Thermal baths, House of Terror, and Elvis Presley Park

Phillip and I are still in Budapest, we leave for Romania tomorrow. It rained off and on yesterday and almost continuously today. Not heavy, but enough to need an umbrella. Two collapsible umbrellas are items I routinely pack for our travels. Yesterday morning (Sunday), we visited the House of Terror, dedicated to remembrances of the horror of the Nazi control, followed by the even more comprehensive terror of the Soviet control of Hungary from 1945 to 1989.

line for entrance, about 20 minute wait

The museum had been the actual headquarters of the secret police. Our tour took us to the basement where political prisoners were interrogated and beaten. The remainder of the three-story building had exhibits of life under the Soviet control.

Wall of victims, only location where pictures were allowed

It was a decent museum; however, the corridors were narrow and they allowed tour groups. The majority of the visitors, us included, had to work their way around groups of 15 or so people blocking the entire walkway. Our disdain for organized tours is increasing with each museum and castle visit. Our Third Reich Tour in Munich was open air and our guide made sure we were out of the way of regular folks on the streets. The Hospital in the Rock tour was only the facility's tour groups, not individuals.

Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest City Park 

After the House of Terror, we walked to City Park, about 2 km north. Heroes Square, a lake, a castle, and the Szecheny Baths are at this park. Vajdahunyad Castle isn't a real castle. It was built in 1918 for some national celebration and currently houses the Agricultural Museum. We walked around the park and the lake and found the thermal bath building that we planned to visit on Monday.

front of Szechenyi Thermal Baths (it's a large building
with three huge pools in the center courtyard)

Because of the rain, I scrapped my plan to go to Momento Park, an outdoor venue and the location where they dumped all the Soviet statues in 1989. I saw "Elvis Presley Park" on the map, but it wasn't mentioned in any tour information. I decided to visit it anyway. I understand why it's not on any tours, it's just a neighborhood park. Why is it called "Elvis Presley Park? " In 1957, Elvis sang "Peace in the Valley" on the Ed Sullivan Show and then solicited donations for victims of the 1956 (unsuccessful) Hungarian uprising against the Soviets. Millions were raised and the Hungarians were grateful and later named a park after Elvis.

The only thing, except two park benches, in the park

Because of the weather, we needed something to fill the late afternoon, so we went to the casino! When Phillip doubled his money, (10,000 Hft to 20,000 Hft, but that's $33 to $66), we left and went to dinner paid for with his winnings. Good dinner at a nearby small restaurant (Google didn't help with this one, we just walked until one looked good).

Phillip's chicken paprika with homemade noodles 

Pat's pork, seasoned with.... paprika! Really loved the cabbage salad

It was still not late, so after dinner we returned to the casino. When we left, I had turned my 10,000 into 15,000! On the slots, I was generally betting 50 Hft, and feeling like I was betting a lot, but it really was just 18 cents per push of the slot machine button.

Our second set of casino cards (already have set from Bratislava casino)

Today, the rain is more steady. We packed up our bathing suits at about 10 am and headed on the Metro to Szecheny Baths. The main door of the bathhouse is about 100 feet from the subway exit. We really shouldn't have worried about getting wet before the baths. We paid our fee for entry and lockers, followed the directions for the changing room and lockers and within 10 minutes were in the thermal baths. This bathhouse, one of about 9 in Budapest, has 15 indoor thermal pools and three outdoor thermal pools. It is the largest medicinal bath in Europe and is supplied by two thermal springs.

an indoor thermal pool

We didn't go into any of the cooler (less than 34 degrees C) thermal pools. The ones we went into were 34 and 36 degrees C (93 F - 97 F). We went into one inside bath then we went outside. When we first arrived and went outside the air temperature was 18 C (64 F) and it was raining cold rain pellets. It was so much fun to get into that 97 F pool!

First outdoor thermal pool we entered, 36 C

The water in the picture of the first thermal pool looks greenish, but that's the clouds/camera/lack of sun. It really was blue. And, the water contains therapeutic minerals. The third outdoor thermal pool (the 2nd had swimming lanes and serious swimmers) had jet features, so Phillip used them as therapy for his heel (it's been bothering him a bit). He said it worked to make it less painful.

third pool, with jets on the other side. Find Phillip?

And he's peeking thru the fence like the big kid he can be

Bathing suits: required, swim caps: not required now

Tomorrow morning, we fly to Bucharest then take some form of transportation north to Brasov. This is another that I could not pre-purchase because of website language issues. Hopefully, tomorrow evening we'll be in the Transylvania Mountain region of Romania!