Day 15 - Thursday, Sept 4 - Budapest

Today is a free day for us to do anything we want.

In Budapest, anyone over 65 can ride the metro, tram and bus free of charge which is very convenient. It is not the cost savings but the hassle of having to buy tickets.

This morning we went to the Szechenyi Spa. One of the things the Romans liked about this area was the hot springs and built baths around them. The Ottomans built Turkish Baths which are the basis of many of the thermal baths today. Then the Europeans enjoyed the hot and curative waters as well. The Szechenyi Spa is actually fairly new, constructed in 1909, but it by far the most grand with many indoor and outdoor pools. The water comes up from a depth of over 3,000 feet and a temperature of 160 degrees. The wells supply 1,600,000 gallons of water a day!

We spent about an hour soaking in the mineral water (tempered to about 100 degrees) and relaxing on the adjacent loungers.

Later in the morning we went to the magnificent St. Stephen Basilica. This also fairly new, constructed in the mid to late 1800s and is very elaborate. It is famous for having the hand of St. Stephen which we were able to see in a glass case!

After a delicious lunch in a cafe outside St. Stephen's, we went for a boat ride for about an hour in the Danube. It was a bit frustrating as the audio description headphones weren't working where we were sitting and the ship staff weren't very helpful in getting it to work. When we went inside to get out of the sun we could hear the commentary. There were 18 river cruise ships docked along the side, 4 of which belong to Viking.

 We had dinner at the Central Cafe with our friends Charlie and Kirstin. The Central Cafe opened in 1887 and has been a meeting place for intellectuals. It closed in the late 1940s and was renovated and reopened in 2000. I had a delicious chicken paprikash and Carmen had pork schnitzel.

Outside of spa

Spa inside

St. Stephen Basilica

Inside St. Stephen

View from the top




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