Alex E. Proimos_Szechenyi baths_3195
Photo courtesy of Alex E. Proimos

The day the river cruise ended in Budapest, my husband and I stopped by a coffee shop and asked the man at the counter what he would do if he had just one afternoon in the city. “Go to Szechenyi baths!” he said with a big, mysterious smile. After a little research, we learned that he was talking about the public thermal baths located inside the City Park near Heroes Square. Once we got there, we found hundreds of locals, stripped to their Speedos and bikinis, enjoying 15 different pools, both indoors and outdoors with multiple fountains. We cozied up beside a particularly hairy Hungarian who was getting his back massaged by an outpouring fountain. “Feels good, very good,” he said with a thick accent. I never knew I’d enjoy getting (half) naked with strangers so much.

–Story by Jennica Peterson, WT Photo Blog Editor, The Romantic Danube

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