Cameras were not allowed in the baths. Bummer--it was really beautiful. Just before closing time, however, Rick snuck around and fired off a few shots.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Budapest
We spent five days visiting friends in Budapest. Budapest is a beautiful city, but what we enjoyed the most was catching up with our friend Paula from Atlanta and meeting her new hubby, Wayne. Paula and Wayne are both artists, hence they have lives that are far more interesting than ours. Their days also begin and end much later than what we are accustomed to. I knew I was in trouble when, on the first night there, we left the bar and it was light outside and birds were chirping! I think the "old farts" adapted quite well.
It was also nice to visit places frequented by the locals. Our friends introduced us to several of their favorite drinking establishments. We really enjoyed the garden bars. There was one bar where you could sit and drink on the stairs outside. It looked like we were hanging out at the entrance to a Metro station.
While we spent most of our time relaxing, we also had some time to play tourists. Rick and I were on our own for most of the first day. We took an open-air bus around the city and then spent some time walking the Castle Hill district, Heroes Square, and the park. It was the perfect thing to do on a warm, sunny day and we were able to get an idea of the layout of the city without working too hard.
Another day, we rode through the Buda Hills on the Children’s Railway. Children run the entire railway. Young boys, dressed in traditional uniforms, take tickets and monitor each stop along the way. About the only thing they don’t do is drive—thank goodness! The kids are really cute and they take their jobs seriously.
We got a good dose of history at The House of Terror, which was once the HQ for the Hungarian Secret Police. The museum highlighted Hungarian history from Nazi rule through the Communist period. It was chilling, but artfully done. Each room had a theme with music to match. The most chilling part was taking an elevator down to the basement where public executions were held. A video is shown on the way down and eerie music is playing in the background. The video goes off and the music stops abruptly when the elevator hits the ground floor.
A trip to Budapest would not be complete without visiting one of the thermal bathhouses. We went to the Gellert Baths, which have both indoor and outdoor pools as well as a sauna. There are warm baths of varying temperature as well as regular pools. They even had a wave pool outside! Although I enjoyed everything we did, this was, hands down, my favorite. I think we spent about four hours soaking, steaming, swimming, and just hanging out on the terrace. It was the perfect activity after a late night of drinking!
Great city, great friends, great fun!
We took a lot of pictures as usual. However, we hardly got any of Paula and Wayne. Probably because everytime we were with the two of them together we were at a bar and we didn't feel like schlepping the camera.
It was also nice to visit places frequented by the locals. Our friends introduced us to several of their favorite drinking establishments. We really enjoyed the garden bars. There was one bar where you could sit and drink on the stairs outside. It looked like we were hanging out at the entrance to a Metro station.
While we spent most of our time relaxing, we also had some time to play tourists. Rick and I were on our own for most of the first day. We took an open-air bus around the city and then spent some time walking the Castle Hill district, Heroes Square, and the park. It was the perfect thing to do on a warm, sunny day and we were able to get an idea of the layout of the city without working too hard.
Another day, we rode through the Buda Hills on the Children’s Railway. Children run the entire railway. Young boys, dressed in traditional uniforms, take tickets and monitor each stop along the way. About the only thing they don’t do is drive—thank goodness! The kids are really cute and they take their jobs seriously.
We got a good dose of history at The House of Terror, which was once the HQ for the Hungarian Secret Police. The museum highlighted Hungarian history from Nazi rule through the Communist period. It was chilling, but artfully done. Each room had a theme with music to match. The most chilling part was taking an elevator down to the basement where public executions were held. A video is shown on the way down and eerie music is playing in the background. The video goes off and the music stops abruptly when the elevator hits the ground floor.
A trip to Budapest would not be complete without visiting one of the thermal bathhouses. We went to the Gellert Baths, which have both indoor and outdoor pools as well as a sauna. There are warm baths of varying temperature as well as regular pools. They even had a wave pool outside! Although I enjoyed everything we did, this was, hands down, my favorite. I think we spent about four hours soaking, steaming, swimming, and just hanging out on the terrace. It was the perfect activity after a late night of drinking!
Great city, great friends, great fun!
We took a lot of pictures as usual. However, we hardly got any of Paula and Wayne. Probably because everytime we were with the two of them together we were at a bar and we didn't feel like schlepping the camera.
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