Gellert Spa and Hotel
With the Air
France pilots’ strike in full swing (note to file: NEVER take a trip that includes Air France),
part of our day was spent rearranging schedules, since we were all flying from
Budapest to Paris en route home. More
about that in a postscript. Having made
arrangements for Tricia and myself, James and I headed via tram to the Gellert
Spa.
One of the
spa pools
There are
more than 100 thermal springs bubbling up in Budapest, producing about 15
million gallons of mineral-rich hot water each day. A number of spas have existed for years to
take advantage of this resource, and Gellert Spa is perhaps the most famous. In 1934, the International Batheological
Association (surely you are familiar with this institution) established its
headquarters here, after the Gellert Bath and Hotel opened its doors in 1918. Believing the claims of the amazing medical,
psychological, and social benefits to be obtained from soaking in these waters,
I paid my fare, changed into a swimsuit (required nowadays since both males and
females soak together), and floated around in different pools of varying
temperatures until all my problems melted away and it was time to see more of
Budapest. The number of over-50 patrons
far exceeded that of younger generations, and from the physical appearance of most
of these patrons, the healing waters here have failed to produce the desired
results. James did not notice the
dramatic change in my physique, and my feet still hurt from all the walking, by
the way. But it was a pleasant way to
pretend to be Roman royalty in luxurious surroundings.
Parliament
building from across the Danube
We took the
tram over to the largest building in Hungary, the Parliament Building, arriving
about 1:30 to buy tickets for the 2:30 English tour. Only, that tour was now sold out and there
was to be no more English tour until 3:45.
After buying two tickets for that tour, we realized we had promised
everyone we would be back in the apartment by 4; so after much discussion we
agreed to trade in our tickets for the 2:15 tour in Italian. One of
us suddenly remembered that neither of us spoke a word of Italian. Fortunately, the two beautiful young Italian
girls in line in front of us spoke some English, and no matter what James may
tell you, I was NOT overly friendly and assertive with them. I was only trying to learn as much as
possible about the parliament itself and the history of the building. And at the end of the tour, they did NOT get
away from the group as quickly as possible so they could avoid any further
conversation. In fact, none of what he
says about this particular encounter is true.
Do not believe him; he can appear to be sooo sincere, but there
is treachery behind those soft eyes and honey-dripping tongue.
One of the
stairways in the Parliament Building
As you
remember, the three cities composing Budapest were not united until 1873, and
this landmark, still the tallest building in the city, was not completed until
a thousand workers had laid 40 million bricks and used 88 pounds of gold and
half a million precious stones in its construction. We were led through halls and open areas that
rivaled the cathedrals in their opulence, with marble columns, huge paintings
on the ceilings, and statues beyond count.
There were even ornate brass cigar holders outside the legislative
chambers, numbered so each member could keep track of his cigar.
Legislative
chamber
Perhaps the
most revered symbol in Hungary is the royal crown, worn by 52 kings over more
than a thousand years. It is on display
in a glass case guarded by two soldiers, in a huge rotunda where no pictures
are allowed because of the reverence with which it is viewed. The guide gave a detailed description of its
history, in Italian, and if it had not been for some translating by a couple of
very friendly members of the tour group, we would have never known what the
guide was saying. If you are interested
in statistics, the building has 10 separate courtyards in its nearly 900-foot
length. It has 29 staircases, 29 gates,
13 elevators, and 691 rooms. And
although the legislature became unicameral years ago, the unused chamber is
still open to the public during the tours.
Great Market Hall
Shopping in the Great Market
While James and I were visiting Parliament, Viren did a walking tour of the city, while Tricia, Jeanne Marie, and Amita went over to the Great Market Hall, a huge building housing the largest market in the area. Our fears of credit card max-out were unfounded, as demonstrated by the huge variety of local foods (and no souvenirs!) they brought back and prepared under the tutelage of Chef Amita. Our last deliciouis meal, accompanied by two bottles of Hungarian wine, was taken in the apartment while we reminisced and said our good-byes.
It was a
great ending to a great trip. Time to go
home.
Charlie & Tricia
©2014
Arising at
4:15, we left in a taxi to the airport at 5, where we were informed at the Alitalia
counter that our tickets had been changed again, and that we would not be
leaving until 12:15 for Munich. After
some animated conversation about sitting in the Budapest airport for 6 hours,
the agent changed our booking, and the fourth and hopefully final version goes
like this: leave Budapest on Lufthansa
at 6:40; arrive Munich 7:55 a.m. Leave
Munich on Lufthansa at 3:35 p.m.; arrive Newark 6:35 p.m. Leave Newark 8:45 p.m. and arrive
Jacksonville 11:08. At this point we
have made it to Munich, at least, and are enjoying our 7.5-hour layover in air
conditioned comfort. As we try to avoid commiserating
over the 25-hour trip, we hope you have enjoyed these reports and perhaps will
do another one someday.
Until then, auf wiedersehen.
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