From the City of Spires to the City of Spas

Hungary, here we come!

- The mythical Turul statue by the entrance gates of Budai Vár -

Having spent three straight weekends here in Prague while friends raved about their travels to neighbouring countries, I decided I needed to get away once I get my passport back. The plan, when it was first proposed to me, was that we'd road-trip it to Budapest since Paul has a car. It would have been three Swiss, one German - all boys - and me. Years after I've graduated from high school, I have somehow managed to retain my status as "one of the guys" - an affectionate term bestowed to me by my (mostly) guy friends from home.

I recruited fellow UVic-er and partner-in-crime, Paula, into the gang when Marcel had to pull out at the last minute. And we were off!

The Search for the DunaRush-hour traffic greeted us by the time we hit downtown Buda. We also had no idea how to get to Pest, the location of our hostel. All we knew was that we had to find the Duna (Danube River), and go from there.

Paul stuck his hand out the window and said, "The wind is coming from that way. This indicates that the river is...there. We head there." Err...OK. There wasn't much room for argument since he was the driver. Ten minutes later, we were still looking for the river. It didn't help that the Hungarian language has nothing in common to German, English, or Czech. Nothing on the road signs made sense. We decided on the next best thing: yell for directions at this poor pedestrian waiting for the trams by the lights...

Ah! Spa

One of the outdoor (heated) pools at Széchenyi

Still wired from the car ride, we voted to head to the Széchenyi spa - one of Europe's largest bathing complex - for a relaxing dip before dinner. Oh. My. Gosh. For a mere USD$8.50, there are 12 thermal pools and 3 swimming pools within the complex - and you can stay for as long as you'd like. H-E-A-V-E-N. Is all I can say.

The TouristToting the snack pack provided to us by our hostel, we proceeded to explore the city, mostly by foot, the very next day.

The Országház (Hungarian Parliament Building)

The Shoes on the Danube Promenade

Széchenyi lánchíd (Széchenyi Chain Bridge) connecting Buda and Pest

Peeping through Halászbástya (Fisherman's Bastion)

Our feet were so sore by the end of the day. What better way to bid goodbye to Budapest than head to yet another spa? I could get used to the life of a Hungarian.