After a full day in Pest the previous day, I was worried a bit about pushing my luck with another hard core sight seeing day. Plus, I suddenly had an extreme interest in the Bath scene around town given the success of the previous day.
So.....interested in that relaxing feeling again, I did the breakfast at the hotel, checked my bag at the front desk and then headed for the Gellert Hotel, which is much more touristy according to RS. Sunday is co-ed swim day, meaning there is no naked hour. I got there around 10:30, purchased a thermal ticket and changing cabin and this time, went really crazy and purchased a massage as well. The appointment was for 1PM so I assumed this would give me plenty of time to turn into a raisin again and then head for the massage.
Gellert has more heated pools, which is where I ended up. They have 2 main pools which are at set temps just below and above your body temp. It was really fun to spend 30 minutes in one and then jump into the other one. There weren't as many jets in these, but the nice part was it was all adults. I hopped in between, took showers pretty often and read on the nice chairs they had set out around the pools. Perfect morning. Supposedly there is a wave pool outdoors, but I couldn't find an exit to the pool (I accidentally wandered into the men's changing area looking for it, so I decided to stop trying).
The massage was great. I came out all lotioned up and greasy, which was perfect because I could just jump into the baths to wash down. That relaxing feeling is addicting. I'm not very good at relaxing, but feel like I took significant steps forward in learning how to do so this weekend.
After the goodness of the baths, I found a RS recommended restaurant for an outdoors luncheon. It served more Belgian beers than I think any place in Belgium does. I tried a cherry beer they had on draft - delicious. If you like fruity beers, Floris is a great brand. I also had some goulash and the ham that makes me see stars, ended with some Belgian chocolate. Great meal
I then had not enough time to kill to go to the castle, but enough time to grab another drink and read, so I found a nice café and drank another Belgian beer and read my book. Airport shuttle picked me up when it said it would (huge relief!) and I made it just in time to wait 10 minutes for my flight. Seriously, couldn't be better.
Here are some pictures from the drive to the airport:
Budapest is definitely on my repeat list. I didn't do the tour of Parliament, the Buda Castle and there are 3 other baths to explore. I also missed seeing a concert in Budapest - supposed to be great.
Next up is Scandinavia for 14 days starting in August. This time will be different - I'm taking a tour! Hoping for the best possible situation with roommates. That's the only thing that worries me slightly, but SUPER excited about the tour in general. It's an RS tour, starting in Stockholm, going to Bergen via Copenhagen and Oslo. Once in a life time trip!
After the success of the Baths, I kept the sundress on, added a light jacket and my cute flats that match the dress (accidentally) and headed for the river. I can positively say I have never felt so put together after a trip to the pool. I'm growing up.
I made it to the docks for the 9PM launch about 15 minutes before then. I asked if they had one seat and they said they were unsure....a group was supposed to be coming but hadn't shown up yet. I said I didn't mind waiting to see, so I took a seat on a bench and 5 minutes later, I had a ticket. Seriously, the travel gods were smiling big time on me this weekend.
I got lucky and found an open bench with a seat by the window. The trip came with a drink and commentary of the sites along the river. I sipped my wine, took pictures with both my camera and blackberry to send to friends and my mom/brother. THANK YOU WHATSAPP! Best app out there - charges you data rates for text messages...it's like Blackberry messenger for everyone.
I did forget to show them my RS book and my Budapest card, both of which would have gotten me a discount. Oops.
The pictures though were totally worth it:
Chain Bridge
Buda Castle
Liberty Bridge, complete with American flag to commemorate the end of WWII
Sisi Bridge
Parliament....le sigh.
Parliament
Chain Bridge with Buda Castle
Chain Bridge
Chain Bridge
The views at night were stunning. If you go to Budapest, take a touristy trip up the Danube at night. Even better might be a dinner cruise....probably not great food, but the sights...oh the sights.
After that, I caught the metro back to the hotel. I messed up once....on the tram, I didn't push the stop button hard enough for my stop and ended up at the next one, where I backtracked to my hotel. I just got extra time to enjoy the city lit up. What a great day.
Buda, Buda, Buda - Part 2 to come
If what you read so far seems like Budapest is just for the history nuts, I understand. However, this is where the weekend took a dramatic turn. Unfortunately there are no pictures to prove I did what I'm going to describe and there are probably thousands of people who do this every year, so it's most probably not that big of a deal, but I felt like I accomplished something huge.
After a so-so dinner, I wandered around some more, internally debating my next move. It was only about half past 6, so the night was still very young. I was high on life, enjoying the fact that I was only lost once during the entire day. When you know the travel gods are smiling at you, it's important to take advantage. So I flipped in my RS book to what I was the most apprehensive to try, but also the most curious about: the Thermal Baths.
I had packed a swimsuit into a small cloth backpack, just as I had done in Nice, with the thought that there was no way I was going to use it. I haven't been swimming since visiting S in Tampa. That was.....4 years ago? Maybe longer? And the focus of that trip wasn't on swimming, it was on sitting at the beach. So purposefully wearing a bathing suit for its intended use was probably college. That's the last time I can remember doing it.
I figured there was no harm in getting on the metro to the Baths that RS recommended....I could at least go look at the outside, which has fine architectural elements. That was how I convinced myself to get on the metro. The Szechenyi Baths are some of the most famous in all of Europe. It's definitely worth a look.
I got off the Metro, found the outside and liked the look of the building. RS says that it's open until 10 for swimming and he described what to do when you got in the building, how to pay for certain elements and what the dress code was. This is key and what had me the most nervous. Suppose this bath had naked hour? Who was to tell? The signs are all in Hungarian and in fact, this particular bath is recommended because it's mostly a local bath and not a touristy one. That could have disaster written all over it.
Anyways, I figured I got this far, I should at least find the lobby and read the prices. RS let me know that you can either rent a locker or a changing cabin, both of which you lock with an electronic bracelet to leave your stuff. I was nervous about that whole bit, because when I travel I never leave my passport, wallet, phone or glasses anywhere. They are like glue to me. Traveling solo means that there isn't anyone to watch your stuff while you find the restroom or go for a swim. It means having complete faith that your stuff is protected and the only way to ensure that is to have it on your person at all times. The place appeared safe and RS said you could get a locked safe if you wanted to, but that theft in a locked locker or cabin was rare.
I took a leap of faith and purchased an outside pool ticket and a changing cabin. I figured that the outside pool would not have nudey time and that the changing cabin was a necessary precaution. After purchasing, I slipped on my electronic band and headed for the turnstile, where the lady proceeded to direct me in the wrong direction to the cabins. That is when I learned that the locker rooms were definitely co-ed and was very glad I had chosen a changing cabin.
I found someone to direct me to the cabin area in the above ground floors, buzzed into a cabin and found it to be a basic room with a light and a heavy lock. I changed quickly into my suit, threw on the cover up sundress I brought (always be prepared!) and sandals. I left everything except my book and $20 in the cabin....figured it would be better for it to be stolen from inside the cabin than poolside.
I then went in search of a towel. That is the one thing I wish I would have figured out how to bring....the towels for rent had a $30 deposit on them! Plus $10 to rent. That's highway robbery, particularly when kids are scanning poolside for towels to collect deposits on. I ended up skipping the towel and air drying/using the dress to dry off.
The pool had three parts - one called "Fun", another called "Olympics" and another called "Relax". The water was cool. I ended up in the Fun pool (need to live up to my middle name). The Olympics pool was just for serious swimmers with caps, the Relax pool looked nice, but was mostly elderly people and the Fun pool had a nice mix of 20s and older people, all of whom were really just relaxing anyways. The crowd was all clothed (mostly) and the definition of bathing suit was a lot more stringent than Nice.
Thermal baths are just that - water from natural springs, some of which is naturally heated and others that are not. These pools were not. The other interesting thing is that it wasn't chlorinated at all which RS says is because the water is replaced constantly throughout the day, so the assumption is that you couldn't get sick. I tried not to think about it. The benefit is that without chlorine, the water is much more enjoyable.
I sat in the pool and lazed around for about 2 hours, turning into a perfect white raisin. It was really fun. I didn't think about anything, didn't worry about a thing. It was the most relaxed I've been since moving to Europe.
After that, I explored a bit around the grounds and then decided I wanted to catch a night time cruise of the Danube. Seriously, I am so proud of my success at the Baths....I wore a bathing suit, missed naked hour and relaxed. SCORE. I really wish I would have taken a picture, but I felt weird taking pictures in the baths. Just doesn't seem right.
Part 5 to come....
After wandering through the Great Market Hall, I caught a tram heading toward the New York Café as Rick Steves recommended it as a great spot to enjoy a drink and atmosphere. This was the first of only 2 mess ups on public transport for me the entire weekend and this one wasn't really my fault.
The tram based on the map was supposed to cut all the way around the ring road of Pest. However, about 3 stops from where I wanted to be, an announcement was made in Hungarian which I thought was odd, but ignored it as I normally do. I then noticed that most people (excepting some tourists) were getting off at the next stop. That should have been my clue to get off, but I didn't. The tram then turned around and headed back the opposite direction! Engineering works.....
So this changed my path - I got out at a stop that was close to the Holocaust museum and decided to give that a try. I'm so glad I did - it was depressing, but very interesting:
Roughly 600K of the 6 million people killed in the Holocaust were Hungarian Jews or Gypsies. The museum chronicles this history, and is poignant reminder of how truly barbaric people were to each other. Having seen the House of Terror museum in the morning, this museum was an interesting follow on. The exhibits emphasized not only the role of the Nazis in the Holocaust, but more squarely blamed the Hungarian people as well for undercurrents of anti-Semitism that ultimately led to ordinary Hungarians handing over their neighbors to the Nazis in 1944. The organization and transportation of the Hungarian Jews/Gypsies to death camps was the quickest in the war - trainloads of people over a very few short months lost their lives. Again, this museum was haunting. I cried at one exhibit reading the diary of a young girl, who much like Anne Frank, comprehended way too much of what was going on around her. Reading the loss of dreams was too much for me.
The part I learned the most from was the discussion on the Gypsy history in Hungary. I don't know much about the Roma people, but this first taste has me wanting to learn more. Bucharest anyone?
After that somber outing, I exited to find I had just missed the afternoon thunderstorm! That means that the tram incident was totally worth it. I was inside for the only portion of the day that it rained.
I then got brave and caught the same tram going toward the New York Café. I read in RS that if a tram is shut for engineering works, they will put a replacement bus along the route designated with the same number. I hopped off at the last stop and found the right bus - it couldn't have worked out better. The bus was a tank....it looked like it was converted from a military bus to civilian, complete with 3 foot step out of and into the bus. Amazing how the Soviets are still a constant reminder here.
The New York Café was beautiful. Originally built as an office building for a US insurance company, the Café retains an old school charm that can only come from 1920s opulence. Here are some pictures:
That, my friends, is a fine establishment. The hot chocolate was ridiculously expensive ($8 roughly), but soooo good. And the atmosphere....what a place. I read for a bit and enjoyed the scenery.
After that, it was off for a stroll to walk off the 8000 calories in that hot chocolate. I strolled a bit before coming across an RS recommended restaurant that sounded really good. It wasn't as good as he wrote up about it, so not much to add. I did enjoy a glass of Hungarian wine.
Part 4 to come....
After the horrors of the House of Terror, I needed something light for the mid morning. I also felt like a walk was just what I needed, so I headed up the main blvd to the Opera house. Fair warning, I am not an Opera fan, so the descriptions and pictures will not do it justice if you enjoy Opera. I think Opera is something you have to grow up with and/or have very academic leanings as a young child to get into. I wish I liked it - I appreciate people who do. Maybe I just need more exposure.
The Opera house in Pest is quite a sight. It was badly damaged in WWII as most of the cities were, but the populace went through great personal sacrifice to rebuild not only the Opera, but other historical sights as well (including all of the bridges over the Danube). Here are some pictures from the Opera:
Did I mention it was warm in Pest? It was so great. I even glowed some. I won't say I miss sweating all the time, but it was nice for it to be hot enough to have the option. Notice too that I was smart this time and wore my fashion trainers. Good call, because I'm pretty sure I walked 5+ miles.
After the Opera, I headed to St Stephen's Cathedral, which was just down the road from the Opera. I hate to say it was just another European church, but that's what it was. Ornate and amazing, yet something about it makes you feel guilty given that all of the money on upkeep and creation of the church doesn't actually feed anyone. But that's not a criticism of Pest specifically, it's just an observation I'll most likely make in the next few years as I continue to blog about Euro travels.
When I finished at the cathedral, I headed to the Gresham Palace, which is now a Four Seasons hotel. The palace was designed by a London based company (Gresham Life Assurance Company) and has a grand history up until WWII, from which time it fell into Soviet disrepair. After the fall of the Soviets, the palace was restored and purchased by Four Seasons, making my hotel across the river look downright silly.
That last picture is the Chain Bridge just outside the lobby. So cool.
After that walk through, I then caught the tram on the Pest side of the river to the Great Market Hall. I hadn't intended to hit the site because I figured I would have some logistical transportation issues (See Nice), but things were going so well, I went outside the list of places to see and called an audible. Great Market Hall was totally worth it - I would have been sad if I missed it.
Great Market Hall is in what appears to be an old train station. The bottom floor is food stands (produce, meat, etc) and the top floor is souvenirs and prepared food (goulash, goulash and potatoes). I wandered through the food some - it was a great mix of tourists and locals. The souvenirs were really interesting - everything from Italian scarves to embroidered table cloths. I bought a Hungarian bowl as I'm collecting porcelain from countries that are relatively known for it. I'm up to Polish, Czech and now Hungarian. I like my Polish bowl the best, but the Hungarian is really nice as well.
Part 3 coming.....
After an amazing night's sleep in my perfect hotel room, I woke to watch the river cruise ships navigating the Danube under the Chain Bridge. It doesn't get better than that and even though I was tempted to just stay in the hotel to watch the scenes, I was super excited to see what Budapest had to offer. Budapest is actually 2 cities - Buda and Pest. I slept in Buda, but a lot of the great sites are in Pest (although, Buda is worth getting excited about too).
The hotel had a great breakfast included in the rate, so I enjoyed my English tea whilst watching the ships on the Danube and plotting out my day. Budapest has great public transport. Metro, trams and buses are everywhere and other than the spelling and pronunciation of streets, is fairly easy to navigate. I bought a Budapest card at the hotel, which includes free public transport and discounts to most museums/sites. In hindsight, it most likely wasn't worth the cost, but the convenience of not needing to pull cash each time I caught a bus or tram or figure out the ticket system was invaluable. They do have people checking for tickets constantly, so the card was a good peace of mind purchase.
The tram stopped right in front of my hotel, so I grabbed the one headed to the Metro that would transport me into Pest. The trams look like they are Soviet era - which gives the city an interesting vintage feel I wasn't expecting. The first metro I caught over to Pest was very modern, which I suspect is because one of the stops was at the Parliament. The second had to be pre-war. The only thing missing on that Metro was the horses pulling it. Incredible.
I went first to the House of Terror. That sounds creepy and it was. The name really does it justice. The museum is in a former Nazi and then KGB equivalent prison for dissidents. First, they have security guards at the museum dressed like KGB officers. In fact, the museum which is one of the most visited sites in Pest, is not open door. You have to be buzzed in by a guard outside and the building itself doesn't look like a museum at all - there is very little signage. I thought at first that would be sign of something I should have skipped, but the subtlety of the outside is no indication of the incredible displays inside. The minute you walk through the door, you are transported back to a time of unspeakable horror. The soundtrack music is intense and creepy when you walk in and follows you through the entire exhibit. Add to that the intense security guards and the Hungarians have done an excellent job setting a reverent atmosphere.
The museum chronicles in the upper floors the history of the capitulation of the Hungarian government to Nazi desires, followed by the eventual invasion by the Nazis themselves after perceived missteps by the government in Budapest. It briefly discusses the use of that building for Nazi interrogations as well as the torture chambers that were used to extract information. Although the museum is billed as a history of WWII and Soviet repression, the content on WWII is relatively light (not by nature, just in volume). The real focus of the museum is really Soviet repression and the effects of the secret police, which is an era I was vastly unfamiliar with.
When the Soviets "liberated" Hungary, the Hungarians quickly found that they went from one repressive regime to another. The Soviets may not have been shooting people in the streets as the Nazis were doing, but they set about to quickly implement communism and equal division of property. The success of the system was based on complete cooperation of the populace, which was monitored intensely by the Hungarian version of the KGB. These covert officers randomly and in large quantity pulled people off the street to interrogate, often using torture to extract confessions or implicate many more people, including family and friends. There was no rhyme or reason to it - peasant to doctor could be targeted. The upper floors of the museum went into great detail about the first days of Soviet rule, the interrogations, the work camps in Hungary for "re-education" of the wealthy, the Gulags people were sent to and the crimes against humanity committed over and over again. The reading was terrifying, which was appropriate for a museum called "House of Terror".
After that, 2 guards send you into an elevator that shows film clips of people who were interrogated in that building under Soviet rule. At the bottom, you find yourself in the cave-like rooms where those clips took place. It is unnerving. I only stayed for a short bit to read through some of the descriptions, but suffice it to say, it was nothing like visiting the bunkers where Churchill directed the war in London. Same type concept, but the atmosphere here was one of pure desperation, rather than the hope that springs out of Churchill's War Rooms. I couldn't take a lot of it - seeing the pictures in each of the chambers of people who had been tortured in those rooms was disturbing.
After that, they give you more in-depth looks at the Soviet leadership. The most interesting thing about this area was the understanding that most of the leadership in one way or another ended up themselves on fake trial and being sent to Gulags. The institution itself was built on no one person ever accumulating enough power to make a difference. The last room of the museum "names and shames" hundreds of former KGB officers where evidence exists that they participated in the torture of civilians, but charges have never been filed. A good portion of those people are still alive, which just boggles my mind.
You couldn't take pictures in the museum, but I don't think it would have mattered. The museum covers all of the senses, minus taste. I can't speak highly enough about how well the layout was done - I'm tempted to say it was my favorite museum in Europe, but that's like picking a favorite child. It shouldn't be done.
Part 2 of Pest coming....
First, let me say that Budapest was incredible. I didn't really have expectations, but I came back so refreshed and full of energy. Budapest was reconfirmation of my travel skills. I thought Nice might have done me in and I no longer had the touch after all of the transport issues, bad shoes, etc. But I've still got it - I just think the French le stink (although, Paris still has my heart).
I arrived in Budapest on Friday night around 6:30, unsure of what terminal I was in. I flew KLM out of Schiphol, which meant my weekly run through the airport was once again exciting and fun. I had ridden my bike to the train station with my backpack from work and realized that the train I intended to take was delayed 30 minutes due to engineering works. I grabbed the nearest slow milk run train to the airport and got there with 20 minutes before boarding closed. I proceeded to get very friendly with a security guard after setting off the alarm at security. She said I was a random selection, so lucky me. I think I get the fully pat down about 50% of the time, which means I've been rubbed down about 15 times this year. It's is a very personal pat down....why they need to find out what's in your bra is beyond me. I started pretending it's an uncomfortable massage. It's the only way to get through it.
After sprinting to my gate, I got my nice aisle seat and deciphered what my move was at the airport when I landed via my trusty RS guidebook. RS really out did himself on this trip....the book is excellent. So easy to follow and all of the recommendations were spot on. Other than....
When I landed, I couldn't figure out what terminal I was in, so I just grabbed the first cheapest option that RS recommended for transport to the city. That happened to be the airport shuttle. I purchased a round trip and found out I was at terminal 2. After we drove off, I saw that Terminal 1 looked like it was Soviet era and hadn't been used since the 1980s. It was completely grown over and desolate. RS missed on that one!
The shuttle was perfect though. It was relatively cheap ($10 USD each way) and was door to door service from hotel to airport. Can't beat that with a stick.
Hotel was Hotel Victoria which was by far the most fun room I've stayed in during my time here in Europe. Close second was the room on Trafalgar Square in London. But this was incredible. I went to bed watching the ships on the Danube going under the Chain Bridge and woke up to bright morning sunshine reflecting off the Danube. It doesn't get better than that.
I went to an RS recommended restaurant for dinner and had a hot date with a great book. Goulash was the recommendation from just about everything I read, so I gave it a shot. It was incredible - thinner than I expected, but it tasted like Mom's Chuckwagon soup at home. No idea why she calls it that, but it's great - the Goulash was almost exactly like that.
Then I wandered around the hotel, taking pictures as the sun set:
What a city!!!
Saturday to come.....I'm so excited to share about it. If its any less than 3 posts, I will be shocked!
