Budapest, Hungary (Day 4)

Although we were both still tired and wanted more sleep, we got up at 9 am because we did not want to sleep the day away while we still had things to see in Budapest. Also, breakfast was only served until 10! The owner of the hostel gave us a 'menu' of what she offered, and both Layne and I decided on scrambled eggs and toast. It was really good! Our plan for the day was to visit the Market Hall and go to one of the famous Budapest spas. Instead of lugging around our bathing suits, towels, and flip-flops we decided to stop back by the hostel after the Market Hall before heading to the spa. The Market Hall was a huge building with two stories. The first floor sold mostly produce, meats and spices. All the fresh food looked so good and if I lived in Budapest, I would go there for a lot of my food.

 Budapest is supposedly known for its paprika, and it was EVERYWHERE!

 So many stands that looked like this

Not so appealing, but the meats under the glass looked good!

We spent most of our time upstairs where all the souvenirs and restaurants were located. Neither of us really bought too much in the way of souvenirs, but loved looking around at all the fantastic things they were selling. Hand-painted eggs, secret boxes, nesting dolls, and hand-stitched cloths were at almost every stand. After walking around for a while, we stopped for lunch. Layne got this cabbage entree filled with rice, and I got the Hungarian version of gulyas with Hunagrian pasta. I had only had it with potatoes and regular noodles, but the Hungarian pasta was very good!

 Yum!

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped for some gelato which was also delicious. We picked up our stuff and walked to the spa. We decided to go to the biggest spa in Budapest that has both indoor and outdoor spas. It was again a little cold, so we thought it would be fun to sit in the pools outside.  Before I talk more about the baths, let me just say that they are more like huge hot tubs. But, they are supposed to have healing powers. We bought our tickets, changed into our suits, and headed to the baths.

 One of the three outdoor pools

 One of the many indoor pools. All of the sulfur in the water made the inside pools not smell so good!

After touring the place and taking our pictures, Layne and I started in the outdoor pool. Each pool has a different temperature and this one was about 100 degrees I think. It was not too hot, but felt good against the cold air. Basically all you do is hang out and relax in these baths. In this one in particular, there was a whirlpool thing in the center that spun people around. We tried it for like 5 minutes, but it was so strong and kept making our hair wet. Plus, there were some crazy boys in there splashing and being obnoxious, so we left that pretty quickly. A little while later while we were relaxing outside the whirling pool, Layne asked me which of the many guys in the pool I would date. We discussed our options, and then this guy asked us, "So, which of my rugby teammates did you decide on?" Caught! We are not used to people speaking/knowing English, so we were caught off guard. We told him our selections and for the next 45 minutes or so, we were introduced to the entire rugby team. It was an interesting experience! As they were leaving, they invited us to the pub they were going to be at that night.

After our rugby boys left, we headed inside. First, we stopped at a sauna which was too hot. We were probably in there for only 5 minutes. Then we went to the hottest pool inside. It was the same temperature as the one outside and much smaller. We decided to head back outside to check out the other pool. This was the hottest one there and felt super good. After about 2 hours or so at the baths, we decided to change and head back to the hostel.

 Layne and I at the bath!

That night we went to a hummus bar that the lady at the hostel recommended. It was pretty good and surprisingly filling. We were planning on getting home and taking showers before going on the pub crawl, but we did not have time to shower! We ended up going on the pub crawl gross! Anyways, I had my first Hungarian beer which was not good. Here is a group shot of some of the people from our hostel on the pub crawl.

 The photographer must not have seen me, but he cut me out of the photo (I would have been on the right hand side of the picture!)

After the first stop, we headed to the pub where our rugby friends were. All I will say is that it was an interesting 30 minutes of my life. We then met up with our hostel group at the final bar before heading in for the night. Neither of us was in the mood to get drunk or stay out super late, so once again we were some of the first to head home. Another successful day in Budapest. Only one more left!

Side note: Budapest is known as the city of spas and also the city of caves. I would like to add another: the city of PDA (public displays of affection). You would not believe how much PDA was going on in Budapest, and I am not talking about holding hands or a quick kiss. There were full-blown make-out sessions going on in the streets, on the Metro, and just about anywhere. People were laying on each other on the sofas in the mall making out. And it was not only young couples, it was every couple! I guess I am not used to seeing this so it caught me off guard!