Budapest

What a marvelous find are these steam baths on the Buda side of the Danube in Hungary's majestic capital city. While strolling through a commercial avenue on the Buda embankment of the Danube, we happened accross a retired Hungarian couple sitting down at a local eatery, a rotisserie place right opposite a McDonald's. After telling us to eat the chicken with a lager, which we promptly did and enjoyed immensely, they steered us away from the Rudas baths in which we were planning to bathe and towards the less Turkish but more opulent baths and pools at the Hotel Gallatin. As they put it, not only were they more stylish, but they attracted a more mixed and social crowd, while still maintaining the flavour of Islamic culture. As it turns out, the gentleman was an old Bell Labs employee from the 50's and hence was probably one of the co-inventors of the century's greatest invention, the transistor. As electrical engineers, we both wowed reverently.

When we arrived at the baths, we paid a minor sum of about $6 US to enter into all the swimming pools and the steam rooms. While the indoor pool was breathtaking with its sunlit atrium and sensual atmopsphere complete with Turkish geometric blue tile and Roman cherubian statues, it was just the tip of the iceberg. Slightly cold, it prepared our bodies for what was to come. Next was the mixed-sex wading bath at a gentle 34 degrees Celisus. We then followed someone's cue and entered the Men only section and were enticed by two steamy baths, one at 36 degrees that was refreshing and relaxing all at once and the second at a sumptuous 38 degrees with fountains to massage your neck. Bliss comes close to describing the feeling of one's troubles melting into the gently soothing warmth of the bath. Still opulent, the experience required a final punctuation mark which was a sauna room beyond any that I have ever experienced. Although the thermometer registered 52 degrees, it was near the door, and towards the other end of the room, the temperature approached sixty, I was told in French by a German visitor.

While most took a cold dip afterwards, I balked and returned to the indoor swimming pool. A pair of American girls hearing our English asked us for a photo and showed us to the upstairs, an Olympic size outdoor swimming pool, complete with Lido deck. The area had the feeling of a Cannes in Central Europe, minus the Mediterranean of course. The day drew to a close at around six thirty with a striking walk up and down the hill and a cool all-night coffee shop in Pest whose name escapes me. So next time, you're in Budapest, lose yourself in the past and take a long bath.