We wander further along the river, to the University
building we saw from the boat trip and the surreal “whale” building opposite. Taking
the tram across Liberty Bridge we explore the whale at close quarters and find
it’s a partially-let shopping, dining and exhibition complex. So much of
Budapest seems to have been newly built but only partly let. Official looking
people in reflective jackets make us thing that this may be a polling station,
but actually we can find no evidence at all that the election is even
happening.
We walk back to Buda across the chain bridge, and start to
walk back down to Gellert square but make a couple of false starts. First we
try to go behind the riverside buildings along the old city walls, but it’s a
dead end. Then we find ourselves caught up on a procession of locals in their
Sunday best, all flocking to a newly opened portion of restored terracing
that’s clearly the subject of some excitement. That also takes us back on
ourselves, but finally we find the way to a tramstop that takes us back down to
Gellert Square.
The thermal baths are an interesting experience. A friendly
attendant shows me to a curtained cubicle where there’s a mini wardrobe for my
clothes and a narrow couch with a vinyl covered mattress. After I’ve changed,
she chalks a number on the inside of the wardrobe door and gives me a numbered
token. Her English is very limited, so I don’t ask for any guidance and instead
begin to explore for myself. The first thing I find is the swimming pool, in a
colonnaded hall flanked by loungers, palms and a balcony. It’s cold, so I give
that a miss! At the end there’s a semi-circular thermal pool, much more to my
taste. Next I walk through to a room with two thermal pools of different temperatures at either end, which I find fairly disappointing. The guide book has
described Gellert baths as like “bathing in a cathedral” but there’s nothing
remotely cathedral-like about it. Apart from the high barrelled roof I could be
in any municipal swimming pool. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by Nirvana.
The other thermal room is more impressive – the tiles on the
walls are more ornate and there are throne-like benches and a fountain with a
chubby cherub riding on the back of a turtle. All very rococo and more in line
with my expectations. I bumble around for a while, moving from pool to pool and
people-watching while grumpily trying to avoid the people taking photos.
There’s one skinny youth who spends his whole time strutting around showing off
his tattoos and lots of couples, some of who could do with getting a room.
I ask about the outdoor wave pool but it’s closed out of
season. But exploring the gallery above the swimming pool I find a note
explaining that the outdoor thermal pool can be accessed by taking a door
between two of the changing cabins; it’s a nice day so I make my way outside
and spend some time enjoying the afternoon sunshine in the warm water. Finally
I check out the sauna, which is as disappointing as the first thermal pool –
just a concrete room with wooden benches, really depressing.
I take the brand new line 4 and the older line 2 back to the
Ibis and time my return to the hotel perfectly – the Grand Prix is just
finishing and there’s time for a quick glass of wine before going out for
dinner. We haven’t booked anywhere as none of the restaurants we contacted were
open on Sundays – we’re just going to wander until we find something we like.
But first, a drink at our favourite ruin bar Fogas Hazs. It being election day, it’s filled with balloons bearing the faces of two of the candidates with gives it a rather surreal air. This is genuinely the first sign we have seen of the election, though. We check out a nearby pedestrian area flanked by restaurants but they are all rather commercialised and uninspiring. It does give us the opportunity to enjoy the façade of the Ferenc Liszt Academy which is one of the prettiest buildings I have seen in a city of gems.
We end up at Magdalena Merlo, a family-run restaurant with a
good selection of dishes that claim to have been handed down through the
proprietor’s family. The food is excellent.
But first, a drink at our favourite ruin bar Fogas Hazs. It being election day, it’s filled with balloons bearing the faces of two of the candidates with gives it a rather surreal air. This is genuinely the first sign we have seen of the election, though. We check out a nearby pedestrian area flanked by restaurants but they are all rather commercialised and uninspiring. It does give us the opportunity to enjoy the façade of the Ferenc Liszt Academy which is one of the prettiest buildings I have seen in a city of gems.
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