Budapest - Bath houses and buffets

Dwayne starting his journal yesterday

An excerpt transcribed from my journal:
July 20, 6:20 AM
Budapest- Yesterday was great. Although, The only, but very large, down point was that Ian couldn't spend it with us. He used most of the day puking and sleeping. We aren't sure what it was from, but we hope it was a food-related illness and not a bug, that could be spread. He is fine now, and will be joining Dwayne and I for our activities for today.


Ian and Dwayne yesterday (Ian not sick yet)

Bedsides that, yesterday, like I said, was great. Dwayne and I joined up with Louise (Syndey, Australia), Matt (Texas), Josh (NY), and another Australian girl (Melbourne) for a simple, but long, fun-filled day. We started off with lunch at an all-you-can-eat Mongolian BBQ in Buda.


On our way to the restaurant

Drinks were also included, which we weren't sure was a blessing or a curse due to the lingering hung-over effects we were all still feeling. For this meal you would go to the buffet line and stock up on your choice of dozens of different types of raw meat (anything from chicken to horse or rabbit) and then a chef would cook your plate for you as you watched. The only bad part was the whole slice of lemon I accidentally ate. It took several glasses of sangria and water to wash out the sour taste in my mouth. I think the group appreciated this much more than I, as this lemon was cause for some very interesting facial expressions on my part.


The group at the restaurant

We then took the bus back to City Park where we went to the Szechenyi Bath House. Budapest is world-known for it's bathhouses, and rightfully so. This was a huge outdoor/indoor bath, with beautiful sculptures, fountains and buildings. We slowly migrated from warm pools, to hot saunas, hot tubs, super cold pool, and even a real whirlpool. Our group spent about 2.5 hours there just resting in water.



Afterward, we walked the several miles back to the hostel taking side streets as the sun began to set.



Walking so far after relaxing in hot tubs may not have been such a smart idea. My muscles were screaming at me by the time we got back home around 9 PM. I went to bed at about 10:30 and slept until 6 AM, a full eight hours of sleep! Hazzah!