Don't drink the water

I've had tap water in every country I've stayed in except Albania, I was only there less than a day and had bottled water from a bus ride. In Slovenia, I drank water out of the mountain streams. The waters were so clear and the country so clean, I figured it would be better than filtered water back home. I was warned about the water in Romania, but it tasted fine. I grew up with Giardia in the water in Scranton, so I think I'm accustomed to what most travellers are worried about. Then I came to Bardejov, Slovakia.

The waters of the Bardejov Spas are said to have strong healing powers. Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Joseph II of Hungary, and Napolean all frequented Bardejov. Throngs of people come here every year to drink the water and relax in the baths. When Rudolf and I were there, hundreds of people, many patients with health issues, were sipping the water out of ceramic mugs. The water has a high mineral content, much higher than your average bottle of mineral water. So high that in the two separate springs you can fill your water bottle in, the stones underneath the flowing water are rusted. Mind you, these are stones, not metal, and I have never seen stones rust. I wanted to fill my water bottle to reap the benefits of this healthy water. Rudolf suggested that I taste the water from each spring before entirely filling my bottle. I filled some from the first spring and took a big gulp, ready to be cured of whatever I was sick from.

"Aggghh", I stuck my tongue out in disgust. It had a strong acidic taste. It was high in mineral content for sure. It was 100% Iron.

"You don't like" Rudolf asked. I squinted and shook my head, trying to build some saliva in my mouth to neutralize the taste. "Try other spring," he suggested. I filled up and took a more cautious sip.

I laughed and couldn't believe what I was tasting,"The first spring was better," I said. Rudolf laughed. I needed water, so I filled up my bottle from the first spring, determined to sip it very slowly. I saw somebody next to me filling up a clear water bottle from the spring. "No wonder everyone drinks from ceramic mugs" I said to Rudolf, "THE WATER IS BROWN." I then asked him "This water is supposed to be good for you?" He asked around. After talking to some people, he came back to me with an answer.

"Many people come here for digestion problems. The water helps digestion."

That made sense. I can see how this acidic water would help people digest food. In fact, people with diets high in rocks and metals would benefit greatly from drinking this water. As we drove away, I worried that my metalic water bottle would be completely dissolved by the time we made it back to Kosice.
They say Napolean used to come here alot, and I have no doubt that the water of Bardejov was the cause of his stomach problems.