Night location: Budapest

An early start to our day as we caught the 8:12am train from Vienna to Budapest. Upon arrival we were immediately confronted by a plague of illegal taxi drivers wishing to 'help' us with our bags and guide us to their vehicle so that they could charge exorbitant prices due to their lack of a meter. Fortunately we were not perturbed due to our previous experience in 2011 at Budapest airport and therefore made our way to the metro.

Although we were early, our hotel allowed us to check in and we were lead to our palatial room with its own hallway! It seems that each hotel in this trip has bettered the previous one.

Our first stop after leaving the hotel was the Terror House Museum. To give us strength for this we found an excellent cafe for lunch. Unfortunately our order for a salad sandwich was lost in translation and so we ended up eating a lettuce baguette. Delicious!

The Terror House Museum was witness to two shameful and tragic periods in Hungary's twentieth century history. In 1944 the building was the party headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis known as 'The Arrow Cross'. Then between 1945 and 1956 the notorious communist terror organisations took up residence there. After purchasing our tickets we were told to commence the exhibition on the second floor. This involved catching a lift up beside a wall covered with the embossed faces of victims from this period. The hollowed atrium of the building looked down on a large armoured tank and the surrounding wall was covered in faces. A truly harrowing start to our visit.

The exhibition then proceeded through two levels of the building and was similar to the Schindler's Factory Museum in that it was designed to be both informative and experiential. A particularly evocative display was in an expansive room as the floor was a large map of the Soviet Union. Some of the many Soviet Gulags were pinpointed with conical display units filled with sparse items from Hungarian prisoners. On the walls were screens that varied between the display and sound of being in a fast moving train and first hand accounts of life in these camps. One of the overwhelming memories taken from this Museum was the interchangeable nature of the two regimes. It seemed clear that the Hungarian people have suffered a sustained loss to their population. Some of the Jewish population who remarkably survived in the death camps were then rounded up once more by the Soviets.

After finishing on the first floor we were then ushered into a different lift that slowly descended to the basement. In the time it took to go down one floor we were shown a video about the torture and executions that took place under ground level. The basement was dark and awful. Recreated cells lined two rows that demonstrated the various forms of torture and interrogation. We both felt chilled and uneasy in this place as it demonstrated the cruel nature of the prison guards and the leaders of these regimes.

While this museum was one of the best that we have ever been to, it was a relief to leave. Our second and final stop for the day was the Szechenyi Baths that we had previously visited and loved in October 2011. Returning in the Spring was vastly different as tulip garden beds gave the whole scene a sense of grandeur. Inside, we managed to avoid the second tourist trap of the day where some 'helpful' people offered us massage treatments for the very reasonable price of approximately $600. Furthermore, if we paid on credit card, we could be charged in AUD without any commission! While we recognised that this was indeed a 'bargain,' we declined and bought normal tickets. It was interesting to observe that there had been no improvement in the instructional signage around the complex, but we did not get as lost as in our previous visit. We spent time in pools of varying temperatures as well as hopping in and out of steam and dry saunas. Unfortunately, the infamous Althea Halliday whirlpool was out of action, with the pool drained for some form of maintenance. We have also decided that it is a nicer experience in Winter as today was surprisingly warm.

On our way back to the hotel we opted for an early dinner. The street our hotel is on has numerous eateries including a casual Mexican fast food eatery where we dined. Let's just say that the cost of our meal is balancing out our fine dining experience in Vienna!