BUCHAREST, Romania >> Austria’s A-Heat Group has opened a giant thermal bath-and-spa complex in Romania that it says is the largest in Europe.
The $55 million center, which opened Jan. 14 just north of Bucharest, uses hot water pumped up from more than 1.9 miles underground and cooled to a constant 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit in its eight pools. The facility, which offers indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and other leisure activities, covers 62 acres and includes a giant botanical garden with 800,000 trees and plants. Tickets start at $9.50.
Exhibits delve into West’s culture
OKLAHOMA CITY >> The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is opening four new exhibitions in February looking at the American West’s history and culture.
Three of the shows open Feb. 5.
One explores the history and revival of Native American bolo ties. Another offers an interactive look at Western drought and weather patterns, including the way rugged Western conditions shape regional culture.
A third show, “The Cowboy Returns,” is a national traveling exhibition of photos by a father and son, Bank and John Langmore, about the daily, often gritty lives of cowboys over two generations.
Finally, on Feb. 19 the museum opens a show of work by Philip R. Goodwin, who created scenes of sporting and wildlife in the first few decades of the 20th century. His work included illustrating Jack London’s “Call of the Wild” and Theodore Roosevelt’s “African Game Trails.”
Deal keeps horse carriages in park
NEW YORK >> New York City officials announced that an agreement has been reached to keep some horse-drawn carriages in Central Park and build a new in-park stable for the horses rather than ban them altogether.
The horses currently live in private stables on Manhattan’s West Side, and animal rights advocates have been fighting to get the carriages banned entirely, calling it inhumane to keep horses in loud, car-clogged Manhattan.
City officials said last week the deal would eventually reduce the number of licensed horses from about 180 to 95 when a permanent home is built for them in Central Park by Oct. 1, 2018.
