Post from Tim:
Like most of my days in Budapest, I walked all over town and felt in need of a little treat. What better place to go than the Szechenyi Medicinal Baths for a little dip in the city's famous thermal pools?
A short walk later, a cashier handed me a token and I entered through a turnstile. A gruff staffer in white pointed the way toward the men's locker room. I changed, an assistant secured my locker with a key, and I entered the maze of rooms.
The first room in the spa gave me an instant feel of what an ancient Roman bath looked like, with columns holding archways, carved marble ornamentation, and three pools of thermal hot water inviting me for a swim. I try two of them, one which was warmer than the other at a nice 100 degrees (38 C). The jet behind my back did a great job of knocking the accrued pains of travel from my sore back, but my curiosity grew after 15 minutes and I left the pool to have a look around.
The center of the large facility opened into an outside courtyard, surrounded by ochre walls and white archways. A semi-circular thermal pool sat adjacent to a square lap pool. Fountains sprayed bathers with hot water. A few pairs of half submerged men played chess on boards built into the poolside, while a much larger group watched on with unbreakable attention. Their deep tans suggested that they played here everyday. I wondered if their tans stopped at the water's level.
I walked back inside, dipping in and out of pools of various temperatures. Each room held a new surprise. The sauna opened into two rooms separated by a door. After a few minutes in the cooler room getting used to the temperature, I walked into the inner room and got hit with a blast of heat, like I had just stuck my face into a hot oven . I braved the whoosh of hot air in my face and read the thermometer on the wall, which read a blazing 150 degrees (65 C). Sweat poured from my body like someone was holding a garden hose above my head. After I couldn't take anymore, I jumped back into the 100 degree pool - to cool off.
I returned back to my hostel feeling great and ready to walk some more, which I did, photographing the magic of Budapest at night until 2 AM.
A short walk later, a cashier handed me a token and I entered through a turnstile. A gruff staffer in white pointed the way toward the men's locker room. I changed, an assistant secured my locker with a key, and I entered the maze of rooms.
The first room in the spa gave me an instant feel of what an ancient Roman bath looked like, with columns holding archways, carved marble ornamentation, and three pools of thermal hot water inviting me for a swim. I try two of them, one which was warmer than the other at a nice 100 degrees (38 C). The jet behind my back did a great job of knocking the accrued pains of travel from my sore back, but my curiosity grew after 15 minutes and I left the pool to have a look around.
The center of the large facility opened into an outside courtyard, surrounded by ochre walls and white archways. A semi-circular thermal pool sat adjacent to a square lap pool. Fountains sprayed bathers with hot water. A few pairs of half submerged men played chess on boards built into the poolside, while a much larger group watched on with unbreakable attention. Their deep tans suggested that they played here everyday. I wondered if their tans stopped at the water's level.
I walked back inside, dipping in and out of pools of various temperatures. Each room held a new surprise. The sauna opened into two rooms separated by a door. After a few minutes in the cooler room getting used to the temperature, I walked into the inner room and got hit with a blast of heat, like I had just stuck my face into a hot oven . I braved the whoosh of hot air in my face and read the thermometer on the wall, which read a blazing 150 degrees (65 C). Sweat poured from my body like someone was holding a garden hose above my head. After I couldn't take anymore, I jumped back into the 100 degree pool - to cool off.
I returned back to my hostel feeling great and ready to walk some more, which I did, photographing the magic of Budapest at night until 2 AM.
Photos From This Location
