It was our last day in Budapest and it was raining pretty hard, so we dawdled and came up with a rainy day plan which began with taking the metro ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090781 to the house of terror ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090782 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090783 to see the people who had been terrorized by the Nazis and then the Russians (not a lot of sympathy for the communist days here). ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090784 But miraculously, it wasn't raining at this point, so we decided to walk on along Andrassy Ut. and paused for the obligatory phone booth picture ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090785 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090786 and then marched on past this statue which would have significance later in our walk. For now, it just looked nice ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090787 as did the road going ahead ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090788 and we saw a sign for the baths that we intended to get to. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090789 We were a little confused and so when Heores Square appeared in the distance, we didn't realize we were there and thought that this was the location of the lesser heroes ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090790 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090791 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090792 but Suzanne consulted the map ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090793 as we saw Cafe Kara ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090794 and we assumed we had some blocks to walk past this locale to get to the real Heroes Square ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090795 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090796 so we took a photo of the ice cream cone ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090797 and then took some photos of the monument ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090798 and the heroes left ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090799 with this memorial ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090800 and the heroes right ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090801 with the caption for the memorial which recognizes our heroes. For a country that has lost so many wars, we were impressed by the number of heroes Hungary claims. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090802 We walked on to what we though was Embassy Row but was in reality City Park ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090803 and observed an art installation (though because of our orientation we wondered if this was a magical way of storing row boats for rent) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090804 and then a museum (which we incorrectly identified) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090805 and another piece of the art installation ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090806 as we observed the very wet sidewalk and wondered if more rains would fall ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090807 but when we passed this memorial of unknown purpose ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090808 we suddenly found ourselves in front of Szechenyi Baths ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090809 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090810 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090811 and after a moments hesitation, we walked around the building and past the circus (which seems to be an amusement park) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090812 to the back entrance as recommended by Rick Steves. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090813 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090814 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090815 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090816 We purchased what Rick told us to do and as he suggested, we did a lap of the baths taking photos before settling in. We began with an overview of the outdoor pools ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090817 and the snack bar ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090818 and back to the edge of the soaking pool (at a very comfortable temperature) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090819 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090820 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090821 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090822 checked out the map of the grounds ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090823 and followed the sauna sign ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090824 to the room where the hot pools were ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090825 with the chemical composition given ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090826 and we observed one of the many pools at high temperatures ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090827 and the sauna at ridiculously high temperatures ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090828 as we passed by the hot pool ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090829 and headed back to the soaking pool ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090830 recording its depth ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090831 and its chess players ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090832 and seeing the shower rule ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090833 before moving to the lap pool which was kept at a lower temperature (26-28 (high 70's Fahrenheit)) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090834 but had a nice sculpture ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090835 as we made our way to the fun pool which was warmer ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090836 and had a current which sent people around in circles in the middle of the pool ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090837 and a fountain. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090838 We then identified the showers ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090839 admired the fountain ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090840 recorded the temperature of the fun pool (30-34 summer-winter (86-92 F) and put the camera in our cabin (of which more later). ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090841 After several hours of soaking in various arrangements, I decided that I needed more photos (and couldn't remember which I had taken) so I came back to the chess game ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090842 and a mellow Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090843 and the soaking pool ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090844 before doing the chess games in earnest (as though you, gentle viewer, can make the next move) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090845 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090846 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090847 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090848 and back to Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090849 and the statues at the main building, ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090850 the fountains which give the feeling of a massage ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090851 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090852 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090853 the shower ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090854 and Suzanne taking it all in ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090855 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090856 before taking these pictures of me. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090857 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090858 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090859 After a few more panoramic pictures ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090860 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090861 and a photo of this man's bodily decorations ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090862 we went back to our cabin to record its size and change. I figure it was 1 meter square which made it a challenge for both of us to dress at the same time ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090863 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090864 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090865 but we liked its number and really enjoyed the baths -- perfect way to spend the last day of a vacation. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090866

Once outside, we ran into the zoo entrance which had a lot of elephants; I wonder if there were any inside ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090867 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090868 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090869 and went past these lovely gardens ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090870 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090871 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090872 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090873 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090874 before going to the Antique cafe ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090875 for some beer ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090876 a cabbage roll that was like a knish ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090877 and a sandwich. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090878 I decided it was necessary to take a cross section of the cabbage knish and so here it is. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090879

At this point, we knew where we were and that we had already seen Heroes Square and so we decided to walk until the rains came (if ever) and hit the square of 4 statues (one was displayed above) which was described as the heroes who didn't quite make it to Heroes Square. Indeed, two of the originals who were going to be here were elevated to positions at Heroes Square. Since we hadn't done full justice to those at Heroes Square (thinking that they were the second team, we decided to pay attention to the scrubs and here they are ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090880 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090881 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090882 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090883 along with this elegant building which seemed to be abandoned (perhaps fitting company for faux heroes). ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090884 Walking further along, we came into this model of the Iron Curtain describing its horribleness ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090885 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090886 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090887 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090888 and then walked on to a sidewalk marking of something Schubert ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090889 and statues of Franz Liszt ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090890 and Franz Erkel at the Opera House ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090891 before we hit this statue which couldn't be explained ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090892 before we were ready to walk across the bridge back to Buda where we were living. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090893 Along the way, we captured wonderful views of the Danube in both directions ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090894 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090895 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090896 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090897 and once across the bridge, we celebrated monuments in the hills (Buda being hilly, Pest being flat, an odd confluence) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090898 focusing in on the hero ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090899 and his waterfall. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090900 On the way to the restaurant, we saw this marker that must have war significance by the date ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090901 and then we were at the restaurant which had multiple seating areas ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090902 and so when we reached the patio, I had a shot of Unicum ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090903 and we ordered our cold soups -- apple for me ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090904 and cucumber for Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090905 from this menu ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090906 and then I had a second shot of Unicum (an odd thought pattern to say the least) ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090907 and recorded the name of the restaurant ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090908 and the statue of the girl next to it ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090909 as Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090910 and I ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090911 got ready for veal paprikash ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090912 and eggplant risotto ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090913 to go with our bread. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090914 By dessert, it was colder and so we went inside, where Suzanne took photos of me sans flash ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090915 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090916 and then with flash ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090917 ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090918 which convinced me to use the flash to capture her with the Tokaji dessert wine ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090919 as our chocolate cake arrived ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090920 and then the bill which let us know our vacation in Budapest was over. ../../../Sabbat/2011/07.03-21.11Europe2011/07.17-21.11Hungary//P1090921