There is a place called Spa!!

I never knew the word Spa originated from a place in Belgium until Frank came up with this idea to visit the Belgian town of Spa. As always, I checked up on the web to find places to visit in Spa.

We got into an Inter-City train headed towards Eupen from Brussels Central. We got down at a place called Verviers Central to take a local Belgian (B-Rail) train to Spa. Spa was the last stop for this train.

We were puzzled at first to think that a town which gave the name "Spa" to the world could be so tiny. The station was quite isolated and there were few people around. Best of all, everyone seemed to known everybody else in this town.

True to its name, the Spa mineral water bottling plant (Spa Monopole) is located right outside the railway station. The town is famous for naturally-occuring, thermal fountains with high mineral content.

We walked around and came to a fountain called "Pouhon de Pierre le Grand". This is the water fountain from which Tsar Peter the Great drank and got cured from his illnesses. Visitors are free to sample the water from this fountain.

The heat on this day was unbearable in Spa. It was a sweltering 36 degrees in Spa on that day. There are mineral water pouches kept along the roadside for the comfort of the travellers in Spa.

Frank is an ardent admirer of car racing and ofcourse the Grand Prix. Spa Francochamps Grand Prix circuit as well as the Race Car Museum was about forty minutes away in a nearby town called Stavelot.

We went to the tourist office to ask for directions to Stavelot. The lady explained that there were not many buses operating to Stavelot during the weekends.

We decided to take a chance and hopped on to a bus to Stavelot. It took us some time to get there because we had to also wait in some "no-man's land" bus stop for a connection bus to Stavelot.

The bus ride reminded me of travels in my home state of Kerala with its winding, narrow roads and lush greenery. On the way, we were able to view the Spa Franchochamps Grand Prix circuit.

The Franchochamps Race Car Museum is situated in the vaulted basement of an ancient Abbey (Monastery) called the Abbey of Stavelot. The Abbey is huge and much of it is restored into a queer mixture of the ancient and the modern.

The first floor of the Abbey houses a collection of historical artifacts relating to Spa and Stavelot. The painstakingly restored structures take you on a walk through life in Spa during the various time periods.

The architechture is also distinct since it is an enhancement of the original Monastery structure. The walls are adorned with figures of Mother Mary and the Saints. The original items used for worship in the monastery such as the chalices, manuscripts, staff etc are kept for display.

It was a practice in olden days for monks to brew beer in this part of the world. The resulting Abbey beer (trapiste) is famous for its flavour and great spirits.

The second floor had an exhibition on this ancient tradition of beer making. There was a collection of equipments as well as explanations into this process.

The basement of the Abbey was the star attraction of the day - The Spa Francochamps Race Car Museum. Spa Francochamps Race Car Museum is a treasure trove for Grand Prix lovers.

Race Cars and bikes from as early as 1900s are on display in the basement. This rare collection of automobiles within this vaulted space transports the visitor into another world.

For the first time during our many visits together, Frank was able to guide me through the exhibits. He had a lot to explain about the cars and bikes on display. I could see the manifestation of man's fascination with the wheel in him.

Abbey of Stavelot took us quite a bit of time to cover. We managed to take a bus to Verviers Central (our initial connection stop) to catch our train back to Brussels.

The Abbey of Stavelot is a great place to visit for those in love with race cars and the Grand Prix. I didn't feel the same liking for Spa though.

I felt that Spa was more or less isolated unlike rest of the tourist spots in Europe. Despite its famous name and origins, Spa lacked the charm.

The town is not very commercialised or tourist-friendly. I didn't see many visitors in Spa. Clearly, the town Spa does not live up to its name.

We were tired at the end of the day and dozed off in the train to Brussels. At the end of the day, I was glad to be back to the bustling Brussels city life away from the land of the thermal springs.