We climbed up Castle Hill, where no, we did not visit the castle as it is really fairly modern from the history of the area, with so much destruction and rebuilding. There’s a great view of the river and the Parliament building as well as narrow streets to wander, and a lovely small cathedral.
Choosing a new bridge to cross back over to Pest, we decided, on a whim to check out the island in the middle of the river, a sort of Central Park retreat from the city. Expecting just a few minutes of wandering about, not knowing what to expect, Jessica and I were entranced by this retreat for hours! While it is truly in the center of the city, with so much greenery and so few cars, it feels as if you were miles away. With the current heat wave, the scorching temperatures quickly drew us to the large, central fountain. There was space to sit on the edge and dangle your feet into the runoff that splashed over the side. We were mesmerized for probably way too long (I’ll blame the high temps!) by this fountain that performed all sorts of impressive tricks. Then, it even added music that the fountains were corregraphed to! And there was even another bubble man entertaining the children and creating squeals of delight.
After finally pulling ourselves away from the fountain, we decided to rent a car for an hour. No, not that kind, but rather one that you pedal. With some effort, and a whole lot of laughter, we were able to drive our flower child of a car up and down the island, singing and waving happily at the other tourists doing the same thing. A perfect way to escape the heat and hectic big city!
We wandered back through the city, on a similar path to the day before, but with a new end goal and some added stops along the way. The day before, a playful fountain with great sensors was not working, and the line for the rose ice cream was much too long, but we made up for those today!
Nearing the end of the day, hot and our feet tired from walking, we headed toward one of the baths, the number one thing to do in Budapest. Both feeling a bit apprehensive, and certainly exhausted, I think either of us would have turned away had the other one suggested it, but I’m so very thankful we didn’t. When it is 95 outside, hot springs don’t sound inviting do they? Nor does a swimming pool with hundreds of other people. But then, you experience it and all your cares float away and you realize why people come here.
All over Hungary, hot water springs flow freely. The Hungarians have long since learned about their healing powers, and have channeled those, creating healing and social environments for locals and foreigners alike to enjoy. We paid about $20 for usage of the pools and the locker room, changed into our swimsuits and then, anxiously wandered out into the swimming areas. Outside there are three pools, but the middle one is reserved for swimmers, people trying to get their laps in. The other two are of similar temperatures, but one is slightly cooler with more “entertainment,” while the other with just the perfect amount of warm, was meant for relaxing. The “fun” pool had sprayers where high powered water jetted out, giving free neck and back massages. There was also a sort of whirlpool in the center with jets pushing the water around in a circle, almost like a lazy river, but it wasn’t slow, and there were no rafts. We spent most of our time in the relaxing pool, where our fingers quickly turned into prunes. People watching and picking up on a variety of languages kept us entertained while we let every ache, pain and worry of the world disappear. We did wander inside for just a few minutes to sample the other small pools of varying temperatures and see the saunas, but we soon returned back to the relaxing pool where life was really too good to be true. It was only our rumbling bellies and the long route back to the apartment that finally urged us out of the pool. But, we have one final day in Budapest before we fly home. Can you guess where we’ll be spending our time?!
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