On our way to the baths
Our absolutely, really, most certainly, long waited for, best choice of the whole weekend!
The baths are definitely the icing on the cake.
The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is one of the biggest spas in Europe. It was also the first thermal bath of Pest.
We grabbed 2600 HUF from our wallets, mind you…cash some money first as you can not pay with credit cards or other digital ways. Next we are directed to our own private cabins to change into our bathing customs. The cabins bring you back to the fifty’s as they are still preserved in the old style. Don’t forget to remember the nr. of your cabin though or you might get lost.
Then it is time for the BATH’S. An intriguing smell finds your nostrils when you enter the place…get over it, its all worth it.
Packed with people, as it was a Sunday and the Szechenyi furdo baths are the touristiest, we had a mystical experience.
After two days we got the feeling that people in Hungary a very cold….well the pieces of the puzzle all fall into place in the baths.
An amazing feeling, so many people and everyone is absolutely calm, even the kids are peaceful. The only once who attracted attention were the 5 road trippers having fun in the whirl pool, the Turkish steam bath, a dive in one of the cold baths, and last but not least the baths outside.
This last bath made us feel like we were in a movie, James Bond of the fifty’s.
Chess is played inside the bath; we were lucky with the cold temperature outside as it produced even more steam from the baths and created a fog over the crowd….
The rest is up for you to experience.
The day was closed with an à la cuisine whopper and brownie ;)
Our return trip took us 5 hours due to our choice to travel back via Zagreb.
Thank you road trippers for a wonderful time!!!
Sincerely yours,
Floor Tuinstra 28-02-2007
And a special thanks goes out Adrien Elleboudt who arranged our hostel, who took us into Budapest’s nightlife and who was so kind to lend out his bathing custom!
Adrien in front of Szimpla on our first night out
Overall view of Budapest:The basilica for those who will still visit Budapest…go to the top!
Interesting note…it has the allure of Paris and other great cities….it is also nicknamed Paris of the East…but it doesn’t appear that way as cultural heritage seems to be neglected and the Hungarian people seem to be quite 'cold'.
Time of the year was perfect….due to the cold temperatures outside, the baths create ‘the atmosphere’ needed to close of Budapest.
Needed:
Hostel August in district 6, vorosmarty 46, highly recommended
Music: The King, Lenny, Moloko, Sinatra, Santa Esmeralda and Strauss
Total costs:€ 40,- Gas and rental for gas and rental of the car with 5 persons
€ 16,- Two nights in hostel August for € 8,- per night. Highly recommended
€ 56,-
Facts:
Budapest is the
capital city of
Hungary and the country's principal
political,
cultural,
commercial,
industrial and
transportation centre. The official language spoken is
Hungarian. Budapest has approximately 1.8 million inhabitants.
It is the
ninth largest city in the European Union.
Hungary continues to demonstrate
economic growth as one of the newest member countries of the European Union (since 2004). The private sector accounts for over 80% of
GDP. Hungary gets nearly one third of all
foreign direct investment flowing in to Central Europe.
Inflation and
unemployment have been on the rise in the past few years, and they are expected to rise further. Foreign investors' trust in the Hungarian economy has declined, as they deem that the stringency measures planned in the second half of 2006 are not satisfactory, their focus being mainly on increasing the income side rather than curbing government spending.
The Hungarian government has expressed a desire to adopt the
euro currency in 2010. However, foreign analysts widely criticized that date as highly unrealistic given the current shape of the economy in relation to the
Maastricht criteria; their assessments suggest that a date of 2013-2014 for Euro adoption is more realistic. Some analysts even go as far as to suggest that Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU in 2007, might beat Hungary to euro adoption. (Source: Wikipedia)
Yesterday we went with mostly Dutch and some Slovene supporters to the football match in Celje.
The place is huge and seems to pop up out of nowhere. The outsides appealed to me as it gives a majestic image. Unfortunately we didn’t get to the top of the building. We had no guide book and only later found out that this was possible. The top gives a great view over the city.
Souvenirs and food
After the market hall the Gellert Hill was our next stop. It gives a great view on the two parts, Buda and Pest and provided us with a short warm up on a cold day in Budapest.
A hint of Irish culture
Day 1
Barry
Eefje
Jim in the middle
