Szechenyi Soak

Szechenyi was the second thermal I had free access to today. The woman arranging my visit was hesitant to give me a tour, but did give a brief one. Basically, she reiterated the history that I had already known, but had to act dumb since they thought I was there for the first time. Actually, it was only my second time there. The first time, I never did find the indoor baths and saunas. With her assistance, I now know the access to them. Szechenyi is the largest spring fed thermal in Europe, which boasts 16 pools. The building started in 1913, but was extended in 1927. It is truly glorious. It is obvious how people can spend an entire day here without any effort at all. They are open until 10pm year round. Being Hungary, I had to have one typical Hungarian experience, though I can imagine this happening in the US too. I was in one pool where the fountain was spraying water out of some nymph's mouth, so I rested under it to spray my back. Others do the same in the other pools, but I was the sole challenger to the woman's repose sitting on the steps next to this nymph. Splashing my back was also spraying onto her, which I did not realize until a heard a clear "Excuse me" in tainted English. When I turned, she said you are getting me all wet. Well, damn lady, you are sitting in a pool of water; you are getting yourself wet, because I did not put you here. Rather than ruin my peace, I moved. She continued her conversation with a fellow stair sitter in Hungarian. After a day of soaking, I was mellow, melted, and pliable. However, my review of the Gellert is not going to change much from the last edition of the book. They are overpriced for the few services that are included. Two thermals, two pools, one steam room, and one sauna for 3,500 Ft for a locker of 3,800 Ft for a cabin vs Szechenyi where you can have 16 choices of pools, plus multiple saunas, and steam rooms for 3,400 Ft for a cabin or 3,000 Ft for a locker. The graduated refund system for all of the thermals is gone. If you leave before 2 hours, both Gellert and Szechenyi will give you 300 Ft back period. It used to be much more for leaving before 2 hours, and a reduced amount for 3 and 4 hours. Those days are history.

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Gellert Thermals

This morning at 10am, I was scheduled to visit the Gellert Thermals. Why 10am, I have no clue. It is open all day. After presenting my letter to the cashier, she closed her window to give me a tour of the facilities and then said I could partake of the baths if I chose. The entire bath area including the pools have been refurbished to their original luster, which I must say is impressive. What is more intriguing is the stained glass panels view from the lobby, but you cannot have access to a view unless you pay admission, a whooping 3,800 Ft for a cabin or 3,500 Ft for a locker. Even then, photography is not allowed. After sharing this information, she added "It is too expensive for the average Hungarian, so you will find mostly tourists here. If you live in the hotel, you can have access for free." If you do not stay longer than 2 hours, you do get a refund of a paltry 300 Ft. Zippo, that is the only refund and certainly not an incentive to whisk in and out again. Outdoors, the pool does look larger than I had realized from peaking through the fence. There is a wave pool every hour. On a higher level, there is a thermal pool with a view of the bridge if you sit at the correct angle. At other contortionist moves will reward you with a view of Gellert Hill and the Citadella. Still the cost has not been justified for me. This may explain why by 10:30, when I made it to the men's thermals, there were only seven men around in the two large pools, while one was getting a massage. By 11:15, I had reached my quota of boredom. The guest list increased by three men, but decreased by two. Yes, the ceramics walls look lovely and crispy new. Yes, it is clean. The locker room attendants still have that "What do you want?" attitude dripping from their pores making guests feel like burglary intruders into their private domains.

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The Communiqués of R to the 2nd Power 15

One book claims men are from Mars and women are from Venus. I propose that two men can be from different planets just as well. Ron: "got here after making it through the night with amtrak. arriving 7

a.m. rita, mark, and elise there waiting, then took me to nice

breakfast place and to botanical gardens. elise is planning most every

minute, so i'll probably have to negotiate the pace soon. out tonight

for supper and a club show. tomorrow to church with r and m, and

insist on slowdown time.

i hope no news from you today is at least o.k. news. missed your great

notes, but know you have tons of stuff going on.

ok, i will confess now and get it over. one of elise's (her fault!)

adventures was noon showing of 'sex and the city'. don't hate me too

much.... it's so good that i want to see it again with you.

i'd better call billicks now and get ready to go." Ryan: "

Why would I hate you over seeing a movie without me? I have plenty of other reasons that take priority. This whole back and forth reminds me of that old 12 days of Christmas series of letters that starts out with Dear John, Thank you so much for your generous gift of a partridge in the pear tree, I am so overwhelmed with your kindness... And ends with Stop sending these damn presents. The birds are shitting all over the maids won't stop milking, spilling milk all over, the lords are leaping all over the place and I am putting a restraining order on you.

Each day you have pleasant reveries to share, while each day I have some battles to fight. The ladies left yesterday. The night before one asked me what they owed and I said 290 Euros. She said how about the discount for the book we gave you and having the Frommer's book. I said that did not kick in until July 1st. She seemed to be slightly disgruntled, but said "That's fair". I wanted to say, but did not "The three loads of laundry you did, the long distance phone call you made to reconfirm your tour, the broken bed, and the kilos of cheese eaten really do more than make up for the cost of both books you bought, one of which you will take home with you."

Yesterday, they had a late train at 7:40 PM, but she wanted to go to the thermals by 7:00 am. I said breakfast was in the fridge, help yourself. It has been so hot here at night, I have been sleeping more poorly than usual. My foot has been cramping in the middle of the night and then spreads up my leg. I have to jump out of bed and try to walk relieve it. I am sure it is an after effect of my mother having polio and I am headed for a crippled future. I wake up to get breakfast feeling like I have spent the night in a barn. When the other woman left at 10:00 to meet up with the first one, I decided to hang around until I got paid and the keys. After stripping the bed, mopping floors, and cleaning up otherwise, I took a 2 hour nap. They returned at 6:30, gave me the money without an issue, asked me to sign the Frommer's book, gave me a country flag magnet and got a hug out the door. They were really sweet and fun to talk to.

The family of three arrived on Friday in the large room. Lovely, lovely family from Phila. She is from NJ originally. Last night after the girls left, they were here and I said I was going out for awhile. I went to find the laundromat the girls found for their fourth load of clothes. Then I went to Heroes Square to see what remained of the Magyar Horse Exhibition the Hussars. The Yellow metro stopped at Baja u causing everyone to get off. The street was a festival from there to Heroes Square. Little booths of the usual food, and a booth for every little town in Hungary to promote tourism, all in Hungarian. I plowed through the crowd for some time, but it was still so hot at 8:00, I could not take the heat from the people and went down the side. All of HS was blocked for the show, which continues today. I walked around a bit and then came back down a side street to avoid crowds and walked to the hummus place for dinner. Looks like M is closed for good.

When I got home, the door window was still open and only the top lock was locked on the door. I had left the three here, so I was expecting them to be in the room when I found the window open. They were not. Thankfully, I had the foresight to close the kitchen window when I left. They returned about 30 minutes into my dinner with pizza from Pizza King.

This morning I got up to make breakfast and had the coffee going. I was cutting bread and cheese. Charlie was up already and on the computer. When I turned around, the coffee pot had spilled all over the counter, leaving about one cup in the pot. It was firmly in place and I had washed the filter before making it. It ran all over the counter and my clean floor, taking 20 minutes to clean up. Charlie oblivious to the whole thing until I was finishing up, though I was cussing while cleaning. I then washed the pot, filter and all and made another pot. Same thing all over again without any discernible cause. I am going to run vinegar later to see if this helps.

Things I wanted to do while you were gone to make me feel like I was having a "mini-vacation" and to be up-to-date for guests and the book.

1. Rudas - haven't had time to go.

2. Kiraly - guests coming or going on men's days, haven't gone

3. Széchenyi - never made it.

4.Palatinus pool on Margaret Island. Haven't had time to go. I planned on today, but the forecast is for thunderstorms. Just heard thunder.

5. Culinaris - a pint of Hagen Daz ice cream that I eat all by myself. Haven't had time to go.

6. Italian vanilla cake that I ate in one sitting by myself until I was sick. DID IT TWICE!!! Stress eating and heavenly.

So I confess, I am not having a pleasant time. The amount of joyful experiences I have had could fit on a post-a-note with plenty of blank space to spare. Am I happy you are having a good time? Yes! Am I going to be a raving lunatic by the time you return? You bet!

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