Blood, Baths And Granny's Swimsuits

Hungary

Hungary gets its name from the Huns, nomads who settled briefly in the area under the leadership of the legendary Attila, who eventually headed an empire that stretched from Germany to the Ural River in Russia and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea. Called the Scourge of God by the Romans, he was one of their most feared enemies, and is to this day remembered in Western Europe as a cruel warrior who devastated and plundered anything in his path. For Hungarians and Turks, though, Attila is revered as a hero and described as a great and noble king. Mighty though as he was, his death was quite embarrassing: he drunk heavily on the night of his wedding, suffered a massive nosebleed and choked on his own blood (!) This “nosebleed” was likely due to rupture of the esophageal varices, a major cause of death for chronic drinkers where victims drown in their own blood. I know this sounds like I swallowed a medical encyclopedia, so for laypeople, let’s just call it gross.

The Hun empire crumbled after Attila’s death in the 5th century, and several tribes tried unsuccessfully to secure a foothold in the region. Finally towards the end of the 9th century, Magyar tribes settled in the area and after converting to Christianity, founded the Hungarian state in 1000. It became a powerful kingdom that included present-day Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Transylvania (now in Romania) and Transcarpathia (now in Ukraine). Defeat to the Ottomans in the 16th century led to the breakup of the empire between the ever-present Habsburgs and the Ottomans. The former expelled the latter in the 17th century, but the Austro-Hungarian defeat in WWI saw Hungary losing more than 2/3 of its former territory. The country sided with Nazi Germany in hopes of recovering lost lands only to fall into communist hands post-WWII.

For a good part of the nation’s history, Buda was its capital and Budapest today is the result of the union of three cities that grew together: Buda, west of the Danube, Óbuda to the north and Pest to the east of the Danube. Buda and Pest have very different characters: Buda covers about 1/3 of the capital, and is mostly wooded, hilly and residential; Pest comprises 2/3 of Budapest’s territory, and is flat and commercial. In Pest you’ll find the Parliament, perhaps the most well known building in the city, most hotels, bars, restaurants, and pedestrian streets lined with stores. In Buda, as you’d expect in any ancient city with a hill, you’ll find Buda Castle and right by its side, Fishermen’s Bastion, both a must on any visit to Budapest.

Buda Castle may appear bland at first when you see it from Pest, but just walk into its main courtyard and your jaw will drop. There are amazing sculptures and if you wait until dark, you’ll get a chance to see the castle in one of the best lighting jobs I’ve ever seen: a mix of yellow and white lights that give it depth, enhance contrast and seem to make it larger. Fishermen’s Bastion is a terrace with seven towers, each representing the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin. The terrace will surprise you with its many nooks and cranes, and one detail that can easily go unnoticed – look closely at the columns and you’ll see that each pair has a unique design.

If pigging out is your thing, Hungary is the place to be. At a traditional Hungarian restaurant, you’ll be amazed not only by how exotic but also by how large the dishes are. Fried pork liver, baked goose, beef steaks the size of pizzas, crispy leg of pork, lung in sour sauce, pasta dishes that look like erupting volcanoes. And as I looked at all that, my only thought was “God, I’m gonna starve!” There weren’t many vegetarian options, and the few I could find almost always involved oil, loads of it. Fried aubergine, fried zucchini, deep fried mushrooms, deep fried cheese. I didn’t go hungry, but by the time I left Hungary, I had so many zits that my face looked like the Himalayan chain.

But if it had occurred to me to bring a bikini to my winter vacation, I might have taken care of my zits right there at an authentic Hungarian thermal spa. Thermal baths are part of Hungarian culture, have existed since Roman times, and are said to treat a variety of ailments such as aches, skin diseases, diabetes, rheumatism, circulatory problems and the list goes on. We came across Széchenyi Baths in City Park, which happens to be the largest spa complex in Europe, and offers a variety of services that include aqua aerobics, body toning, massage, manicure, pedicure, infra sauna and even consultation with a bath physician. I was very tempted to take a dip when I saw those blue steaming pools, and the truth is that I could have - there were actually bathing suits for rent. But even if the idea of renting a bathing suit didn’t freak me out, I would never be caught dead in one of those vintage models that would only look hip on my great-great-great-grandmother.