Surprise, smiles and laughter

Thursday, August 22nd, 2019 

Budapest, Hungary 

It’s 10am CES and I am so happy for a day to sleep in. We quickly get ready for breakfast and Sarah, Laura, and I are sitting down to eat by 10:30am. We are at an outdoor cafe in the park across from our hotel. We are nestled in between two very narrow streets and watch as the stores and cafes open up for the day. I am so charmed by this neighborhood and feel like we are in a scene in a Disney movie. The menu is small, and only has a few variations of a breakfast quesadilla. I order one and think this can not be the same kind of quesadilla that we would receive in Los Angeles, but it turns out that it is. It’s also just as delicious.

After we finish breakfast we go back to the hotel to get ready for a day at the spa. Today we are going to the Szechenyi Baths. It takes Sarah nearly 5 whole minutes to convince me that there will be regular-sized lockers there, and finally I agree to bring a small backpack. 

When we arrive at Szechenyi, it appears to be a big blob of pools and hot tubs and we take a full lap around the facility to get orientated. Basically, there is an outdoor area with 3 large swimming pools, which are surrounded by 2 curved buildings. One of which houses the locker rooms and 2 cafes and the other one, which houses a long line of hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, and cold plunges. Laura suggests that we get into every hot tub and we agree that’s a good idea. 

We spend the next 2 hours hopping in and out of a variety of spa facilities. At one point we see a sign with an arrow to a “beer spa”, we decide to follow the arrow only to find another sign with another arrow. Five signs later, we arrive at a small room, with 2 wooden tubs, each filled with beer and a beer tap within reaching distance from both. A sign says that we can pay for 30 minutes in the beer tub and drink unlimited beer from the tap during that time. This sounds amazing, but we ultimately decline since we have big dinner planned and do not want to ruin it. 

Once we are done exploring all available hot tubs, we order a glass of wine and some fruit. There is stadium-style bench seating on the second floor of the cafe, which overlooks the entire facility. We sit there and discuss the day. My favorite part was watching all of the other tourists jump into the cold plunges. It doesn’t matter what country they were from, everyone made the same surprised face, immediately followed by a smile and laughter. 

After the spa, we head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. It takes a while for all 3 of us to shower, dry our hair and finish getting ready. Honestly, though, we are grateful for the downtime. Once everyone is ready we start to meander to the restaurant. It’s a 20-minute walk, but we have an hour to kill. We stop at a gift store so that Laura can buy some souvenirs for her coworkers. I spend some time shopping as well and end up buying a T-shirt for myself. 

We end up arriving 10 minutes early at Costes Downtown. We are immediately greeted by a very friendly hostess and shown to the chef’s table. I had booked this reservation nearly 6 months ago and am so excited to see what will happen next. 

The chef comes out to greet us and then takes us on a tour of the kitchen. Next, he introduces us to his sommelier, who takes us into the wine cellar. He pours us each a small glass of champagne and serves a small bite to complement it. He gives a talk on the greatness of Hungary wine and we all smile and nod politely. After a few pictures, we are walked back to our table to begin the 5-course tasting menu. 

We are presented with plate after plate of teeny tiny food, and end up with 10 different tastings and 3 full glasses of wine when all is said and done. We are not sure how this adds up to a 5-course meal, but also do not want to look a gift horse in the mouth. By the time dinner is over, we are tired and full. But tonight is our last night in Budapest and we have to see the ruin bars. 

I use my phone GPS to direct the group to Szimpla Kert, which is the oldest and best-known ruin bar. As we get closer to our destination, we are joined by hoards of both locals and tourists going to the same area. I am still carrying my plastic bag from the souvenir shop and am starting to feel a little self-conscience. 

We enter into a large, open courtyard with little bars lining the perimeter. The entire place is covered in found items and it looks like a punked-out version of TGI Fridays. We stand in line for 10 whole minutes in an attempt to order a cocktail. Eventually, we give up our spot in line for another, less crowded bar. We quickly learn this bar only serves wine and we just go with it. Hungarian sparkly it is! 

The wine is terrible, there is nowhere to sit and it’s becoming increasingly loud and difficult to hear each other speak. After the first round, we decide to go back to the neighborhood by our hotel. We eventually wander into a bar called Red Ruin, which is just across the street from the hotel. It’s very metal-punk and I immediately regret ordering a drink that comes with ice. I try to drink my cocktail before the ice melts, but it’s strong and I fail. Around midnight they close the outdoor seating area but we are not ready to call it a night yet. 

Laura suggests we buy beer from a corner store and walk to the bridge. Sure, I think this is a good idea. We spend the rest of the night standing over the Danube River, exactly halfway in between Buda and Pest. We take a million pictures of the lit-up town and eventually we call it a night. Tomorrow Laura will return back to the US and Sarah and I will head to Vienna.