Budapest

After a quick overnight stay in Vienna, Budapest was the last stop on our European backpacking trip, and we had to acknowledge by this leg of the journey everyone was tired. We needed to find somewhere we could hunker down and catch our breath. Lucky for us, Hungary is known for its thermal spas, and there are lots to choose from; so we booked ourselves into Aqua World with the singular goal of relaxation.

Certainly not the most historic thermal spa in the country, it seemed like a great place to recuperate from our travels, and get some real rest and relaxation while still getting in a few day trips into town. It turned out to be exactly what we needed. The hotel is split into two sections, a more traditional thermal spa, with heated pools, saunas, hot tubs, and cooling pools; while the other half is an indoor water slide park. Perfectly designed with one side for the parents, and another for the kids. The food was great, there was a little suburb nearby where they had some amenities, and we were on a bus route to downtown.

After a few days of relaxation in the pools, we did make it into downtown Budapest to look around. The bus dropped us off at Hero Square, which is home to some wonderful statues and the Millennium Monument, which stands in the middle of the square and was erected to commemorate the 1000-year-old history of the Magyars. Within walking distance of the square is Vajdahunyad Castle. The castle is bordered by a lake and beautiful gardens, great for a relaxing afternoon stroll.

The downtown has beautiful architecture, with lots of things to see and do. We decided to take the time to go through the House of Terror. This museum is dedicated to chronicling the countries history with communism, facism and the arrow cross party; the later of which was formerly based out of this same building. I highly recommend this tour, because it is a stark reminder of the challenges faced by many Eastern European countries in the twentieth century.

I am grateful for the privilege to have travelled through East Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary without restriction, but it is within my lifetime that these nations were part of the Soviet Union and restricted behind the iron curtain. Even in the transition from Nazi Germany, and Soviet occupation, Hungary struggled with its own Communist and Nationalist parties, which contributed to the torture, internment and death of thousands of innocent victims. The Terror Museum is a powerful reminder of the atrocities that were committed, and the countries struggle for independence and democracy. Having said that, I think Budapest would have been great city to spend more time exploring, but it was really hard to pull ourselves away from the spas.

This last stop on our European trip was a great learning lesson for us as travellers. This experience taught us the value of building rest and relaxation into our travel plans, because at some point during a long trip, it is easy for the travels to start to feel more like work than adventure. At some point something as cool as castles start to look the same, smell the same, and they diminish in value as you push yourself to experience as much as possible in your limited time. If you build in some time at the end to rest and reflect, you’ll head for home with a feeling of accomplishment and rejuvenation that will ensure those experiences are anchored in your memory in a positive way.