As I was doing my research on Budapest in preparation for my trip, every tour book and article I read said that the baths are the thing to do in Budapest. Honestly, I went back and forth on this before I left home. Then, I revisited my angst all the way up until this morning when I decided I would regret it if I didn’t take a dip in the famous baths. This is, after all, the top rated activity when visiting Budapest. It would be a shame to miss it.
For those of you who follow my blog, or just know me, you know that I am not a water person. I dislike being wet. I hate being cold. I also have trouble with the thought that someone might have taken a pee in the pool….or worse. But, when I got up this morning, I decided I would forge ahead. It would be an interesting experience, at the very least.
I was not wrong.
I read that in order to use the baths I would need to have a bathing suit and flip flops to take with me to the facility. Before I left home, I got my bathing suit out and looked at it. I hadn’t worn it in a long time, but it seemed like it was still in tact. It had some of those bra forms that one can take in and out through a small slit on each side. You can decide if you want to be perky for the day or saggy.
That’s nice.
Somehow, the pads had come out. I searched high and low for them and finally located them in the bottom of my drawer. I tucked them into the openings in the bra and went on. Then, I folded up the suit along with a bathing suit cover I bought at “Ross” for $10 and tucked them into the waterproof “bikini bag” that my friend Christine lent me to bring along. It keeps the wet things away from the dry ones. I had never seen one of these things. It is very clever. I also packed my brand new $8 “Ross” water shoes. Flip flops are not my thing.
So, I headed out this morning feeling very pleased with myself. I got on the Metro and headed towards the baths.
I was instructed by yesterday’s walking tour guide to get a cabin to change in, not a locker. She didn’t think I was the type of person that wanted to stand out in the open and change my bathing suit, which is what I would need to do if I got the locker.
She was right.
So, I purchased a cabin for the day.
It’s really very clever how the locks on these things work. When you pay, you get a bracelet with a sensor on it, which you wear on your wrist all day. This is your entry into the baths. When you get inside, you hold the sensor up to another sensored device that pairs you with a cabin or locker. Once the system syncs you use the bracelet to lock and unlock your cabin. Simple! I, of course, got stuck on the syncing part. The cute blond attendant had to help me. Then, he asked if I had purchased a cabin or a locker. I said,
“What do you think? I’m old. I’m not taking my clothes off in front of all of these people.”
This made him chuckle as he walked me to my cabin.
The cabin was pretty tiny, but certainly big enough to hold my things and give me some privacy.
I proceeded to get into my bathing suit. I was having trouble adjusting the top when I realized that when I packed it, I had not actually put the forms into the bra area correctly. When I pulled the suit on, they were balled up at the top making me look like I had two bosoms in each side of the bra. Well…..this would never do. So, I took the suit off and adjusted the forms. It wasn’t easy to do and it took me about 10 minutes to get them right. But, finally, I got them placed and went out to the pool.
If I was worried about how I looked, I didn’t need to be. I saw people of all shapes and sizes in all kinds of bathing suits. Suffice to say that I saw some men wearing Speedos that should have reconsidered their choice of swimwear. Some women, too. YIKES!
I looked like a beauty queen!
I was feeling more confident now and decided to take a dip in the bath. It was actually like a bath, aside of the rotten egg smell…sulpher. It wasn’t too bad, but definitely noticeable. My guide yesterday told me that the water in the natural spring that feeds this pool is 170 degrees. Clearly, they need to mix this with cool water. Otherwise, people would be boiled as they relaxed in the bath. Anyway, one of my swimming dislikes was knocked down. I was definitely not going to be cold.
The pool was separated into 2 areas. There was a rectangular area for lap swimming….
…and a very large round pool for people like me that just wanted to have a soak.
I began to wander around the outer ring of the soaking pool. The first thing I found were suspended pipes that were forcefully spewing water into the pool like a faucet. They were high enough so that you could get under them and get a good shoulder massage. I visited this section several times.
Then, I looked around and realized there were 2 round pools within the larger pool. The very center pool was a hot tub where you could sit and chat with your friends. Surrounding the hot tub was a river of water that was continually moving around and around, kind of like one of those lazy rivers, if you have seen one of those. I could see people’s laughing faces bouncing around in there. That looked like fun and went over to check that out.
As soon as I got near to the moving water, I was picked up and carried around and around and around. I didn’t need to do anything except to just float along. I met a couple of Italian flight attendants as I circled around. I kept bumping into them. Then, I kept bumping into 2 girls from the USA who were studying in London and were on a holiday. We all rolled around together in the soothing water. There was literally no control once you entered the continuously moving water. Then, when you were done, it was hard to get out.
I circled around for a few more minutes and then decided to go to the hot tub. I found a space between 2 people and took a seat. Before too long, the girls from the USA came and joined me. We were chatting and relaxing with the massage of the gentle, rumbling jets….very soothing. I was considering taking a nap when all of a sudden there was a very forceful jet flow under my butt. It sprang up between my legs and and out of the water like a fountain, drenching my hair and my sunglasses. Then, I looked down and realized that some of the water had also gone up both of my bathing suit legs up to the bra area of my bathing suit and had dislodged the forms that I had painstakingly maneuvered into the bra of my bathing suit. They were once again balled up at the top of the bra. Double breasted again. UGHHH…… I looked around to see if anyone was looking at me. Why I thought someone would be watching me is beyond belief. But, still, I wondered. When I realized that everyone was going about their own business, I reached into the bra areas and adjusted the forms. I got them back in place! Again, no small feat! Whew!
After all that, I decided I should get out of the bath and take a look around. I had to pee anyway. You know how it is….all that water……
Then, I realized that I really wanted to get a massage. So, I went back to the cute blond attendant and told him that I wanted to sign up for a massage. This, again, made him chuckle, as most people sign up for the massage before entering the bath area. But, he made it happen. My hero.
After a few hours of fun, I decided it was time to go. I was now wet and cold from being outside in the cool air. So, I walked through to where my cabin was and to the showers. I don’t love communal showering. But, I was also not looking forward to walking back to the hotel wet and now covered in massage oil. It took me a minute to decipher, but check out the status of the showers…….
…..co-ed. HA!! I was tempted to go in just to look around. But, I was never going to take a co-ed shower. I also didn’t want to be rude by gawking, which I knew I would do. So, I went to my cabin, put my dry clothes on and pasted down my now wet and oily hair into a suitable coif so that I could get back to my hotel via the Metro.
Now that I am back in my hotel room and all cleaned up, I have to say that this was one of the most entertaining and fun days I have had in awhile. It was time well spent.
At the end of the day, I’m still not a water person. I still don’t like to be wet. I still hate being cold. But, a few more experiences in a warm bath in Budapest might persuade me otherwise. I would probably need to get a new bathing suit, though….one with the bra form that’s sewn in. Next time, I might not be so lucky with the readjustment. I could have a wardrobe incident.
Trust me……nobody wants to see that!
Travel With Betsy 
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