Thermal baths in Budapest

In case you were wondering from the previous post, yes, I did go to a thermal bath in Budapest (Széchenyi). I wasn’t going to, but I gave in to a combination of curiosity and continuous persuasion by my friend.

What did I think? Well, these thermal baths were largely overrated. I don’t regret having done it though. For me it was something completely new and out of my comfort zone, a step towards conquering fear. My fellow blogger was right, the aspect of anonymity did add some mystery to the whole experience.

Two things merited mentioning and made the experience worthy. First of all, doing a spa surrounded by gorgeous buildings that you would normally think are part of a palace or a museum…that was really cool. Also, stepping out into freezing air (-7 degrees Celsius that day in December!) and dipping into warm water, rinse (literally) and repeat – that was an unforgettable feeling. It was almost like a freeze/thaw cycle…in real life! And OK, it really was quite cheap, and the rented bathing suit was rather nice, actually.

So, while overrated, I thought the whole process was interesting and unconventional for me. I wouldn’t say whether I’d recommend it or not. Some people may be very much into thermal baths and spas and would enjoy this a lot more than I did, but personally I would probably avoid it next time.

Budapest, Hungary, December 2014 – The only photo I took of the interior of the Széchenyi baths, looking up at the lobby. Certainly felt more like a museum than a bath 😛

Budapest, Pearl of the Danube

Just a note before the actual post begins: Almost a whole month without a blog entry… 😦 Seems like the new life in Glasgow has kept Annie quite busy. As a result, I’ve decided to try a different way of blogging, focusing more on imagery than on words, which often take more time to formulate than I could afford. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. I do want to keep up with the blog, but it simply takes too much time to write, and so I will compromise. There will still be text, but the descriptions won’t be as elaborate as those in previous entries. Of course you can click on the images for the full view and a short caption of each. I hope you will still enjoy the photos 😉

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Budapest, another city whose name begins with the letter “B”. If you didn’t know, I tend to end up liking cities beginning with “B”, for the most part – Bordeaux, Bologna, Brussels, Bratislava, Barcelona…Bruges is the exception. Though it is all coincidence, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Budapest deserved to be visited with high expectations. Aside from the fact that it is yet another city beginning with the letter “B”, I’ve heard nothing but good things about this Hungarian city from my friends who have been there. (Come to think of it, it was the same with Barcelona.) So then, this was Budapest…

Budapest by night

Prague had a castle; Budapest had a castle. Prague had bridges; Budapest had bridges. Tell me then – how could I not compare the two cities when I had just travelled from Prague to Budapest? Sorry to fans of Prague but Budapest beats Prague in night scene, hands down. Charles Bridge, you have nothing on the Chain Bridge in Budapest ❤ And the parliament building – need I say more other than that it was one of the most stunning structures I've seen?