Buda
Sunday, August 22
Today we ventured over to Buda. Martha, Zac, and I began the day by crossing the Danube to attend Mass. Martha had discovered this church that was literally in a cave! It was my second time to Mass and by first time attending church in a cave. After Mass, we crossed back into Pest and I had a delicious poppyseed pastry covered in powdered sugar that then covered me in powdered sugar. We returned to hostel where I rejoined Sheena and Christina for a venture back to Buda to experience the famed Turkish baths. All I can say is they are amazing! We went to the Saint Gellert Thermal Baths. There were a variety of pools and we enjoyed each one. We started with the large outdoor swimming pool that turned into a wave pool and then onto the outdoor thermal bath. Next we moved inside to the indoor swimming pool and then the thermal bath. Then we discovered the two sulfur baths and thankfully none of us were allergic to the sulfur.
The thermal baths speak to the long history of the Turkish involvement in south eastern Europe. Because of its close proximity to the Ottoman Empire and that Hungary was often under Ottoman rule, their bathing rituals were imported to the city. The oldest baths in Budapest date back to the 16th century. We visited one that was built in 1918 but harkens back to an earlier age with the walls of the indoor baths were covered with detailed mosaics. After a relaxing day at the baths we took one of the best meals on the entire trip. The food really reminded me of home. It was elegant and very gourmet but still really affordable because of the hyper-inflation of the Hungarian currency--about 300 florin to 1 euro! After stalking up on pastries, we took one of the last trains home to Vienna. Our trip had come to a close and it was great to experience another culture for the weekend.
Today we ventured over to Buda. Martha, Zac, and I began the day by crossing the Danube to attend Mass. Martha had discovered this church that was literally in a cave! It was my second time to Mass and by first time attending church in a cave. After Mass, we crossed back into Pest and I had a delicious poppyseed pastry covered in powdered sugar that then covered me in powdered sugar. We returned to hostel where I rejoined Sheena and Christina for a venture back to Buda to experience the famed Turkish baths. All I can say is they are amazing! We went to the Saint Gellert Thermal Baths. There were a variety of pools and we enjoyed each one. We started with the large outdoor swimming pool that turned into a wave pool and then onto the outdoor thermal bath. Next we moved inside to the indoor swimming pool and then the thermal bath. Then we discovered the two sulfur baths and thankfully none of us were allergic to the sulfur. 
The thermal baths speak to the long history of the Turkish involvement in south eastern Europe. Because of its close proximity to the Ottoman Empire and that Hungary was often under Ottoman rule, their bathing rituals were imported to the city. The oldest baths in Budapest date back to the 16th century. We visited one that was built in 1918 but harkens back to an earlier age with the walls of the indoor baths were covered with detailed mosaics. After a relaxing day at the baths we took one of the best meals on the entire trip. The food really reminded me of home. It was elegant and very gourmet but still really affordable because of the hyper-inflation of the Hungarian currency--about 300 florin to 1 euro! After stalking up on pastries, we took one of the last trains home to Vienna. Our trip had come to a close and it was great to experience another culture for the weekend. 
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