Budapest, Hungary
We had found earlier that two days in a big city was about as much as we (i.e., the kids) could handle before getting bored. Budapest turned out to be an unexpectedly fun and happening spot. I hadn’t expected it to be the major tourist destination that it is. It’s a great city to walk around in, public transportation is good, there are tons of restaurants and lots to do. Also, like many other European tourist sites, English is widely spoken. To add to all that, we got to meet up with two sets of friends from back home, which is always a huge treat.
St. Stephen’ Basilica
Dex with a new helmet
On Sunday, just before noon, our good friend and neighbor, Reka, and her kids, Katia and Martin, showed up outside our apartment. Katia is one of Kylie’s best friends and it was Reka and her hubby, Paul, who had lived in our house for much of the time we were away traveling a couple years ago. Reka, who happens to be Hungarian, had been visiting her family in neighboring Romania. Fortunately, she was able to talk her brother into making a detour to Budapest to spend the afternoon with us. We had lunch at Vapiano’s, then walked across the Danube and up to the Buda Castle, the historic home of the Hungarian kings. It was fantastic to see them, though the visit was too short.
Mattias Church across the River
On Monday morning, we met up with friends Derek and Jennifer from Los Altos. Thanks to Facebook, we had learned they were in the area. They had taken a river cruise from Passau, Germany along the Danube, and therefore had also been to Vienna and Bratislava around the same time we had. The stars finally aligned and we were all in the same place at the same time. We had and excellent breakfast together and a chance to catch up and compare traveling notes.
Breakfast with Jennifer and Derek
Derek with his “pot cake”
The last two days here were spent, for the most part, eating, playing cards, and trying to stay cool. We spent no fewer than seven hours on Monday at a pool complex on Margit Island (a huge park in the middle of the Danube). This place was gigantic, which was great since there were tons and tons of people with the same idea. Apparently, my sunscreen didn’t work cause my shoulders are still sore from sunburn. In any event, there were no fewer than nine pools plus four water slides. We made sure to try everyone. One pool was at least as big as two Olympic sized pools, the water was close to 80F, and the depth varied from 2 ½ to 4 feet deep. There were a maze of tiled walls built in the pool making all sorts of little alcoves and sitting areas for bathers to hang out. Some areas had fountains of warm water splashing down as a massage. Then, once an hour, water jets turned on in a race track shaped area in the middle. Dex and Kylie loved it. They had goggles and would zip in and out between people. There were at least a hundred people, all crowded in between an inner and outer wall. If you’re not into bumping and sliding into a lot of totally under-dressed strangers, it’s not the place to be.
Fountains on Margit Island
Two of nine pools!
On the other end of the complex was a wave pool and four big slides. The wave pool also turned on once an hour, and when it did, there was a mass migration to it. Wow. It was a ton of fun, but what a mad house. Dex and Kylie managed to squirm all the way to the front where the wave was the biggest, but they also had more room to maneuver.
Where’s Waldo?
Very wrinkly hands!
Monday was another hot one. After getting a haircut for Dex, we did another escape room. This one had an Egyptian archeology theme. The goal was to find 12 different “artifacts” and return them to the burial chamber. As before, there were lots of keys and combination locks to open, plus a lot of hidden compartments to find and hieroglyphics to decode. The kids got a real scare when Dex inadvertentlyhit a panic button, there was a huge bang and a small door suddenly slide open. In the end, with a couple hints, we were, once again, victorious.
Colorful Hungarian Forints
On Monday, after our second excellent Indian food meal, we realized that the Palvolgy cave system was on the outskirts of the city, and, the clincher was, it is a constant 50F all year around. Perfect. We hurried back to the apartment to dig out our jackets and long sleeve shirts, firmly buried in the bottom of our panniers. We tried to keep our expectations low as we have seen some amazing caves in the past (Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and Paradise Cave in Vietnam). Although we only went in about a ½ kilometer, and the cave is relatively young at about a million years, it was blessedly cold the second we entered the locked door. Our guide, Laslo, was friendly, knowledgeable, and had a good sense of humor. We returned home tired and happy that we had once again successfully filled our day with fun activities.
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