Cool Dual Fool Who'll Pool

Okay, the title may not make sense, but yesterday, Ron and I went to the Palatinus Water Park on Margaret Island. Ron had been there once before with his grandniece Elise, but this was my virgin voyage.  It is almost shameful to say that I have never been here before, having lived here for almost 12 years. Each year I have had wonderful intentions to go, but it had never happened. Partially, it is the fault of the Budapest Spa Authority who controls most of the spas and this water park. They open Palatinus in April when the weather is not the most conducive for swimming and then they close in mid-August when you really do want to cool off. 

Fed by the hot spring water on Margaret Island, this water-based recreation center has water slides, a wave pool and enough kiddie pools to host all of the preschools in the country at one time and still not feel overcrowded. There are a multitude of pools to choose from, but none are terribly deep, thus there are no diving boards anywhere in the complex.

One water slide that I would have loved to try is the wide tubed slide that accommodated a special inner-tube that one sits in why traveling through the spirals before the wet plunge. Just watching those youngsters was fun. The other tubes and the one slide were for the adventurous who wanted to climb the 2 story ladder to reach the top, only to descend again in a matter of seconds. It may be worthy of a one-time ride, but not have witnessed anyone over 25 years attempting it, I felt awkward on this maiden trip. Perhaps next time I will feel braver. 

We did do the wave pool, which doubles as the serious swimmer’s pool. When the waters are not waving, only those who really want to swim are allowed in: waders are not welcomed. At set times there is an alarm that sounds to alert everyone that the waves will commence shortly. Bathers come from all over the grounds to join in the fun. Some of the waves rise up over 7 feet high, adding to the excitement. After 15-20 minutes, the waters calm again and those fun seekers leave the pool. 

Entrance was 2,600 Huf for me and 1,900 Huf for Ron: both include locker storage. Considering you could spend the entire day there, it is a bargain. Once inside, it is co-ed with changing cabins as the first order of business and then your things get stored in a locker. You get one key and the attendant locks the other. 

Once changed, you are free to roam the extensive grounds. At one end the pool borders on hot, but was surprising refreshing even with the upper 80s temperature from the sun. I especially liked the whirlpool as shown in the picture where you enter and the current allows your body to sail around the maze.

My only wish is that was open later in the season, but something tells me it is related to school openings.

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Budapest Wanderings II

This album is from last Saturday's wanderings around the city, but shortly after, I was so busy with guests that I never got around to doing anything with the photos. Yes, there are more lampposts here, but so much more too.

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Margaret Island Revisited in a Couple of Photos

I forgot to insert these photos in the post about bike riding on Margaret Island, but I am posting them belatedly. 

If you have been to the island during clement weather, you will already know about this fountain. It sprays water in time to a variety of classical tunes.

The island's flower beds are a delightful site. They really put a great deal of time into the upkeep of the grounds.

At the petting zoo, you just may be lucky enough to get a glimpse of the rare duckcock or as it is otherwise known, the peaduck. This rare bird has the upper part of a duck and the bottom of a peacock. It's feathers are used for both stuffing pillows and decorating.

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Resolutions

Many people have the custom of making New Year's Resolutions. I learned long ago that that never works for me. For the last eighteen years, I have been everywhere but home for New Years with one year exception. When you are vacationing at New Year's in some exotic land, all things seem possible and probable including the fulfillment of resolutions uttered in hapless repartee. 


I for one, wait for a different time when things are more realistic. I make Ron Gone Resolutions. For months before Ron leaves for his annual American (cannot use US, because us doesn't go to the US) vacation, I secretly make my Ron Gone Resolutions or the things I want to get done when I am home alone. My list this year was rather ambitious, but it is always best to set your sights high. It is kind of like the slingshot in Angry Birds. If you don't aim high, the trajectory is just crap. 


Now, I am really fretting. Ron left on Wednesday, today is Sunday, and what have I crossed off of my list so far? Not much. Let's see what is on it.
1. Lose twenty pounds without exercising - Nope, not yet.
2. Join a gym, hire a personal trainer who tells me I look fabulous and then he quits - Never gonna happen, see number 1 above
3. Schedule and have a nose job - This idea smells of narcissism, but I don't care.
4. Volunteer a day to pick snails out of the Margaret Island flower beds - It will have to wait for my manicure to grow out.
5. Teach homing pigeons that there is more to life than home.
6. Count the number of websites on the WWW that start with the letters in my initials, end in dot hu,  and then put them in alphabetical order. If you say hu, hu, hu three times fast, what does it sound like?
7. Make English labels for all of the groceries in the supermarket so I and other ex-pats will be able to shop faster in the future. 
8. Create a new business that caters to desperate Icelandic men in search of a Hungarian puli to adopt. 
9. Finish the best selling memoir that is burning a hole in my brain.
10. Write the proposal to find an agent to sell the best selling novel that is burning the hole inside me.


Now that I have put it all out there publicly, I have a moral responsibility to keep you abreast of my accomplishments. Keep your fingers crossed for me and send positive thoughts for now. You can send cash or travelers cheques later on. The calender is ticking. Maybe I need to put "Eliminate mixed metaphors" on the list also. 

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Deer Me

If you did not know there was a small, yet, lovely little petting zoo on Margaret Island, you won't miss it once it is gone. However, if you cherished those moments passing by the Bambi clones thinking "I really should go in there one of these days," the days are numbered. 


The deer have left the zoo and they will soon be followed by the rest of the twenty-five other species of animals that co-habitated in their little furry and feathery commune. Due to a lack of funding, the mini-zoo will be closed for good in the near future. Under the auspices of the Budapest Zoo, this little faction is not holding its own financially, when the official city funding for it was cut 4 years ago. If someone had packaged the zoo pooh like other major zoos do, they may have been able to survive a little longer. 

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Margaret Island Police Action

Today was another trek to the dentist on Margaret Island. It is becoming a place of surprises. When I arrived by bus, the area by the hotel was swarming with police with one of the large fields all roped off. 

The last time I can across something like this there was a dead body involved. That was when I was returning from the acupuncturist's office. Gingerly following the police tape, which was identified with "POLICE" not "Rendőrség" (Police in Hungarian), there were no dead bodies about nor anything obviously criminal going on.

I asked my dentist if she knew what was happening, but she said all she knew was what a previous patient has shared. The  grounds flooded causing concern that the tree roots may have been compromised endangering people who are nearby. If you enlarge the picture I took with my phone, you can see the large dark spots in the grassy area. Those are pools of water.

Margaret Island flooding

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Getting to the Root of the Matter

Getting to the root of the matter really has  multiple meanings today. For the last week, we have had rain on a daily basis. A few days, the rain would fall for a few hours, while other days, the entire day was a drencher. The day before yesterday and yesterday as well, the winds have been particularly fierce feeling closer to hurricane weather than spring. 

Reports stated that the unusually stormy winds were gusting at 100-110 km per hour (62-68 miles per hr) in many parts of the country, including Budapest. Although it has not hindered take offs and landings at the Ferihegy airport thus far, but the volcanic ash from Iceland has been the root cause of many flights being canceled in the UK, Germany, and France.

Today was a dental appointment on Margaret Island, where all of those ahead of my 10am appointment were late due tot the weather, though I who needed to take the tram, a metro, and then a bus to get there due to bridge construction, made it on time. When dentist finally made it to me, she rooted around in my mouth. Afterward, we discussed the ill fate of my roots.

When I returned to the bus stop to come home, this poor tree was dealing with its own root of the matter.

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