With headphones in I drag my body through the street, kicking dry orange leaves on my way to the Szechenyi Baths. I walk slowly as I notice the architecture hugging to the street of Andrassy Ut. The buildings alternate deep rustic blue to earth brown with painted details of royal crests and wistful beauties. While the walk to the baths seems long, I put on the new Above and Beyond podcast and enjoy the beauty in the details.

In the Szechenyi Baths I am greeted by huge sweeping ceilings painted in gold and blue mosaics. Built in 1909, the baths are one of the largest spa complexes in Europe. The water is sourced from the second deepest well in Budapest, and claims to hold medicinal properties. The baths look like a palace and I find myself wandering around aimlessly. I soak in several different baths before stumbling upon the sprawling outdoor pools. The water is heated and I rush to jump in, the cold air biting into my exposed skin.

Steam hovers on the surface of the water, the heat condensing against the chilled air. My hands are now prunes. I move them gently along the surface of the water, completely relaxed. A babble of languages encompasses me. Alone and yet not alone at all.

After the pools I sauna hop, where I spend at least 15 minutes inhaling peppermint in the aromatherapy room. I breath slowly and deeply, letting the scent coat my nose, fill my mouth, and nestle down into my lungs. A regular sauna will never be the same.

After a relaxing day in the baths, I go out to the ruin bars with a few new friends from the hostel. We hit up Instant and Szimpla, two of the famous ones. Ruin bars are all the rage in Budapest. They are usually in abandoned warehouses and take up multiple rooms and floors. They can be a maze to navigate, but each room is decorated differently and has almost a hipster ambiance. We meet multiple bachelor parties, or stag parties, as they are called in Europe. Budapest is a cheap flight from England and every night we went out we saw several parties all dressed up in different outfits and themes. The best stag party we saw was different characters from Wes Anderson movies.

I spend the following day intrigued about the culture and history of Hungary. I visit the House of Terror, a museum built in 2002 about the plight of Hungary under the nazi and communist regimes. The museum is very well done, with dramatic music that sets the ambiance as soon as you walk through the door. The experience is somber and humbling. While I am critical of certain aspects of the United States, I am grateful to never experience true dictatorship and oppression. Hungary has been ravaged by conflict, but now thrives as it’s own independant state.

As I walk through the museum I begin to think about the Hungarian culture. With the museum so well-done I wonder what the films are like here. I head back to the hostel and begin chatting with the girl working at the front desk who just happens to recommend a new movie out with english subtitles. A new friend and I make the 7:15 showing and pay the equivalent of 5 USD to see the film called For Some Inexplicable Reason. While this doesnt seem like a touristy thing to do, this experience will be one of my favorites in Budapest. The movie is filmed all over the city and tells the story of a guy who gets dumped by his girlfriend. It is full of dry humor and is a great nose dive into Hungarian culture. How fun to experience such a normal outing half way across the world, in a city that is completely different, with a culture that is so foreign.

Although I wake up at 5 to catch my next bus to Krakow, I leave Budapest feeling fullfilled and whole. Like many other places on this adventure, I leave a piece of my heart in the city of senses.

Budapest Architecture

Szechenyi Baths

Ruin Bars