Rick Steves Europe: Prague & Budapest
This day started with a group tour of the State Opera House, right at the end of our hotel’s street. The rich interior and the complex designs in the floors, walls, and ceilings, were amazing. We all took a break at the Alexandra bookstore for coffee, cake, and browsing. Heroes’ Square was next, with its impressive statues of the Magyars, erected in 1896 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of their arrival. Mónika and Jana went with us to the iconic Széchenyi Baths and gave instructions on entry to anybody interested before leaving us for the afternoon. We joined a few members of the group in the baths, getting lockers and changing cabins before trying out the sauna and the various pools for an hour.
On our own, we went through the House of Terror Museum on Andrássy Avenue, learning about the sobering history of this building, once the headquarters for Nazi police, and then for the Soviets, and the site of numerous executions for political prisoners. There were English leaflets in each room, but we were glad to have our Rick Steves Budapest book with us, as the explanations there were much clearer. Our group’s farewell dinner was held at VakVarjú restaurant, and there were many toasts, the exchange of e-mail addresses and gifts, and lots of group pictures. Several people spoke, including Jana, to share what had been meaningful for them on this tour, and we felt that it was a privilege to have met these people and shared such an experience with them. We joined a few fellow members in a post-dinner trip to the enormous ferris wheel in a nearby park - a slightly scary ride with a beautiful view!
For Day 10,
Historical Note
Andrássy Avenue is Budapest’s grand boulevard, designed for the city’s millennial celebrations of 1896, and modeled after the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The Millennium Underground, running beneath the Avenue, was the first subway to be built in continental Europe.
Planning Tip from Today
If you’re going to visit one of the many thermal baths on your own, you can look up the name on Google.com and see a chart for hourly traffic. That way, you can plan to go at a less-crowded time.