Day
7
This was our last full day of the trip. Our first activity was a tour of the Opera House, that was literally next to the hotel. While it was an early tour before they opened to the public, we didn't have to commute anywhere. The Opera House was beautiful and interesting to reflect on how art transforms across all cultures.
We then met Monika for a SPOILER and then went up the hill to Buda. It was a beautiful morning enjoying so many views. We said our farewells to Monika enjoying a candy of her childhood and were off for some free-time. We had been eagerly awaiting baths day, and were so surprised to find out no one else in the group wanted to go! As everyone split up, we found our way back to the Great Market Hall for a lunch from the upstairs vendors. It was so amazing, but probably not the best idea before going to put on swimsuits!
We headed back to the room to gather our suits and headed to "Mexico" on the subway. There is a stop just outside of the Szechenyi baths and knowing it was a big yellow building we were able to find the entrance quickly. We had read many reviews of the baths on Rick's Travel Forums and Trip Advisor and have been to many baths before so we felt we had a good understanding of the process. We made one mistake, but it was overall a seamless process and we were outside in no time waist deep in warm water. We really enjoyed the fun side with a whirlpool rapids that we still don't understand how it works, but laughed the entire time we were in it. After enjoying the baths, we changed and then ordered a couple of beers and watched the guards yell at people who were not wearing swim caps in the lap pool.
We found enough energy to leave, wanting to get back to the room to shower and pack a bit before our farewell dinner. We had a lovely three course meal at VakVarjú Restaurant. As Katka wished us well with our SPOLIER it was hard not to get a little teary eyed that it was over so fast. Many people in our group were extending their stay or travelling to other parts of Europe and while we were extremely jealous, we knew it was time for us to say our goodbyes.
Day
8
The last day started extra early with a morning flight home. Katka had requested breakfast to go bags for us since the breakfast room was not open before we had to depart. She had also arranged car service for us to get to the airport. We had a goofy flight time based on the rest of The Group, but she worked with everyone earlier in the week to see who could ride together to help reduce the expense. Even with just the two of us, it was only about $30.
It takes lots of hours to fly home, but with the mass amount of entertainment and food on international flights, the time seemed to fly by.
What we learned Always too much to see at opera houses in Europe The fun side of the baths are SO fun It's small world - ran into a couple we met at the Prague Food Tour at the baths Always eat local - upstairs at the Great Market Hall Farewells are always sad
What we learned On the flight from Zurich to O'hare, you can watch The Zookeepers Wife, Lost World of Z, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and Pretty Woman landing just as Richard Gere is climbing the stairs to whisk Julia Roberts away