Budapest Day 3

On today's agenda we have just three things: continue the City tour, go to the Grand Central Market and Szecheny baths. The market is an indoor farmer's market. The produce is so bright and fresh and pretty! No mass produced food here! I bought some Hungarian spices and we finished souvenir shopping. We had lunch, yum stuffed cabbage and warm sauerkraut (this hearty Eastern European fare is just to my liking!).

We then head over to the baths. Gosh what a beautiful building! In this spot there are thermal waters with curative properties, and many local people include this spa in their regular routine. We saw people soaking, then getting up and having their packed lunch, then snoozing, playing games, then hopping back in for more soaking. They have the indoor pools with varying temperatures offered - from steaming hot to ice bucket cold. Outdoors is a huge pool area with an Olympic sized pool for lap swimming and a playground pool with jets, fountains and a force whirlpool to shoot around in! The inside of the building is quaint, still has its lockers and changing cabins from the early 1900s. It is modernized by using a wristband electronic device to open and close your locker/cabin and entry to the spas. We purchased a cabin rental package and were met by a very nice woman who showed us around, orienting us to how things work - this was very helpful as it is so foreign to us. We also purchased a couples massage for 5 o'clock - and it's only 2:00 now! That means we have just committed to 3 hours of soaking! I worried that it would drag on and we'd get restless, but no. I also worried if this was the best way to spend our short time in Budapest, but no. This is the best way to spend time in Budapest, hanging with the locals, relaxing and reflecting. We really DO like this city. Our massage was a whole hour long and very different than your American spa experience. No modesty allowed here (strip, please). No scented oils, towels to cover you, etc. You can tell that the massage treatment was most likely very down to business; but now they have a little incense burning - their step to "spa". We left feeling very happy, completely relaxed and refreshed.

We took the subway back to our hotel to change and head out to dinner. The subway here is old, and scarred like the rest of the city. It doesn't feel dirty and scary, it feels alive.

We went to dinner at a Falafel place up the street from our hotel, then head over to some of the late night spots along our street. The Walhalla Club is a smoky, subterranean place where we realize we should have taken dinner. The menu looked fantastic and the portions humongous. Here we tried the Hungarian national drink, Unicum. They say it is an acquired taste and kind of like Jagermeister. Neither is true. It is bitter - the most bitter thing you have ever tasted. We tried putting sugar in it to no avail. We finally mixed it with a little Pepsi and were able to finish just the one shot of it over the course of an hour! The beer was very tasty and refreshing though.

So our stay in Budapest ends. We will come back here. We want to sample the country's bourgeoning wine industry. We want to just be here more.