Budapest - Day 3
On Saturday, the 4th of April, I wake up at 9:30. Last day!
I shower and pack, thinking a lot about what I will be leaving behind in the hostel for later pickup, and what I should be carrying with me today in my backpack.
I specifically did bring my swimming trunks, since Budapest's baths are supposed to be great!
I check out at the reception and look up how to get to my first destination. I walk to Harminckettesek tere, and jump on the tram line 6, which takes me to the center of Margit hĂd (hĂd meaning bridge). And from there, one just has to cross the road to get to the south entrance of Margitsziget (sziget meaning island)!
Right at the entrance, the Musical Fountain is pretty unspectacular: it is being renovated (I know, right).
It is a beautiful park, super calm and surprisingly empty. There are individual people jogging and biking, and families enjoying the sun, pushing their babies along with their strollers. The weather is magnificent. Weirdly, multiple trees are marked as tourist attractions on Google Maps. I check them out. They are alright. All in all, it reminds me a lot of the English Garden in Munich, except that there are more trees and less people.
I head towards the Margaret Island Mini Zoo, buy an Oreo-sprinkled donut, and sit to watch the birds. From there, I pass the Palatinus Strand Baths, which could have been a good option to swim. That is, if the baths were not (guess what) closed for renovations.
I head towards the Margaret Island Water Tower, which apparently hosts concerts and similar events. Today it is closed, but I drink a coffee at the café next to it and enjoy the sun. From there I go to the Japanese Garden (odd?), which seems to have the highest tourist concentration on the whole island.
There is a Musical Well, which is conveniently not playing music because it only does so every full hour. The area is not too exciting, so I decide not to wait for 40 minutes, and instead go to the nearest bus stop, ZenĂ©lĆkĂșt.
On my first day here, Lilly the economy student had recommended a restaurant: Retek Bisztro. I arrive there exactly at the opening time and have an amazing goulash and cottage cheese dumplings! Can highly recommend, such lovely staff!
Vörösmarty tĂ©r, the de facto center of the city, is just around the corner, and it is the start of the oldest and shortest Metro line of Budapest, the M1! I take a short ride and get out at the HĆsök tere station, with the impressive Heroes' Square monument. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the square has statues of the leaders of 7 tribes who founded Hungary.
I head into the City Park (VĂĄrosliget). Tourists flock around, and I have no idea where to head to. So I follow them and find the Vajdahunyad Castle đ€Ż I have no idea what it is, just that it looks incredible! As I find out Googling, it was inspired by the Gothic-style Hunyad Castle (Corvin Castle) in Transylvania, Romania.
I walk past the BalloonFly balloon, which I heard usually rises and allows you to see the city from above, is just sitting on the ground. I look around to see where to get into the Széchenyi Thermal Bath, and the sign is as helpful as ever, showing 4 different entrances, even though there is only one in the back. I walk around the building and arrive at the main entrance.
The ticket is expensive (15.800 HUF, or approximately 45âŹ). Lots of signs point out how "The use of flip-flops and a towel is mandatory!"". I curse and remember I forgot my flip-flops in Munich, and left the towel in the hostel to dry after my morning shower. I feel guilty and want to follow the rules, so I buy a towel and the crappiest flip-flops I have ever seen for another 40⏠approximately. This is a robbery. The towel is scratchy and smells like it arrived yesterday from a factory in China, but at least it has the logo of the Thermal Baths on it.
Nevertheless, I change into my swimming trunks, leave my phone in the locker (so I could not take any pictures), and head into the baths!
I do not really enjoy it. The baths are way too full, the water is milky, and the indoor pools are stained and moldy. This might have been impressive centuries ago, but I am seriously unimpressed in the present. This for almost 100�
Tourists of all conceivable nationalities run around in the circular current of the adventure pool while screaming loudly. The only redeeming factor is the 38 °C "Outdoor Thermal Pool", which is truly relaxing. The "Outdoor Swimming Pool", which is the only pool with lanes, can only be used if you own and wear a swimming cap. Yeah... no, hard pass.
After exploring around and trying out a few saunas, I just sit on the border of the outdoor thermal pool for several hours. When I get up to leave, my crappy flip-flops are not where I left them anymore. I try to find some other ones to steal, but it seems I am the only idiot that bought some. I tell myself it is not like I wanted to keep them, anyway.
I had purchased a cheap Seiko knock-off watch from Vinted and had brought it on the trip because it is the cheapest watch I own. It had drowned, apparently, and the display was blank, with water spreading inside. To be fair, the text on the display only says "water-resistant". I leave it on an empty lounger and head back to the lockers barefoot.
After changing into my street clothes, I use one of the centrifuges that dry the swimsuits for too long and break it accidentally. I quickly leave the building.
I still did not have lunch, so I look on the phone for something nearby that is as local as possible. As I cross the park, I stroll through a fair that sells all kinds of things, from LĂĄngos to flowers.
I arrive at Paprika VendĂ©glĆ, and just in time, because the queue behind me grows like crazy.
The reviews mentioned the excellent garlic cream soup and the goose leg with goose liver, so that is exactly what I order! And oh boy, it is glorious! Great place, super professional staff, and the food is so good.
And now, it is time đ I take a bus and a tram back to the hostel to pick up my luggage, then walk to KĂĄlvin tĂ©r and take the metro to the NĂ©pliget bus station.
The FlixBus ride back is unspectacular, truly. Except that this time I inflate the neck pillow and, who would have thought, my neck does not hurt đ I arrive at the Munich ZOB at 5am and take the S-Bahn home.
And that is it, a long weekend city break in Budapest!
I bring back with me some sachets of paprika powder that I am very excited to try, and assorted sausages that will be gifts for friends and family.
I enjoyed the trip a lot and experienced many new things. While I wish I would have spoken to more people, the city generally felt like a transient space where tourists move in and out continuously and very few people are truly locals.
Writing this up was quite some effort, but it was also quite fun! For future trips I could try to already type some of it out on the phone while still there, so the memories and experiences are fresh. Until then, take care!