Budapest II

We set no alarm clock for our second day tour of Budapest, but awoke early enough to consume the free Breakfast in the hotel. It consisted of fluffy, crusty, delicious rolls with fresh butter and jam, meat and cheese slices, a bit of fruit, coffee and juice. We took the usual cab to the airport, bus to the metro, then the metro into town. I felt like we were sincerely absorbing the culture, using all the various types of transportation!
Although rain was forecast for Sunday and Monday, we had not a drop during our daytime adventures. Sunday night, however, we had thunder and lightning and the lovely sound of rain pitter-patting on the skylight above our room. The roads were wet as we made our way into the city, and as the morning wore on, we were barely aware of the sunrise showers. 
We wandered around town on this day, sans the heavy, bulky backpacks. After climbing the steps from the metro, we jumped on a Hop On, Hop Off bus, we made our way to the market, and what a market it was. I have to say it was rather packed with the touristy trap items of t-shirts, magnets, hats and pot  holders. Of course, there were some beautifully made, local Budapest and Hungarian items, such as lace, glasswork, leather items and scarves. But the real beauty of the market was the local foods and spices. 

Hungarian food is resplendant with paprika - spicy and sweet, and saffron. While packaged in a touristy way with a minature scoop, the paprika was a bargain, at less than three dollars for both flavors, and I purchased a significant size, again for under $3 American.* 
The taste of the food, what we enjoyed, was incredible with the Langos - the most awesome form of pizza ever! The crust was a light dough, similar to our breakfast rolls, only flat. It had been deep-fried and was ready for toppings. Several menu choices greeted our hungry eyes, and we went for the top of the line, everything version Langos. Sour cream was the first layer, topped by a variety of lettuces, then feta cheese, tomatoes, pepperoni, some sort of sauce again, pickled onions and cucumbers. We split one Langos and could barely finish it - it was just divine!

After we paid a dollar to go to the bathroom and purchased a few souveniers, we jumped on a bus, then changed to a different line. We made our way through the more wealthy parts of town to Heroes Square, next to a nicely landscaped park with castles,  a lake, bridges, and a church on it, and made our way to the bier garden. We enjoyed a Hungarian beer and then walked across the street to the Healing bath house at Scholinski (?), a goal of our trip. 

We were well rewarded! On the advice of Rachel's friend Laren (?), we both purchased a day pass, along with the rental of a cabin where we could change and store our belongings. The bath house itself was huge, beginning with at least 30 stalls/cabins that we could see, with pool after pool of warm thermal water, showers and massage rooms. We made our way outside and jumped right in, starting with the lazy river (that was actually quite fast moving) that went round and about at a fast pace, powered by jets along the floor. After a bit of time there, we went to the side of the pool to sit in the sun, and were thankful to find more wall jets to massage our throbbing backs from our prior day of carrying our packs. As we sat there, we saw people standing in another area where jets shot up from the floor of the pool to massage feet, calves, and whereever you wanted.  

We then decided to go explore the indoor thermal pools and saunas. It was non-eventful, with people just hanging out on the benches looking at each other or chatting with whom they had arrived, enjoying the healing warm waters. We stepped into the wet and the dry sauna, and placed our feet or sat in at least three indoor baths, the showered off before going to our dressing room. we were thankful to have brought a phone charger so Rachel could charge her phone in the common area while I dressed.

We had plans to meet Laran for dinner, so we made our way to our meeting place - an intersection on the east side of the Plaza of Heroes, Many people milled around the plaza, on all sides. As we waited, we heard loud, American rock and roll music begin to play, and saw an interesting site. People were congregating on the plaza, with a section on the back fenced in. Suddenly, two police motorcycles approached from the east where the baths and the beir garden were located, behind them were a couple of fancy suburbans, and then, two huge white custom busses. As we asked around, we determined that the futbol team - unsuccessful in their win last night, were being greeted home by the loyal fans. The team had not been to a Eurocup finals game in over 40 years, and the fans were very excited about their success. How many times to teams in America return to their home town after a finals loss with a police escort to the primary place of celebration in the city with wildly adoring fans? It was heartwarming.

Despite the excitement, we opted to go to the nearby restaurant to enjoy a lovely dinner, with me choosing soup again - an incredible vissyssoius of cabbage and cream, with an incredible pumpkin seed oil in it. Rachel opted for the salad with chicken. After dinner, we weren't ready to go home yet with the long light of the evening. Laran led us on the metro back into town, and introduced us to a tasty treat in several flavors which we enjoyed on the steps of the church. 

We went home - via Metro under Laran's advice, to the train station to the bus station, to the airport to the hotel! We greeted our hosts and went upstairs to pack for the early morning departure, another early day. 


*Since returning to the states I've added saffron to almost everything - eggs, dips and meat spices - and it certainly adds a delicious, rich flavor!