It was recommended that we ride the tram along the river to see the city. Those who recommended it to us must not have known that half of the ride was closed due to construction. It was a pretty uneventful ride, and we both wished we had skipped it. By the time we doubled back to get tickets (from the nearest metro station) and got on the tram one way, circled back around, and then stopped… we both looked at each other like, “Seriously?” and got off to see the memorial along the Danube to those who were shot by the ArrowCross militiamen between 1944 and 1945. Then we made our way across town to Heroes’ Square and The Szechenyi Bath House.
En route to the tram, I stopped in St. Stephen’s Basilica to check out the interior. We had been outside of the church several times, but never in. It’s huge. There’s a lot of history behind the church, mostly (obviously) revolving around St. Stephen himself. I enjoyed sitting, watching others visit the church, and I took a picture for Andrew for a little game we sometimes play called “Korean or Not?” I’ve played various versions of this game before, “Hot or Not?” (Right, Shannon?) and “Art Student or Not?” when I was in art school, of course… But now, we play “Korean or Not?” judging clothing styles (any couples outfit is a dead giveaway) mostly. Girls wearing heels in Korea for absolutely everything wasn’t surprising, but I’m continually impressed when I see tourists wearing them knowing that they’re out and about all. day. long. in them. I had to chuckle to myself when the girl below instinctively put her sunglasses on for a picture inside a church, in front of the altar. Ha! Silly tourists and their picture-taking ways.
You can probably tell I’ve become increasingly amused watching my fellow tourists take pictures of themselves in front of church altars, in national parks, or in front of world monuments… On the flip side, I’ve become really appalled at what lengths some tourists will go to take a picture. Here, at this memorial to those killed by the ArrowCross party, some tourists were putting their feet inside the shoes and photographing themselves. I wanted to ask if they knew what they were doing, but walked away before I accidentally pushed one of them into the Danube instead.
The walk to Heroes’ Square and Szechenyi Baths was a bit of a long one, and we had to take a break and sit for a minute to give my bum heel a rest… but then slipping into the heated outdoor pool was worth the hike. I don’t think I’d consider this bath house to be that in the traditional Turkish style. It felt more like a public heated pool, with lots of indoor pools with it. I’m obviously very biased towards Korean bath houses where I’m in my birthday suit while an older Korean woman gets too close for others’ comfort to scrub me down… But I enjoyed the bath house in Istanbul, and I’ve enjoyed another bath house in Budapest before, that was in line with more of the traditional Turkish style.
We stayed outdoors, alternating between the hot and cold baths perhaps a bit too long, unaware of the extent of indoor baths there were. By the time we went indoors, we were both pretty pruney, so we didn’t stay long. Also, some of the baths had an unfortunate greenish/yellowish glow that made us both a little uncomfortable. I’m sure it was just the lighting, but as soon as Andrew cracked a joke about it, I wasn’t as keen on sitting in the pool. There were a few bluish hued pools that we skipped over to before we headed out.
