Budapest. A city I never thought I'd see, nor did I have much of a desire to see (I ended up here simply to appease Steph). Budapest is much different than the western European cities that we have visited. It is obvious that many cultures influenced the history of Budapest. I, for one, am a fan of the Turkish influence in particular. Today we spent a couple of hours relaxing in Széchenyi Baths, a natural thermal spring in a Turkish bath house which has more than 9 indoor and outdoor pools. It was so great. It was like swimming in a big hot tub. Steam was rising above the water as we paddled around among people that were mostly twice our age, and then some. Budapest was built over 123 thermal springs and the water in the handful of baths across the city is known to be medicinal. I asked Steph if she felt "healed" after we got out of the water. She didn't. We were, however, extremely relaxed, almost to the point that we felt tired and just wanted to go to bed. I have decided against buying a hot tub one day...I'm going to spring for a Turkish Bath. No pun intended.

Budapest was originally two cities, Buda on the west side of the Danube River, and Pest on the east. Yesterday we spent the entire day touring both sides of the city. We started out in Pest on Andrassy út (the Champs Elysees of Budapest), then saw Heroes Square, a monument constructed to honor the anniversary of the Magyar conquest of the area. We crossed over the Danube into Buda and saw the Fisherman's Bastion, a neoGothic arcade built in 19ö5, Matthias Church, the Royal Palace, and viewed Parliament (the 3rd largest in the world) across the river. We ate lunch at a lookout point where we had a nice view of the city and ended the evening with a boat ride on the Danube.