B and L Travels: budapest, day three: baths and statues

In the 1500s, Arslan, the Pasha of Buda, ordered the construction of a Turkish hot spring bath inside his castle. The only problem was that there was no hot spring available, and they had to pipe water through hollowed-out tree trunks from the nearby Lukács bath - the official website claims "he wanted to enjoy the benefits of a hot water bath even when the castle was under siege."

Unfortunately, Arslan was executed by the Sultan only a year later, before construction was finished. The good news is that the baths survived. They were rebuilt and named the Király Baths in the late 1700s after the Turks had been kicked out of Buda, then converted into a "classicist" style in 1825, and finally renovated in the 1950s after being damaged in WWII.

Today, the baths are in some disrepair, but to us that just made them even more charming. Walking into the central room with its octagonal pool and moody lighting felt like being in some ancient cathedral basement or wine cellar. There were just the right number of baths, and each different water temperature felt perfect for that moment.

We left the buiding in a blissed-out haze and somehow managed to catch a tram and then a bus out to the edge of the suburbs to see Memorial Park, which was a funny little collection of abandoned Communist statues. Next, we took more transit over to Kerepesi Cemetery, wandering around the graves and tombs of various important Hungarian artists and politicians.

On our walk back home, we made two stops: one for a Hong Kong treat called an egg/bubble waffle (with a generous portion of custardy vanilla ice cream), and the other back into St Stephen's basilica to gape at the interior again and to see the mummified hand of St Stephen himself (it was small, black, and fairly repellent).

For dinner, B made us some tasty pasta with tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and a big piece of buffalo mozzarella. Simple real food tastes pretty good when you're on the road.