Some Like it Hot

Traveling to another country is always a great way to get,out of your comfort zone, but sometimes you have experiences in these places that are even more far removed from your comfort zone.  Such is the case with my experience of going to the public baths in Budapest.

The city of Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube River on the banks of this river there are  many thermal hot springs and Budapest has Mande some of these hot springs into public baths.  The baths that I went to were in an establishmentt called Rudas.

When you are in a foreign country you are always a bit out of your element, but sometimes I also choose activities that take me out of my comfort zone. Such is the case on the day in Budapest that I went to the public baths.

Even though that day the baths were co-ed, I still had no idea what to expect.  For the most part, things like this are not in our American culture, and from the moment I walked in I knew this was going to be an experience to remember.  

After I bought a bottle of water with gas, I walked up to reception. I told her "one" because that's a universal word. Everybody gets that.  She starts speaking to me in Hungarian and I have no idea what she is saying. Luckily a lady to my side was acting as my personal interpreter and she told me where to look to decide what package I wanted to buy.  To be honest, I just pointed and didn't really know what I was buying then reception gave me a price.  My interpreter whispered in my ear, "Do you need a towel?" So that added to the price.  Finally I was done with that, and I asked my interpreter where to go. She pointed me in a direction, and then I never saw her again.  

I managed to find the locker room. I was unsure it was the locker room because both men and women were in there. A man handed me a computerized wristband to let me in and assigned me to my locker.  It actually wasn't a locker at all. It was a small cabin.  It was about the same size as a confessional booth in a Catholic Church.  I did all my clothing changing in there, and I also left my belongings in there. Once I came out surprise surprise I didn't know how to lock the cabinet. So the attendant showed me how to lock the cabinet with my handy dandy wristband.  Then I walked with him to get my towel which was more a low thread count bed sheet than  a towel. I guess I could have brought one from the hotel, but that towel did its job. 

After some tentative wandering, I found room of baths.  I forgot to mention that because it was co-ed, everyone was required to wear bathing suits.  On same gender days that is not the case.  Anyway there is one big slightly warmer than lukewarm pool in the middle.  I sat there for awhile. It was kind of like sitting in a jacuzzi with a wonky heater except no jets and it smelled like sulfur.  After sitting here for awhile I experimented with the smaller pools In the corners. As I walked I found out each pool varied in temperature.  One was very cold, one was cool, one was warm and one was hot.  Strange as it seems, I spent the most time in the very hot one even though it was a little painful when I was first getting in. I did spend a little bit of time  in each of them.  While the whole building had been renovated the room of baths was very old  just as I expected it to be. Some people came in to relax. Some came into socialize.  It is definitely a traditional experience in Budapest culture.  

I have to admit that I wasn't getting a whole lot out of it, so I explored a little more. I saw that there was a sauna and a steam room. They  had warnings that they were only for people in good health.

The steam room was OK. It was hot but bearable.  The sign said it was 40 to 45 C.  That's over 100 degrees for the Americans.  After I left there I took a shower. They had a regular shower and then they had a more rustic big bucket that you just dump over your head by pulling a rope. I chose the latter. It was freezing water!  It was shocking to my senses but I'm glad I chose the more primeval expereince.

My final major activity was the sauna.  It was the hottest experience in my life. It was so hot you could smell the oils vaporizing from the wood.  It didn't have a temperature posted, but I was so hot that when I breathed it felt like the air coming from my mouth was going to turn into fire.  The other people sitting with me looked very calm and delighted.  I started to feel physically sick so I don't think I made it even 2 minutes. I quickly found a much cooler pool and settled for several minutes.  I discovered that those two minutes had temporarily taken all the tension out of my body.  He heat must have sucked all the toxins right out of me.  I was relaxed yet a little bit tired for the rest of the day.

In any case even though I was nervous to do it, it ended up being a worthwhile experience. On any kind of vacation, I highly recommend doing something that interests you but also makes you a little bit uncomfortable.