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| Rudas Fűrdő, Dobrentei Ter, 9 Budapest, 1016 |
Inside a humble, rather plain little building, tucked between the Danube and the white, limestone cliffs of Buda, rests a small gem the Turks left behind after they retreated from Hungary. This steamy little paradise is the 500 year old Rudas Bath, an intimate and unique member of Budapest's bath network.
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| Beneath the cupola |
Dark and dank, musky and sulphury...the Rudas is about as sexy a place as you could imagine a public bath to be. Underneath a cupola studded with colored glass sits an small, octagonal thermal pool, surrounded by smaller pools of varying temperature. These range from mountain lake cold to almost unbearably hot...and inside all of them, couples could be found, teasing, embracing, making out. I swear I could hear sperm counts rise and ovaries release eggs. This place could get a girl pregnant.
But only on the weekends, since the Rudas is reserved for men during the week, save for Tuesdays, which is reserved for women. On Saturday and Sunday, the genders are allowed to mix and Saturday is when our fun-loving group of guys and dolls decided to visit.
The Rudas offers mixed sex changing rooms as well, although privacy is ensured by the tiny cabanas that all guests receive. Of course, the privacy depends upon closing the doors of said cabanas...I was treated to one or two glimpses of uncovered, unrestrained male members. Oh well...it ain't nothin' but a thang.
Of course, the Rudas offers sauna and steam rooms too. The steam room could blister the skin right off of your bones if you are silly enough to remain inside for longer than a minute or two. After a nice, cleansing sweat, it feels divine to stand under one of the overhead buckets, pull the rope, and release a lovely dose of cold water over your glistening body.
All of this heat makes a person quite thirsty, and the Rudas has a drinking fountain out of which flows some of the finest drinking water in the city. I filled my bottle up three or four times during my stay and it still was not enough to quench my thirst.
The Rudas also contains a lap pool for those who want a little cool water exercise. Swimming is huge in Budapest...every district has at least two or three swimming pools to choose from.
It would be like comparing apples and oranges to do so with Rudas and the grand Szechenyi. But I really love the Rudas and would choose it over Szechenyi for a few reasons. Firstly, it is fairly close by, on my side of the river, easily accessible by tram, no need to bother with the metro. I also prefer its smaller scale and the fact that everything, the pools of varying temps, the steam room, and the sauna are all just a few footsteps away from each other...nothing is outside. The individual cabanas are also nice, albeit, a little cramped. At times I felt like a clumsy oaf banging around in the tiny rooms and more than once felt the creep of claustrophobia threaten to overcome me.
And then there is the antiquity and the humid beauty of the place. I felt as if I could happily float inside the octagon and stare up at the round, jewel toned windows, set into the dome like rubies, sapphires and emeralds, for the entire day. I will be going back....probably on a Tuesday! x
All of this heat makes a person quite thirsty, and the Rudas has a drinking fountain out of which flows some of the finest drinking water in the city. I filled my bottle up three or four times during my stay and it still was not enough to quench my thirst.
The Rudas also contains a lap pool for those who want a little cool water exercise. Swimming is huge in Budapest...every district has at least two or three swimming pools to choose from.
It would be like comparing apples and oranges to do so with Rudas and the grand Szechenyi. But I really love the Rudas and would choose it over Szechenyi for a few reasons. Firstly, it is fairly close by, on my side of the river, easily accessible by tram, no need to bother with the metro. I also prefer its smaller scale and the fact that everything, the pools of varying temps, the steam room, and the sauna are all just a few footsteps away from each other...nothing is outside. The individual cabanas are also nice, albeit, a little cramped. At times I felt like a clumsy oaf banging around in the tiny rooms and more than once felt the creep of claustrophobia threaten to overcome me.
And then there is the antiquity and the humid beauty of the place. I felt as if I could happily float inside the octagon and stare up at the round, jewel toned windows, set into the dome like rubies, sapphires and emeralds, for the entire day. I will be going back....probably on a Tuesday! x
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| not a space ship landing, but the Rudas' bejeweled dome |
