Like many cities, Budapest has a highlight real – the things you really should see or do as a tourist. This list includes Buda Castle, the Chain Bridge, the Parliament Buildings, eating Langos and Goulash and attending one of the many Thermal Baths. This last one was still lingering on our list. We read many mixed reviews online about how welcome the kids may or may not be at the baths (think big heated swimming pools) since the baths are treated as more of a relaxation spa then a splash around, jump in sort of pool. We checked with the local tourism office who assured us the kids would be granted entry and decided to give it a shot.
We opted to go to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath (the largest and probably most visited by tourists) based on the reviews that it was likely a bit more family friendly. Sure enough when we arrived, we were treated like every other paying customer and when we asked if there were any special rules regarding the children, were met with blank stares, followed by an answer akin to – don’t let you children drown and don’t let them overheat… excellent advice, we can handle this. I’m pleased to report that the lifeguards didn’t blow their whistles at us during our visit for being too rowdy (other people can’t report the same).
After a couple hours at the baths, it was time for us to make our way back to our apartment. We told the kids we would walk to the bath but take the subway home – sort of a deal-making strategy to get us all moving around a bit more). On our walk to the baths, we noticed very heavy police presence all along Andrássy Avenue (one of the main thoroughfares in Budapest). Everyone around seemed to be carrying on as if all was normal so we decided that whatever it was probably wouldn’t be an issue for law-abiding polite Canadians like ourselves.
When we left the baths, the roads, walkways and subway at the park were now closed. We spoke with some police officers who informed us the whole area would be closed soon, but no exact timing or explanation was available. They allowed us to cross the park to get back to the main roads. We walked to the next station (top of Andrássy Ave) only to learn the entire street and subway were indeed closed – this little inconvenience seemed to be growing! Fortunately, we had walked here so the walk back was doable and we always carry the traveler’s best friend – hooray for offline google maps! We later learned the road closures were the result of an official state visit by President Erdoğan of Turkey and several large protests were planned around this area (the Turkish embassy is on this road). This prompted a lot of discussion with the kids about politics, protests, security and police services; rather complicated stuff but Lauren and Owen seemed far more interested to hear about it when they could relate it to what they were seeing, and the fact they would have to walk instead of ride the subway.
We made our way back to our apartment using side streets and as we walked, hunger settled in on the four of us. At this point we were well off the tourist path, but took our chances that the shopkeeper in a small bakery we passed might speak some english (they did) and that we could buy something by pointing through the glass cases (we did). Then the best part of the entire day came as we were leaving this shop. We had already paid for our purchase and turned towards the exit when the smiling shop owner called to us in broken english and passed us a small bag containing two chocolate pastries saying they were “for your children”. Moments like this are the most heart warming of the experiences we have when travelling. They remind us that despite all of the scary things out there in the world, there are far greater chances that we will meet wonderful people who are equally thrilled to meet and connect with us. It is particularly easy when travelling with kids to have these encounters as strangers immediately see you as normal people doing normal things like buying food for your family.
So thank you to the unknown shopkeeper along the small side street somewhere in Budapest, you made my day!