Thank goodness for wireless! 1/2/06
Day two here in Budapest, and I am LOVING it. In spite of the ugly weather and not speaking a word of Magyar, I am having a wonderful time. It is very strange not being able to speak the language at all. If I knew just a few words, I would feel much better (for example: excuse me, please, thank you, do you speak English, yes, no, hello, and goodbye).
This morning I got up early and met Maggie and Bonnie for breakfast. The rest of the group was supposed to meet us at 9:30 in the lobby to go to Statue Park, but no one else showed. So the three of us went on our own. We went to Statue Park, the train station to buy our tickets to Cluj, the Cave Church in Gellért Hill, and the Gellért Hotel Baths. I’ll give you a description of each location (except the train station) and the best of the pictures I took today:
Statue Park: Statue Park is a sort of outdoor museum of communist propaganda statues. After the fall of communism in Hungary, they collected communist statues from all over the country and created Statue Park. Due to lack of funding, the facilities and landscaping are none too impressive, but the statues make up for that. It was amazing to see in person the communist symbolism and propaganda that I have read so much about. Some of the statues were enormous and very imposing. I was very excited to find memorials to Hungarian communist leaders that I read about fall semester (and of course statues of Marx and Lenin). I was almost ridiculously excited about going to Statue Park, and it did not let me down.
Cave Church: The Cave Church is exactly what it sounds like. It is a church (and a few smaller chapels) built into a cave. Apparently it was built by Hungarian Monks after they visited Lourdes, and during communism the entrance was bricked up. It is quaint and beautiful, and there is a wonderful view of Pest from the hill that it sits on. (Aside: Budapest is made of two cities that joined ages ago, Buda on one side of the Danube, and Pest on the other).
Gellért Hotel Baths: The Gellért Hotel is a beautiful old hotel in Buda, and it is home to the most famous public bathhouse in Budapest. We paid 2,400 Forint (the rough equivalent of $12) to spend the afternoon in the baths. The baths include a gorgeous swimming pool, a peppermint infused steam room, saunas, and hot and cold mineral baths. We tried out all of them, had a wonderful time, and left feeling wonderfully refreshed. It was fabulous. So fabulous, in fact, that I’d like to go again either before we leave the city or before I fly out of Budapest in July. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the swimming pool because my camera was in my locker, and I don’t think people would have appreciated me taking pictures of them in their bathing suits. So you will have to make do with pictures of the outside.
So, that pretty much sums up today. As I mentioned earlier, the weather has been terrible (rain, wind, and 10-14 degrees Celsius all day). But on a more positive note, I have gotten the hang of the exchange rate (about 200 Forint to $1), and I made two friends on the trip today.
This morning I got up early and met Maggie and Bonnie for breakfast. The rest of the group was supposed to meet us at 9:30 in the lobby to go to Statue Park, but no one else showed. So the three of us went on our own. We went to Statue Park, the train station to buy our tickets to Cluj, the Cave Church in Gellért Hill, and the Gellért Hotel Baths. I’ll give you a description of each location (except the train station) and the best of the pictures I took today:
Statue Park: Statue Park is a sort of outdoor museum of communist propaganda statues. After the fall of communism in Hungary, they collected communist statues from all over the country and created Statue Park. Due to lack of funding, the facilities and landscaping are none too impressive, but the statues make up for that. It was amazing to see in person the communist symbolism and propaganda that I have read so much about. Some of the statues were enormous and very imposing. I was very excited to find memorials to Hungarian communist leaders that I read about fall semester (and of course statues of Marx and Lenin). I was almost ridiculously excited about going to Statue Park, and it did not let me down.
Cave Church: The Cave Church is exactly what it sounds like. It is a church (and a few smaller chapels) built into a cave. Apparently it was built by Hungarian Monks after they visited Lourdes, and during communism the entrance was bricked up. It is quaint and beautiful, and there is a wonderful view of Pest from the hill that it sits on. (Aside: Budapest is made of two cities that joined ages ago, Buda on one side of the Danube, and Pest on the other).
Gellért Hotel Baths: The Gellért Hotel is a beautiful old hotel in Buda, and it is home to the most famous public bathhouse in Budapest. We paid 2,400 Forint (the rough equivalent of $12) to spend the afternoon in the baths. The baths include a gorgeous swimming pool, a peppermint infused steam room, saunas, and hot and cold mineral baths. We tried out all of them, had a wonderful time, and left feeling wonderfully refreshed. It was fabulous. So fabulous, in fact, that I’d like to go again either before we leave the city or before I fly out of Budapest in July. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the swimming pool because my camera was in my locker, and I don’t think people would have appreciated me taking pictures of them in their bathing suits. So you will have to make do with pictures of the outside.
So, that pretty much sums up today. As I mentioned earlier, the weather has been terrible (rain, wind, and 10-14 degrees Celsius all day). But on a more positive note, I have gotten the hang of the exchange rate (about 200 Forint to $1), and I made two friends on the trip today.
posted by Erin Kay at 10:15 PM
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