Enough talking about architecture… I feel like I am losing followers! Let’s try to find a topic that attracts more people… like something… naked… and wet! Haha!
Bath culture is something that I have always loved during my travels! So if a country has such a culture, I love experimenting it for sure. That’s how I landed in several hammams in Istanbul, getting massaged (or better said, tortured) by some 80 year old hairy fat turkish men! Or having a similar experience in Morocco, although the masseur might have been younger… maybe 60! Haha! My Russian experience in a banya in Moscow was also quite memorable, enjoying naked time with Russians spanking each other with birch branches in the center of the sauna, wearing cute felt hats and drinking liters of vodka after each sauna session! Relaxing naked in a Japanese onsen after a tiring day was less intense, although it was always quite funny to feel observed by the Japanese men who had obviously never seen a hairy beauty like me before! Haha! Getting into a bath and feeling an electrical discharge was less relaxing. They indeed have that in Japanese sentos (public baths) and it is an unforgettable experience when you don’t expect it and feel the current through your body! Anybody who has tried one of these electrical workout torture machines before can imagine what I am talking about!
So it was obvious that I would test as many baths as possible in Budapest! It was actually what I was the most excited about being there in February. I cannot imagine any better way to end up a tiring walking day than enjoying some warm baths in healing water, and even better when the sun is shining over the outdoor pool!
I already visited many of the most famous baths during my last visit, but still had a few left that I wanted to explore and some favorite that I wanted to repeat.
Budapest has many different thermal water springs, in different areas of the city, but most of them are along the Danube on the Buda side. The waters have all a different composition, but if you read what they are good for, they can basically cure all diseases! During my 5 days in Budapest, I visited 3 different baths, and also walked by a few other ones. I want to share a few pictures with you, because their architecture (yes, again architecture!) is quite stunning!
Szechenyi baths
There are the biggest baths in the city, built in a 1900 neo-baroque style. When I was there a few years ago, I almost got lost in the succession of rooms with different pools.
Gellert baths
These are the baths attached to Hotel Gellert that are famous for the Art Nouveau architecture. Here a picture of the entrance that I took before climbing up Gellert hill.
Lukacs baths
These were the first baths I tested on my second day in the city. They are also from the 19th century but well renovated in some areas. Overall, I enjoyed it, but the layout of the building was very confusing, so that you constantly walk up and down and need to explore a lot. It was quite fun though to walk around and still discover new areas after some hours there.
Kiraly baths
Another premiere for me. The Kiraly baths are one of 2 remaining Ottomans baths! The Ottomans/Turks indeed controlled this area in the 16th century and built their baths! The bath building from Kiraly is from this time, and it looks like they haven’t done much with the building ever since! It feels very old and run down, but in a nice way (they will renovate it soon, I heard). The adjacent locker building is a 19th century extension.
Like in a typical Turkish bath, you have a main circular pool in a dome room, and some steam baths and other pools with different water temperatures around. I obviously couldn’t take pictures but I’d definitely advise anybody to go there if you like authentic places and don’t care about a broken rusty shower head.
Rudas baths
These are the second ottoman style baths remaining, and my favorites! It is similar to Kiraly baths, but the architecture is richer. The dome room has huge stone pillars that look like they could collapse anytime, and the dome itself has some colored stained glass holes. During daytime, you have great colorful sun rays lightening the main pool. You have 4 smaller pools in each corner of the room with different water temperatures, and some sauna and steam rooms as well!
What makes this place really special is the atmosphere… because you really feel like back in the 16th century. Rudas is the only bath in Budapest which kept the traditional male/female segregation. All the baths were segregated until their renovation in the 2000s. Now they are mixed which makes it sometimes hard to understand the buildings. All the 19th century baths were built in a symmetric way with similar facilities for men and women. Now, since you have access to all the areas, you sometimes wonder why they have so many identical pools and have too many options. For the ottoman baths like Rudas and Kiraly, whose architecture doesn’t allow a gender separation, they used to have men and women days, which they kept at Rudas (except for the weekends which are mixed). So… what makes men day so special at Rudas baths? Hungarian are quite prude and even in saunas, you are required to wear a swimming suit (at least at the other baths I went to). Here the sauna sign of Lukacs baths.
But at Rudas on men’s days, they are still prude so no nudity is allowed, but they encourage the use of a traditional “swimming suit” that they give you when you enter. Calling that a swimming suit is quite exaggerated, because it is nothing more than a white apron that you tie around your waist. Swimming suits are also tolerated but only a few American tourists wear them instead of the local garment! Since I want to increase my audience here, I obviously need to share a picture of this wonderful piece!
And I guess you now all got the irony of this cloth invented by the prude Hungarians to avoid showing it all! First, it only covers the genitals, so you basically show your ass to whoever wants to see it! (except of course for the brave American tourists who decided to wear this thing, but took 2… one for each side!!!)
But even better… What happens with thin white cotton when it gets wet? Yes, you got it! Rudas baths organizes on men’s days the world’s biggest wet penis apron contest! Haha! Ironically, this apron which is supposed to hide your junk shows it even more than if you were naked! Not talking about its use as a sauna towel… guys would just slide it around their waist to sit on it! I am sorry I couldn’t take pictures for you of the winners of the contests “best pubic hair” and “pinkest penis under the wet white fabric”, but I am sure your imagination is good enough to paint the scene…
Less funny note… and unfortunately confirming some cliches one might have about current Hungary. On the main door of the baths, there is a huge poster with some security camera pictures of guys and a text explaining that these guys didn’t respect the baths rules and are on the black list! I guess they might have participated in the white apron lifting contest, but is that a reason to publish their face and shame them like that!? Quite sad procedure…
Free like a bear 