baths

I wish we had bath houses in the US! The one we went to is the largest bath house in Europe, Szechenyi Bath. A thermal spring feeds the hot water into the ornately decorated building, into many different pools - about twenty. They range in temperatures from freezing cold (supposed to be healthy) to 38 degrees celsius, so you can find the perfect one for you. There is a sign next to each pool with its temperature.















It's cold and rainy now here in Budapest, which I'm told is the best weather for a bath house. Most of the pools are indoors, but the coolest one is outdoors in a big courtyard, surrounded by statues. You have to run shivering to the pool, but when you get in it's all worth in. There was a layer of mist over the pool because it's so warm and the air's so cold. There are areas of the pool with little waterfalls, bubbles, and there's a whirlpool that turns on occasionally and takes the people in the center of the pool for a ride.

There are a few chessboards at the pool, and these old guys in speedoes gather around every day to challenge each other. I watched a young British guy challenge a local and get beat easily.

















We spent four hours in the baths and got nice and wrinkly. I got in every one of the pools, even the freezing one. I can see why the locals keep coming back, this place is great!

One of the other sights in town is the opera house, and we wanted to go see a show. It's only five dollars, which is way cheaper than tours of the opera house, and you get to see a show too! But, the only thing playing was a children's play in Hungarian. I think it would have been a little awkward to see that. Though we did go see a movie in Turkish, while in Bodrum. That was kinda fun. The people working in the theater didn't quite understand why we'd want to see it, but they let us. It was a comedy about a group of school kids who play pranks on their eclectic teachers, as far as I can tell.