Két Mazsola Egy Rizspudingban

Ket Mazsola Egy Rizspudingban means Two Raisins in a Rice Pudding which is what my friend Joanne and I were today at Gellert Spa in Budapest. In a veritable steamy sea of primarily Hungarian, Italian, and German bodies, J and I were there representin’!

I was inspired to schedule this week in the spa capital of Europe by an IG post I saw months ago. The plan is to check out a different spa every day and treat myself to a facial and massage at some point.

So today we hit Gellert, whose mineral laden springs were noted as early as the 15th century. The opulent foyer, complete with stained glass, classically Greek styled statues, and soaring atrium prompted me to engage J in a quick waltz around the space. The $28 all day pass gives access to 5 indoor and outdoor thermal pools, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, indoor saunas and steam rooms. The Rick Steves clip I’d watched about the place left out a couple of important details. The place is labyrinth like and the little hallways hither and yon deposit you to moist tiled rooms with throngs of people. The locker rooms are co-ed, although there are changing cubicles to duck into. Swim caps are obligatory for the gorgeous indoor swimming pool, which I swear looked like the one where the movie Cocoon was filmed. The outdoor pool was closed for the season and there is limited seating for your post-soak lounging needs.

J and I settled into the 104 degree pool to parboil ourselves, she to relax after a 24+ hour journey (Portland to Amsterdam and then here rerouted through Paris after her flight was cancelled) and me to gawk at all the folks in all their furry to smooth “all together”.

I had a few interesting conversations amid the hubbub. I asked a young man where he’d gotten his tattoo from and he said Wisconsin. Turns out he is the drummer for the band Deeper which is opening for Depeche Mode here tomorrow. I explained IN ITALIAN (!) that I’m celebrating my birthday for a full year. The women couldn’t believe that I’m almost 60, so I taught them the saying “Black don’t crack” (Nero, non rompersi) I also learned a thing afterwards— hair dryers can also be used for the fuzz on one’s legs, back and shoulders. Gellert’s massage schedule was full so J couldn’t get her much needed treatment, but we have found a place to check out tomorrow. It is Easter week, so places are going to be busier than usual, so we’re going to patronize less popular places. One place we had on our list was Lukacs Spa, more popular with locals. However, according to the website the toilets and heating elements are broken, so we’ll skip it.

J gives it a 4/5 because it was crowded and overpriced.

Me gives it a 3.5/ minus points for not enough places to sit and relax after soaking