denmark: copenhagen

My flight from Porto, Portugal went smoothly, and arrived on time in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was my first trip to Denmark, so I was really excited.

I had been checking out the weather ahead of time, and it didn't look terribly good. As I looked out the window of the plane, it looked awful. Gray skies, 'visible' wind, and rain. Yuck. I could also see a bridge as it went from above water to below. Very cool.

I've wanted to come to Denmark for a long time, but this time I had a good excuse to finally make the trip happen. One of my former students had moved there with his parents, and I'd been given an open invitation. (Not just a "you should visit" invite, but a "we'll love it when you come" invite.)

In other words, it was a change to catch up with some people I love, and see a new place. Yahoo!!

Irina picked me up at the airport, and showed me how the metro makes it really easy to get back to the family flat. It wasn't cheap, but I already knew this ahead of time. Denmark is one of the most expensive countries in the world.

As small as Denmark is geographically, it used to be a world power, and still does very well economically. They have a high tax rate, but the government uses those tax monies well (most of the time anywho,) and provides a lot to the people. Public transport is everywhere, you don't need a car. Most people have bikes, but that's it.

The roads are in great shape, the health system takes good care of people. Local libraries are awesome.

While we were on the train, Irina explained to me that the actual boundaries of Copenhagen are quite small. Even though the rest of the world sees the city as one city, those who live there know that not many addresses actually have Copenhagen in them. My friends live in Frederiksberg, which I would consider part of the city, not separate. Anywho.

We got back to the flat and stayed up quite late chatting about anything and everything. They'd come back from a trip of their own, so they were still jet lagged and it was easy to stay up late.

My old student was fast asleep of course, I knew I wouldn't see him until the next day.

I slept well, and still somehow woke up early the next morning. Why does this always happen? I got to chat with my old student, though at that point the conversation was entirely on my side. He clearly understood me, but had sortof forgotten how to speak English. Funny how speaking various languages involves so many different skills. I wasn't worried though, I knew he'd remember everything quickly.

The next morning, Morton went to work, Irina went to Danish class, and my old student went to school. I putzed around doing a whole lot of nothing in particular until almost noon.

Denmark is pretty far north, and it was June, so I knew I'd have plenty of daylight to walk around.

Instead of taking the metro, I decided to walk. The weather was much better than I'd expected, so I wanted to take advantage of the ability to walk while I could.

My first stop was just across the street, a supermarket. I found skyr, which I absolutely LOVE. It's generally known as Icelandic yogurt, basically a really thick yogurt. You can stand your spoon up in it. It's also fairly high protein, for people who pay attention to such things. I fell in love with it when I lived in Iceland.

While walking around the supermarket I really noticed the high cost of EVERYTHING. Even buying food in a supermarket is expensive, it's not easy to cut down on food costs if you're trying to stay on a lower budget. Sigh.

As I continued walking I took note of all the bicycles, some of which are really expensive. People in Denmark invest in a bicycle, knowing it should last them for many years. I noticed huge murals on the sides of some buildings. I noticed a surprising number of churches for a country that is (currently) not terribly religious.

My first actual sight was a castle. Denmark still has a royal family, (though they don't do much of anything useful,) so of course there are castles.

I'd already decided I probably wouldn't enter anything while I was there, as I didn't want to pay astronomical entrance fees. 80 kroner is over $10USD!

Rottenberg slot (castle) is quite small, but is surrounded by a moat. (No crocodiles, as far as I could tell.) Very cute, very picturesque. The castle is now a museum. In front of the castle is the King's Gardens. (Konigshavn.) Basically a giant lawn with trees thrown in in a few places. There were also some flowers from time to time. A great place to have a picnic. (With food I couldn't really afford.)

I wound my way through the city to one of the most photographed places: Nyhavn. When I first heard Irina say the name, I missed it completely, because it does not sound like I thought it would. It comes out as Noo-ha-oon. (At least, that's my best attempt at the phonetic spelling.)

Nyhavn is a series of colourful houses/buildings along one of the marinas of the city. No matter what the weather is, the colours stand out, it's always a good picture. Because it is one of the most recognizable areas of the city for tourists, it is also packed with people.

I chose to walk down the opposite side of the marina, as I don't love walking through huge crowds. All those photos of people by themselves in that area are completely photoshopped.

I kept walking in the old city, eventually coming to a platz in the middle of four buildings. As there were soldiers in ceremonial garb in front of the buildings I figured it had something to do with the royal family. There was also a statue of a guy on a horse in the middle of the platz.

I looked it up later and learned that Amalienberg is considered the Queen's home. Why any one person needs four large buildings, I don't know.

Part of it is a museum; as before, I skipped going inside.

Not too far from Amalienberg is a big church. At least it seemed big to me. St Nicholas has a huge cupola, which is beautifully painted. There are signs when you enter that remind you to keep quiet, and it seems most people pay attention to the signs. Yay!! You could hear cameras being used, but there wasn't much talking.

I kept going, and go to the moat surrounding an old fort. Normally I'd go in a fort, but I didn't want to spend the entrance fee, so I skipped it as well. The moat itself was quite photogenic, especially with the shape of the moat, and all the clouds rolling through.

While I was watching I noticed that the tops of the land on the walls of the fort seemed to be a popular running trail.

I walked past a fountain that is supposed to tell the story of something, I suppose I should've paid a bit more attention. Or looked it up later. There were so many people crowded around, I didn't want to stop.

After that I finally came to the other most photographed sight in Copenhagen: The Little Mermaid. I really have no idea why this is such a popular thing to see. It's a relatively small statue, a mermaid on a rock. I don't get it. Yet, the area is packed with people. Of course I took my photo, but I was having more fun watching all the people in the area. What am I missing about this statue that makes it so popular?

It took me a while, but from there I basically walked back to the flat, stopping a few times to take a photo. I had dinner with the family, and just hung out. My former student was remembering various English words already, and it was fun to hear him switch between English, Russian, and Danish, all very quickly.

The next morning I was actually productive at an earlier hour, yay. I helped drop off my former student at school, it was neat to see what another preschool looks like. Then I rode the metro into the city center with Irina. She went to Danish class while I started exploring. She already speaks Danish quite well, but in order to gain permanent residency and eventually citizenship, she has to pass a test which is pretty difficult, even for native speakers. Taking language classes is a necessity.

I had to cross a couple short bridges to get to my first sight, but that is common in Copenhagen. The entire city is built on and around water. The Danish Empire used to be very dependent on water, or at least the power of the water, through its navy.. The whole country is on or near water.

I love books, I wanted to see the King's Library. It is actually made of two buildings. One, the new one, is called the Black Diamond for the way it looks. I was more interested in the old one, because there was a reading room. The new building is quite interesting architecturally, I loved the way it looked inside. There are escalators that take you up to the second level, which leads to a walkway going across the street to the older building. The older building is basically the stereotype of an old European library.

When I got to the door of the reading room I was disappointed to see a sign (very clearly displayed,) that said (in Danish and English,) that the room was only for studying and reading, no visitors allowed.

I thought about sneaking in (there wasn't anyone guarding the door,) but I wanted to respect the request. Instead, I satisfied my desire for a photo by using the windows in the entrance door.

I found a modern sculpture not too far away from the library, also on the banks of the water. More fun with time delayed photos. I kept walking, following one canal that seemed to be sortof a back street area. It was definitely in the city center, but there weren't many other people wandering around.

This canal/street took me to my next sight, another church. They really are all over the place, in a city that isn't super religious!

As this church was Protestant, the interior was relatively simple. Big, but simple. While I was in there someone was practicing the organ, which was awesome to hear. People who can play an organ are amazing. Their hands can do different things at the same time and their feet are essentially dancing. Plus I love the power of the music. I sat and listened, and appreciated. 

I had to wait about half an hour for the next church to open, so I wandered the area a bit more. This was right near the University of Copenhagen, of which one of the buildings had some constuction going on nearby. I know construction is needed, but it's so loud and annoying.

While wandering around I came to the Round Tower, which is exactly as it's name says it is. It is a round tower. There are no stairs to get to the top though, it's a spiral incline going up the interior of the tower, all the way up.

On the other side of the tower was a church that was open. Lots of wood, some gold accents for decoration. The organ was in the back and it was very pretty. After looking around there it was time for the other church to be open, so I went back. It turned out to be quite small inside, and not at all interesting. I liked the organ best of all, mainly because the pipes were in an interesting location; at my eye level!

After that I went back to the place Irina and I had split up in the morning, we'd agreed to meet for lunch. We walked to an area called Papiroeen (sp?) which means Paper Island in English. It used to be a paper making factory, but is now full of food trucks/stands, and is a great place to find a variety of cheap (by Danish standards anywho,) food for lunch.

We walked around the entire area, and both ended up choosing from a place that had hummus. Yum. There was a stand making delicious looking drinks; I was able to have one without alcohol and it was 'only' $10. Crazy! The weather was fantastic, so we found a place to sit outside and enjoy the sun. We definitely weren't the only ones thinking that way, but it didn't seem crowded.

From there I went with Irina as she ran some errands, including returning a book to a library. The Danes have everything so organized, I loved it. We also stopped in a grocery store, where I bought a couple soft drinks made by Danish companies, just to try them.

We came home and sat for a few minutes. Morton came home from work and brought my old student with him. Irina and I took my old student to the nearby library, as there was a festival of some kind happening outside the library.

The festival itself didn't end up being very exciting, but I liked the library. In addition to books, they had a climbing wall, a tunnel slide from the second to the first floors, and other amazing places for kids to play. If libraries in the States were like this one people would spend a lot more time at the library!

We went home and after not too long, walked back out, this time with Morton. We went to a neighborhood restaurant that serves typical Danish food. We all ordered the same thing, so the restaurant served it family style and we served ourselves. Pork with a crispy top, it was soooooo good. I saw other meals served while we were there, and realized that no matter what each of us had ordered, the portions would've been huge.

Somehow, despite eating plenty, we all had room for ice cream on the way home.

The next morning was Saturday morning, which meant no one had to get up, or be productive at any specific time. Morton had made bread dough the night before, so he baked traditional Danish morning rolls. (When you see them in bakeries, they're always labeled 'morning rolls' and they'll look at you funny when you try to buy them in the afternoon.) Irina made omelettes too. Basically, I was fat and happy. Especially since I also had some skyr.

After a while we all went for a walk, I had no idea where we were going, but I knew that in the early evening the three of them would hop on a bus to go visit friends for a night. I'd then stay in their flat for a few more hours, then catch a bus to my next city.

It turned out there was a local street fest of sorts. The street had been blocked off, and a few things had been set up. It wasn't big, and we weren't there very long, but it was nice to see people out enjoying themselves, and getting to know their neighbors. I think public monies help pay for this sort of festival. 

We kept walking, and eventually ended up at a park. It was a much bigger park than I expected from the rather small entrance. Apparently you're not allowed to ride bikes in the park, so there were several bicycle stands just outside the fence.

There are a number of paths in the park, we followed one of them. I would've had no idea where I was going, I was glad Irina and Morton had spent time there previously. There were a few small bodies of water, and bridges going over the water. At one point I looked over and realized I was looking at a Chinese temple on a small island! Talk about a surprise. I think it was there for decoration, rather than actually being used.

Then we came to a huge lawn. At least, that's how it felt to me. At one edge of the lawn was a fairly steep hill, leading up to another castle. This was Frederiksberg Slot, originally the summer home of the royal family. It is now used as the military academy for the country, if I remember correctly.

Irina and Morton set out a couple blankets, I went up the hill to get closer to the castle. I didn't want to go in, but I wanted to be closer, and to be able to look down the hill at the 'lawn.' I'd been up there for a few minutes when I looked over and saw my old student coming up the hill to meet up with me. How fun!

We walked over to another edge and he pointed out something in the city to me. Then we raced down the other end of the hill, it's amazing how fast a 4 year old can run. I was terrified I would fall, (or even worse, that he would,) but thankfully we both survived the run.

About the time we got back to Irina and Morton, it was time to go. Everything was packed up and we slowly made our way out of the park. From there we walked to a nearby bus stop, which was where I had to say goodbye to the family. Even though I'd only been with them for three days it had been a really good catch up, and I hope it happens again soon!

After they got on a bus, I kept walking, just for the sake of walking. At some point I realized I'd started heading back to the flat, so I checked out every grocery store I passed. I found skyr to take with me on the bus that evening, as well as a couple rolls for the next morning. I knew everything would be heaps cheaper at my next stop, so I didn't stock up.

From there I went back to the flat and killed a few hours. I packed everything up, cleaned up, and left the flat. I left the keys on the table, hoping I hadn't left anything behind. Of course I was running slightly behind, so I ended up having to speedwalk (and occasionally jog, which isn't super easy when carrying a pack and purse,) all the way to the bus stop. I got there about 7 minutes before the bus was supposed to leave, so life was good!

After I win a lottery, I definitely want to come back to Copenhagen, and to the rest of Denmark. 

portugal: lisbon, sintra, and porto

When I first started planning my summer, I wanted to come to Portugal to see a sight in a town called Sintra, not too far from Lisbon. I didn't want to go to Portugal for just one day, so I decided to stay three nights, two full days. I'd been to Lisbon that one time previously, but I was staying in a different area of the city, so I knew everything would seem new at first.

My flight landed on time, and it was easy to ride the metro into the city. It was easy to get to my accomodation, and check in went smoothly. I hung out for a little while, then went for a walk. I needed a proper meal, and the weather was nice.

I slept well that night, mostly because I was tired from traveling. (The day trip in Hungary, then the metro and bus to the airport in Budapest, then the flight to Lisbon, then the metro into the city.) The food was average, but adequate. I should mention that I ordered a Greek salad, but when it arrived there were no olives (I didn't miss those since I don't like them anywho,) no cucumber, no feta, and no tomatoes. I never figured out what was supposed to make it a Greek salad. 

The next morning I woke up super early, partly because of the time change. Kyiv is two hours ahead of Lisbon, Budapest is one hour ahead, and I've always been one for waking up early.

Although I didn't get out quite as fast as I'd have liked, I did get out faster than I normally do. At least, according to the local clock. 

I started my day with a couple tasty Portugese pastries, pastels de nata. They're soooooo good, its a good thing I don't have access to them all the time. The typical cost in Lisbon is right around 1 euro, so they're perfectly priced and perfectly sized.

My first thing to do for the day was find a place to print a photo a friend had sent me. Back in the day this sort of place would've been easy to find, but nowadays not so much. Back in the day people printed photos, but nowadays not so much. Eventually I succeeded.

I walked to an area along the water, passing through a giant platz first. The platz has a large arch on one side, I think it's the arch of justice or something along those lines. In the middle of the platz is a statue of a guy on a horse. Nothing exciting, but a good place to watch people.

One side of the platz is a street, the other side of the street is on the water. It's not a port, or a marina in that spot, but it is an area people hang out. There are often busking musicians, which can be good or bad.

I asked someone to take a photo of me, which went really well until waves splashed my feet. I didn't much care about this until I realized the water had washed over to where I'd put my purse and food bag. Whoops!!

The guy taking my photo laughed, as did I. I raced the few steps to the bags before they were too wet, and nothing was ruined.

At that point it was just short of noon, so I walked toward a restaurant I'd read about on a travel app. It promized authentic Indian food, something I love. There is no sign on the street, but a few of the reviews had mentioned this, so I knew where to go. The food was indeed authentic, or at least as much as I know about Indian food. Yum.

After eating I walked back toward the water, and from there I turned right. (I'm terrible with directions, and since it wasn't long after noon I don't know which direction I was walking.)

This walk was long, which is what I intended. Along the way I stopped in a church that caught my eye. The front gate wasn't open, but the side gate was, so that's how I got in. The side door of the church was closed, but unlocked, so I walked in.

The interior of the church wasn't super impressive, but I loved the ceiling, which was made of wood. I'm used to seeing paint and gold on ceilings, but the wood was much more impressive because I could see how it was handmade. I could see where it was slightly warped in a few areas, and I could see the grain of the wood. Beautiful. 

Eventually I got to where I wanted to be, technically a different town called Belem. (Though as far as I know, everyone pretty much still calls it Lisbon.) The walk was over an hour, I could feel the sun on my shoulders the entire way. I walked through the gardens on the outside of the monastery of the Jeronimos, and watched the big fountain for a while. Very pretty.

I crossed under the street, and walked to a museum on the water. It's not a normal looking museum, it looks more like a big Soviet war memorial. I didn't want to go in the museum, despite it being a history museum. The weather was so nice I didn't want to go inside anything. Instead I took photos, then continued walking.

I looped around, and made my way to the Tower of Belem, not too much further away. It looks like a castle, and I think you can go in from time to time, but that wasn't happening when I arrived; this was fine since I didn't want to go inside. I took my photos, even a couple with the time delay function on my camera with no one else in the frame. Yay!

At that point I started walking back to where I was staying in Lisbon. I followed along the water the entire way, because I love water. Also, the weather was still amazing. I think I could've taken a metro or commuter train back into the city center, but since I love walking, I did what I love.

The walk back was an hour and a half I think? Something like that, I'm not really sure. By the time I got back, my feet were pretty tired.

I found a small supermarket and bought some food for breakfast the next day, as well as more water. I found double stuffed Oreos, which ended up being my dinner. Don't hold that against me.

Not too much later I got back to my room, and basically settled in for the evening. My Fitbit told me I'd walked almost 33,000 steps, a whole bunch of kilometers, so it isn't surprising my feet were so tired.

The next morning I woke up early of course, and actually got moving not too much later. I walked to Rossio train station and caught the next train to a small town called Sintra. Sintra is known because there are a few castles to visit, as well as gardens. Each of the castles has a different appearance, very different. One is called the castle of the Moors, another is Pena Palace. I think there is another one as well.

I went to Sintra because I wanted to visit a specific set of gardens. After my train arrived this was my first sight. I walked there, arriving a little bit after 10 in the morning

Inside these gardens is the specific sight I wanted to see, a well. Its called the Initiation Well, and has spiral stairs around the edge, going all the way to the bottom. I'm not sure what used to happen in the well, but now its a tourist sight. To get to the well you get to go through a couple tunnels in the rock, which get pretty dark at times; there are lights in the tunnels, but they're not bright. The views from both top and bottom are worth seeing. 

I explored the rest of the area, which had fountains and small ponds, and a few more tunnels. There were a couple towers that looked like fairy princess towers, if that makes sense; think of Rapunzel and the singular tower she lived in for years.
There was also a home, where you can walk through what used to be a dining room, game room, etc... The building was pretty, and I liked the ceilings.

I walked back to the city center, and through the city center. The city center of Sintra is very quaint, but now that quaintness is totally geared toward tourists.

Cafes, restaurants, tourist/souvenir shops, and not much else. Small alleys make everything look cute, even if they're lined with souvenir shops.

Eventually I ended up where I wanted to be, at the start of a hiking trail. Sintra is a small town surrounded by green mountains and hills. I intended to climb/hike this one to get to where I wanted to go next.
The trail is cobblestone for most of the way, with a whole lot of switchbacks. It wasn't steep, but with the cobblestones and switchbacks I spent a lot of time watching my feet, making sure I didn't trip over nothing in particular.

The trail goes by some cliffs that are really popular with climbers. I'm not a huge fan of climbing, so I didn't much care. There are a few signs clearly stating that climbers need to have safety equipment, and to climb responsibly.

The trail took me to a lovely viewpoint of the Castle of the Moors, I stood there for a while. I would see the walls, which stretch along the top of the mountain. Inside the walls I knew there were castle ruins. When I contined and arrived at the ticket office for the castle, I found out that the price was 8 euros, which seemed crazy expensive to me. I thought about it for a while, but decided to skip it in the end.

I walked to Pena Palace, which is known because it is painted a bunch of different colours. When I got to the ticket office, I discovered the cost for that one was 14 euros! That was waaaaay too much, I didn't even have to think about skipping that one. 

Fortunately, I'd seen this palace the first time I came to Sintra. Unfortunately, the first time I'd been to Sintra the mountain had been covered in fog, so I'd really only seen the inside of the palace. Even with the bright colours of the outside I hadn't been able to see the palace until I was just three or four meters away, as the fog was sooooo thick. I was sad I wouldn't be able to see the exterior, (and take the photos I really wanted,) but the ticket price was just way too much.
If I'd entered all the palaces and gardens and such it could've been a really expensive day trip! I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people who do spend the money, but I was trying to stay on a budget. 

I followed another path down the mountain, and eventually ended up back in the middle of Sintra. After checking out a few souvenir shops, I bought a magnet. I found a sortof out of the way cafe for a sandwich with spicy sauce, cheese, fried egg, and other meat. Yum.

Then I walked back to the train station. The next train back to Lisbon left about 10 minutes later, I'd timed it perfectly.

When I got back to Lisbon I visited a couple more platzes, and saw a couple big statues and fountains. I'd seen both of these before, but I still went. It was nice to watch people and enjoy the fabulous weather. I also stopped at a supermarket to pick up breakfast food for the next morning.

I went back to my room at one point, and settled in. I needed to pack up my stuff before going to sleep, since I needed to get up early the next morning.

The next morning I woke up before my alarm (which was set for 0510!) and got moving. I got dressed and went to the airport. As much as people complain about Ryanair, if you follow their rules it's a great airline. Check in online, and print out your boarding pass. Keep your luggage to carryon only.

My first flight of the day was just to Porto, in northern Portugal. The flight was only 10 euros!

When I arrived in Porto I wandered around until I found a place to store my bag for the day. After getting that sorted I took the metro into the city center. The ride is only 35 minutes, and costs 4.5 euros roundtrip.

I stepped off the metro, and started walking. I was in the city center, of which much is UNESCO designated. Beautiful buildings, churches, etc...

Of course I stepped into most of the churches. I've seen a LOT of churches while traveling, and I feel comfortable making the generality that many of the churches in specific areas look similar. In other words, in one city, many churches will look similar. This annoys many people, but not me.

One of the churches in Porto is on the edge of a hill overlooking the river that runs through the city, and has a cloister area. I paid the fee for the cloister area, which includes a few altars, a chapel, and the treasury. Very pretty and very photogenic.
After the expense of the castles in Sintra the day before, I was more than happy to pay just 3 euro to enter this area. 

From that trip I followed a street until it came to a bridge, the bridge of Louis 1^st. There are two levels of the bridge, you can walk and drive along both levels; The street I was walking took me to the upper level of the bridge. Come to think of it, I've never walked the lower level, I don't know why not.

I walked across the bridge, and back. I stopped a couple times, just to enjoy the view of the buildings along the water. The lower levels of the buildings are filled with restaurants, cafes, and tourist shops, but they still look lovely.

After coming back across the bridge I found a small-ish cafe to have lunch. It was a sandwich of sorts, like the one I'd had in Sintra (Portugal) the day before. The meal was supposed to come with fries and a drink but I didn't want either of those.

After paying the bill I walked back to the metro station and took the train back to the airport. I collected my bag, went through security, and got to my gate just as people were lining up to board the plane. It worked out perfectly.

The flight was smooth, and landed about 20 minutes early, yay!

Though Portugal isn't high on my list of places to return to, it's on the list, and if someone planned a trip or I had the time, I wouldn't say no. It's small, but has heaps of history, culture, and beautiful landscapes. 

hungary: budapest and vac

A return to Budapest wasn't originally on my plan for the summer, but when I looked at how to get to where I did plan to go, the cheapest way was with a layover in Budapest. I decided to extend that layover by two days and spend time in a city I've long enjoyed.

My flight left Kyiv at 0715, which was plenty early. The only advantage to departing so early is an early landing time. I didn't lose any of the day to traveling, yay! I used public transport to get from the airport to my accomodation, which isn't exactly fast, but is cheap.

Since I walked into my accomodation at 0930 I wasn't able to check in, but I was able to leave my bag, get sorted, and start walking.

Everytime I come to Budapest I like to return to St Stephens basilica. (Or is it a cathedral? I don't know.) It is one of the churches that continues to amaze me, no matter how many times I walk in. The ceiling is amazing, especially the cupola; I'm always trying to capture the beauty with a camera, but I don't think I've ever truly succeeded.

If you want, you can walk to a room tucked behind the altar and pay for a box to light up. Inside the box is the mummified hand of St Stephen. I find it a bit creepy, but that's just me.

After leaving the church I walked to my next sight, a new one for me in Budapest.

I went to a cave with a name I can't pronounce, and don't even want to try. Szemlohegyibarlang. (There are a bunch of symbols over some of the letters as well.) There is a fee for this one, 1300ft, about $5USD. To see the cave you join a tour, I got 'lucky' when my tour group included a large school group. Kids are loud.

This cave has been developed enough that there is little to no challenge physically during the tour. There is a cement walkway to follow, and the open areas are plenty wide. There are stairs toward the end of the walking path, taking you to the deepest point of the tour; there is lighting throughout the cave, you can always see where you're going. The only possibly discomfort during the tour is the likelihood that you'll be dripped on by water coming from the ceiling.

This cave has some interesting rock formations, the one I noticed most looks like a bunch of cauliflower. These formations are all over the cave.

The cave has a natural air purification system, so you never smell or 'feel' all the people that come through the cave. Sadly, there is some mold growing on some of the formations, the guide told me it had something to do with the lights. He said they try to keep it clean, but obviously they can't get it all.

The cave is a steady, cool temperature, which felt amazing after sweating to get to the cave. I think a few of the schoolkids were cold, they hadn't thought to bring an extra jacket for the tour.

After the tour it felt good to step back out into the sun. Since this walk started out downhill then got flat I wasn't sweating nearly as much as before.

I walked back to my hotel and officially checked in, easy to do. I changed clothes, grabbed a few things for an extra bag, and headed to my next sight.

When I realized I'd be coming back to Budapest I made it a goal to try another of the big thermal baths that are all over the city. This time I chose Rudas baths, which is close to the river. Even though each is different, once you've been to one of these baths you know the general way they work. The difference is mostly in how each facility is set up.

I changed into a bikini and put everything else into a locker. From there I walked around the entire facility, figuring out where everything was and where I wanted to spend time. I found the sundeck and the pool on the roof. I found the saunas and the cold pool. I found the swimming pool, the only place where you have to wear a swim cap to get in the water.

After figuring things out I went back to my locker and grabbed a towel, sunnies, cap, etc... I spent time on the sundeck, because I love being in the sun. Then time in the rooftop pool. Then switching among the various saunas. There are a few drinking fountains around the facility, which I appreciated.

Sauna, drink, sauna, drink, sauna, drink. My favourite was spending about ten minutes in the Finnish sauna (90-100C,) then stepping into the cold pool (12C.)

I was in Rudas baths for over four hours, and walked out feeling amazing. Note to self: bring body lotion after spending so much time in water.

As I walked back to my hotel I stopped for dinner. Nothing exciting, but I needed food. I slept well that night. If I lived in Budapest I'd probably end up spending a good portion of a paycheck on visits to baths each month.

The next morning I intended to get up early, but of course that didn't happen. Oh well. I walked out around 1100, and made my way to the Hungarian State Opera. The day before I'd seen a sign saying that tours were available each day in the afternoon. I signed up for one of them, including a photo fee. I skipped the option for a mini concert, as I've attended opera performances before.

After paying for my ticket, I got back on the street and walked to another thermal bath. This one is one I've been to before, a couple times. Szechenyi baths are quite big, especially the outdoor area. I changed into my bikini again, stowed most of my stuff in my locker, and went out to the pool area.

Since this was a weekend, the place was packed with people; I noticed a few groups that looked like they were having a hens do. For the next few hours I spent time in the pools, and spent time soaking up sun. Life is good.

After leaving the baths I walked back to my room and changed again. I also hung up my malong (kinda like a towel, but made of cloth,) and bikini to dry. Then I walked back to the opera house, just in time to start the tour.

The Hungarian State Opera is pretty fantastic. The building itself was mostly paid for by King ........, when he was king of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Budapest was one of the capitals of the empire, but this opera house is smaller than the one in Vienna. The rules stipulated that everything had to be made with materials found in Ukraine. This was mostly followed, the guide told us there are just four places in the building where the materials used did not come from Hungary.

It's gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. The royal box is on one of the balconies, right in the middle, so the view of the show is fantastic. The king only came once, for the first ever performance in the building, and didn't even stay for the whole show! How rude! The box is not used for seating during performances now, and the guide told us not to sit in the chair when we were there.

The queen's box is on the end of a balcony, pretty much on the side of the stage. It offers a terrible view. Everyone in the theater can look into the queen's box to see who is there, what they're wearing, etc... When the opera opened, and even to some degree now, going to the opera is a social activity, more than a musical activity. It was all about being seen.

We saw the royal stairway, again used for just one person. How awful would it have been if a regular person had stepped in the same place as a royal? At least, that was the thinking back in the day.

We saw the bar area originally built for the upper class folks who came to the opera. Again, the thinking back then was that it would be awful if normal people mingled with the upper class folks.

I went for a walk, into one of the city center areas. I walked along a pedestrian street, and found a magnet I liked. Since I've been to Budapest previously I decided to skip buying postcards.

I didn't have a proper dinner that night. Instead, I had dessert :)

The next morning I was up early again and actually got moving. I showered and packed up, and left my bag in the same place I'd left it when I arrived in Budapest.

I walked to the train station and caught the next commuter train to a small town called Vac.

Vac is on the eastern bank of the Danube River. It is old, and quiet. The heyday of the city was long ago, but the city center is still very pretty.

The street from the front of the train station to the city center was straight. The city center is a pedestrian zone, and since I arrived at 0820, everything was still really quiet. I wandered around the first platz I came to, enjoying the quiet.

I stepped into a church and found it in the middle of a service, so I didn't go any further in. I found a war memorial for World War I, and saw the outside of several museums.

I followed various streets, one of which brought me to another church in the middle of another service. Again, I didn't go in any further. Across the street from this church was another statue. My photo would've been better if not for the cars parked all around.

Continuing down this street brought me to yet another church. This one is HUGE, with a big platz in front. It has columns in front, I didn't recognize it as a church at first. Since I was there early enough, I was able to set up my camera for a photo without too many others in the frame. Yay.

I stepped inside this church and was excited to find it mostly empty. There was no service, at least not yet. I took advantage of the lack of people to take a photo of the lovely cupola, and the altar in front. The pipe organ in back wasn't too shabby either.

More walking brought me to a building labeled collegium, but it looked to be in awful shape. I sincerely hope there are no classes taking place in there. There was a statue of a guy on a horse in front of the building, which means it is an official city. (I have a long running joke with a friend that a city isn't official if there is no statue of a guy with/on a horse.)

I continued down the street and found another church. This one is on the land that used to be a castle. The sign in front mentioned the Gothic wooden altar, which was lovely. As seemed to be my luck for the day, there was another service taking place, so I didn't go in further than the entry door.

I walked around the back of the church, and found the ruins of the castle. Nothing exciting, as the ruins haven't been fully excavated, and there is a fence preventing visitor access to the area. I wonder if the gate is ever opened?

I circled around, getting back to the street I'd been walking earlier. I walked back to the city center platz and continued along the street, eventually getting to another sight in the city. This was the Independence Arch, like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. This one was smaller, but impressive considering the size of the town. There was so little traffic that I was able to take a time delayed photo with my camera. Yay.

I wanted to see one more sight, but after starting to make my way there I realized I wasn't going to have enough time. Darnit. I wanted to see an old bridge, with carved statues on the sides, but it was too far away. Next time.

When I realized I wasn't going to have enough time, I turned around and walked back to the city center. I bought slices of pizza so I'd have food for later. From there I walked to the train station and bought my ticket for the next train back to Budapest.

An hour later I was back in the big city. I went back to my hotel, changed clothes and grabbed my bag, and walked back to the train/metro station. I rode the metro and took a bus to the airport, where everything went smoothly. I boarded my flight to my next destination, the flight was easy and on time.