolnośląskie region draws me there, secondly, my only family well beyond
Warsaw live in Jelenia Góra, who have kept me company for some time.
I also could have chosen a posh resort specialising in therapy, however
given I am still rebuilding my savings after my flat purchase and the threat of
a surgery (cost of PLN 30,000) and subsequent recovery has not been fended off,
I have opted for a state-run sanatory with the full-board stay and three cure
sessions per day set me back 175 PLN per night. If you count out three
treatments which cost around 75 PLN, the remaining 100 PLN was the price for a
single room and three meals a day (turning up to the canteen punctually at 8
a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. was infuriating to me) which was a cheapie, so I should
not complain about the standard of a run-down two-star hotel which was my
dwelling for nearly two weeks.
The usual day schedule from Monday to Friday was repeatable: three
treatments between breakfast and lunch and then time off. The only weekend was
also free of sanatory-based activity.
Not every day after morning treatments and exercises I had enough energy
to take trips (some exercises and treatment can be exhausting), but I have done
my best to make the most of my presence in South-western corner of Poland. I
have not revisited places I had popped by in 2009 and 2013.
To the right, on the last day of May, I drove (without a car I would
have gone crazy there) to visit Wodospad Kamieńczyka. I had been advised not to
strain myself, so I slowly climbed a mile-long ascent, on the last section
quite steep, but the effort was worth it. The waterfall in the seclusive, yet
commercialized place is a marvellous venue.
On the next day I took a longer trip to see Zamek Czocha, one of less
known attractions of the region, yet with fascinating history. The guided trip around the castle's nooks and crannies
(duration 1 hour 20 minutes) is a must if you are in the vicinity of Jelenia
Góra.
On Sunday I took my aunt and my niece for an all-day foray to the Rock
City in Ardsprach, Czech Republic. The place had been recommended to me by many
of my friends and they had been absolutely right. Despite crowds of visitors
(most were Poles) and heat (+26C in the afternoon) the excursion was more than
enjoyable.
The last destination of an afternoon trip on Wednesday before the
check-out was Harrachov in Czech Republic, a winter resort famous for
ski-jumping competition. My goal was to behold Mumlavsky Vodospad, literally a
murmuring waterfall. Hidden in a forest and on business day in low season not
plagued by droves of people. Only a group of Czech pupils were hanging around.
I could not make a longer pause because of thunderstorm hanging in the air and
threatening to burst out.
On my way back to Warsaw the obligatory stopover was Wrocław (one
not-just-in-business visit this year ticked off). I walked around Ostrów Tumski
and market square for more that an hour, then headed for an eatery to munch a
lunch and set off to Warsaw.
Impressions?
My hopes for a company were dashed soon after the arrival. Average age
of a sanatory guest is around 70, maybe except for some soldiers on a
three-week ZUS-paid stay who began their day with a tin of beer before
breakfast (and nobody bothered to pay attention to their inebriation); not my
cup of tea. The very elderly people with their irritating habits can also make
a young man’s life a misery.
My general observation is that the entire sanatory system ought to be
torn down and built from scratch. In Poland a sanatory is a form of
state-subsidised holidays for pensioners rather than form of cure for those in
need regardless of age. My ideas for a turnaround are simple.
1. Prevention is better than cure, while sanatoria are focused on curing
pain rather than on causes (in my instance, the goal was to prevent a surgery).
2. The system, just like in many other institutions, is based on
pretending. If you don’t enforce what they are bound to provide you with, a
sanatory will pretend to help you and you will pretend to be helped.
3. The sanatoria and towns where they are located should get focused on
treatments only. Today, some parts of the ancillary business such as
discotheques contribute to miracles of recovery then patients ill in the
morning pull through on their way to the dancefloor.
Yesterday I was at the orthopaedist to have a professional examination
of my MRI. I thought I was already on the mend, yet it turns out my spine might
require a surgery in a few years, even despite continuous exercising. The
vision of getting under a surgeon’s knife works as a first-rate motivation to
me to sacrifice twenty to thirty minutes each evening to ward off the worst
eventuality…
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