Our last full day in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, my husband Will and I hiked to Goethe's Lookout Tower. In the first draft of my historical novel-in-progress, The Water Cure, my protagonist Marie and her boyfriend Rado hike to an unnamed viewpoint not far from the tower. Goethe's Lookout turned out to be a shorter distance from town than I'd expected, so in the next draft, I'll have them hike to this Karlovy Vary landmark.
The tower opened in 1889 and was the inspiration of Princess Stephanie, daughter-in-law of Austrian Emperor Franz Josef. The monument retained her name until the end of World War One, when the new Czechoslovakia distanced itself from its former Habsburg rulers. From the top of the renamed Goethe's Tower, Will and I enjoyed views of the town similar to those seen by Marie and Rado, although the trees have grown higher since my characters were there 112 years ago.
Will and I headed back down the hill into town. We passed a yellow building that I might use as a model for Rado's boarding house.
After our pizza lunch, we walked to the train station, Marie's arrival point in Karlovy Vary. I discovered the closest bridge across the Ohře River to the station hadn't been built in 1914, the year of my story. The roundabout walking route of that time would be cumbersome with a suitcase. In my revisions, Marie will take a horse-drawn carriage from the station to her lodgings.
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| Train station platform - I like to think this is a spruced-up structure from 1914 |
I had also placed Rado's favourite pub and the lodgings of two secondary characters near the train station. In my next draft, I'll move them all to the city's commercial area, which will give those characters a shorter walk to their workplaces in the spa zone.
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| Today, the main commercial street is a pleasant pedestrian mall |
My research in Karlovy Vary was almost done. Four days earlier, I'd arrived with limited knowledge of the spa town and its history. I left with a wealth of information to make my novel more accurate and vivid. It makes me glad I wrote the first draft of The Water Cure before this research trip. If I hadn't, I might have been too overwhelmed with details and images to find the story.
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| View from our hotel room - Mill Colonnade at night |
