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Published: June 29th 2011
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Breakfast at Menza
Andrew warms himself under a fleece blanket and reads a guide book while waiting for breakfast at a restauant on Liszt Ferenc Ter. Fleece blankets are common at restaurants with outdoor seating in Pest. We slept in again. Hungry but having effectively missed breakfast we headed out and found a lovely restauarant (Menza) on Liszt Ferenc Tér, a treelined square just a block away from the Oktogon subway stop. Skies were more overcast and the air a bit chillier than the previous day and we made use of the provided blankets to keep comfortable at the outdoor table. John’s garlic cream soup with Hungarian fried bread was a hit and there was much sharing of food. Lauren enjoyed a top-notch virgin strawberry mojito. Despite the cloudier skies, the kids were dead-set on checking out the Szechényi baths as the day’s activity so we stopped back at the hotel and packed up towels and swimsuits and headed out to the other end of the subway line. Following the guidebook instructions we entered through the swimming pool entrance and paid for a single changing cabin for the family. The highly computerized entry and door-lock system stands in marked contrast with the old-world charm of the wood paneling and ornate architectural detail. A few minutes later we were soaking with the natives (and a whole lot of tourists, many of them American) in one of the outdoor pools.
Lauren in front of the Szechenyi Baths
The kids opted for a visit to the baths today, even in overcast weather. The heated water comes from local hotsprings, and the pools are full of modern fun. In addition to fountains and jets, there is a whirlpool ring where strong currents propel the bathers in a ring (about 25 feet in diameter) at impressively high speed. Lots of laughing and families discussing their adventure in many different languages. We played there for a while until we were ready for something new and headed across to the opposite pool which has fewer features but warmer water. After soaking until we were all hot, Lauren and Sonia explored the older indoor “medicinal baths” while Andrew and John returned to the cooler fun-pool. When we had finally had our fill of the pools, we had an ice cream snack and headed out. We browsed the various stalls of vendors selling to tourists. Andrew (in keeping with tradition) bought a second pair of sunglasses to replace his first pair which had broken. Lauren found a new swimsuit for herself. We wandered out of the park and into the spectacular Heroes’ Square where we stopped for a few inadequate photos. We stopped at a café for snacks and beer before taking the subway home for a pre-dinner
Andrew and Lauren get ready to bathe
This side of the baath house has changing stalls that can be rented by couples and families. break. Dinner at a recommended Hungarian restaurant was ok, not great. Afterwards we headed down toward the river to see some of the sights at night and stumbled into a huge crowd in Roosevelt Tér near the Chain Bridge. The annual weekend-long celebration anniversary of the end of communist rule was apparently this weekend -- the Ke$ha concert the previous night had been part of the same celebration – and this year 20. This night, throngs of people were enjoying an audio-visual show with designs and images projected onto the University building adjacent to Gresham palace. Unable to understand the narration in Hungarian, we pressed through and took a walk out onto the Chain Bridge to take in views of the city at night. After some night photography (including some of the spiders of the chain bridge) we headed back to our hotel and were quickly to sleep.
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Ioanna
non-member comment
Ha!
What a tease! Hence the sad face... :)