The Baths in Budapest

Today was a wonderful, relaxing day. After sleeping in until 9:30am, we made our way to the Buda side of town, stopping briefly for coffee, cappuccino, and croissants. It is said that most everyone in Budapest speaks some English, and this was more than emphasized by the young woman at the pastry shop whose grasp of the English language was better than many Americans’. In fact, we now have a running joke regarding Hungarians – in an apologetic tone, they proclaim, “I am so sorry, but I do not speak English very well”, and then they proceed to speak with impeccable grammar and an impressive vocabulary.

As we meandered the through the streets of Buda, we stumbled upon many churches that had been destroyed and then rebuilt over the years. However, the first one we came upon was not restored; in fact, the only thing left standing was the front entrance, with a small altar. The rest of the building was gone, save for some walls from the foundation, and the stone floor. Looming over the ruins of the church was a sole arched window that I can only assume was rebuilt after the building was bombed. We also passed a Lutheran church that was built in 1948 after the original church was bombed during WWII. It is amazing how the city still shows the scars of the 20th century.

In between churches, we ducked into a small art gallery, the Hungarian Museum of Contemporary Art. Several of the pieces spoke to us, and we enjoyed browsing through the collection. When we left, we headed back toward the castle district, taking a moment to peek inside Mátyás Templom (Matthias Church). This particular Catholic Church was very unlike the others we’ve seen on this trip. Built during the 13th century, the interior was elaborately painted. Though Kendra found it beautiful (she seems to be better able to appreciate art for its place in time), I thought it was tacky and uninteresting. Despite this, I still snapped several pictures before we left.

After walking down the winding castle stairs, through an exhibit on the history of paper (not nearly as boring as it sounds!), we set out for lunch. We made a quick meal of salads and a sandwich split between us. We were in a hurry to reach our next destination – the Gellert Baths. Budapest has a rich history of public baths, dating back to Roman occupation, so we were determined to test the waters, so to speak. 😉 The guidebooks don’t lie when they state that the baths are confusing. It took us ten minutes to decide what we wanted, yet when we approached the woman at the ticket counter, she told us we could only buy our entrance tickets from her. Not to be discouraged, we made our way into the interior of the baths. The indoor swimming pool was gorgeous. We passed it on our way to rent towels (this time the guidebook did lie – they were $3 each, not free). After securing a private cabin, we stowed our belongings and took a swim. Surrounded by beautiful marble columns and tiled mosaics, we enjoyed the cool water. I was surprised that the pool wasn’t crowded. After a bit of swimming, we sat on an underwater bench alongside the wall, and watched the water pour out of the mouths of the lion heads lining the pool.

Feeling refreshed, we ventured into the thermal baths. Unlike the swimming pool, which is co-ed, the thermal baths are segregated by gender. Though much smaller, the room had two baths, one at 36 degrees Celsius, and the other at 38 degrees Celsius. We started with the lower temperature, which was quite warm. After a bit, the water began to feel cool, so we braved the hotter bath. It felt considerably warmer, but I enjoyed how it relaxed my muscles.

Still in the women-only thermal baths, our next stop was the massage room. Though many of the women in the baths were enjoying the steaming waters while nude, I had no desire remove my swimsuit. However, I didn’t have much of a choice when I handed the old Hungarian woman sitting at the entrance to the massage room my receipt for one 15-minute massage. She handed me a long, white sheet and instructed me to strip down. Trying not to turn bright red, I wrapped the sheet around me and tossed off my suit – after all, when in Rome…

Kendra was lead into the massage room first, and I was called soon after, though I was walked into a separate room with two other women who were receiving massages. Another older Hungarian woman instructed me to give her my sheet. Like my swimsuit, I tossed away my pride and handed it over. She smoothed it atop the massage table and I quickly jumped on, trying not to think about her looking at my butt. I relaxed as I listened to her chat away with the other masseuses in the room. Though I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, the Hungarian words lulled me into a peaceful state.

Fifteen minutes later, I met up with Kendra and we swapped stories. Before leaving the baths, we decided one more dip in the pool was in order. After spending so much time in the hot thermal baths, the water felt very cold, yet refreshing. We took a few pictures, and then wandered throughout the rest of the baths, including the outdoor rooftop pools and sunbathing decks. When all was said and done, we’d spent three hours in the baths, paying less that $50 between the two of us for what would have cost much more at a spa in the States. Of course, there I would have been able to keep a towel over my butt during the massage – maybe that’s what we pay extra for…

Feeling relaxed, we were ready to eat dinner. We stopped at Mojito’s, the place we ate our first night in Budapest, for a fresh mozzarella and tomato salad, pizzas, and Hungarian white wine. Surprisingly, the house wine was fabulous, and the price was right – only $1.50 a glass! The food here is much cheaper than in Austria – we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner for $12.50 each.

Because we catch the train to Krakow tomorrow night, we spent the rest of this evening doing laundry, packing, and playing gin rummy. We’ve got a game going to see who will reach 5,000 points first. Though Kendra took an early lead last night, I finally passed her tonight. Of course, that was after 20 games, and I lost my lead after the next game. At least I am not too far behind…

Tomorrow we’re going to explore more of Pest! I am looking forward to our last day in Budapest. For now, I am going to fall asleep listening to the jazzy lounge-music wafting through our window. I am just grateful it’s not the techno that played the last two nights.