Boiled Watermelons

Tonight on the news they showed how watermelons in the field had boiled their own insides in this heat. It is that hot. Thankfully even though there are not many places with air conditioning there are a few ways to beat the heat, at least for a couple of hours.

First of all, Keith and I have decided to organize our own ˝Baths of Budapest Tour˝ and go to a new one every afternoon. There are over 2 dozen in the city, so it seems that we will not get to each, but we will do our level best. These Turkish-style baths all have a variety of pools for sitting or swimming in. The Thermal Baths section consist of several pools of mineral water heated to different temperatures and you are expected not to swim or spash around but sit and relax. Commonly there are pools of 34, 36, and 38 degrees in succession followed by a steam room of sauna which can be anywhere from 40-80 degrees (the doors are labelled- I went in a 60°one today, but I can´t handle anything higher). After the steam room there is a cold water bath which might be anywhere from 8-18°C (our favourite ones right now). There are also non-mineral baths or pools which are 25, 30, or 38 degrees Celsius and are for swimming or lounging at the sides. The thermal baths are all indoors while the other pools might be inside outside or a combination. The baths also all seem to offer a variety of health treatments such as massage or physiotherapy. Locals view these baths as a very important part of a healthy lifestyle and part of treatment, for stress related ailments especially, can be going on a regular basis. I could get used to that!

Another way to beat the heat is to go on a cave tour. Our friends took us to two different caves and translated important or interesting bits of what the tour guide said for us. It gets down to about 10 or 12 degrees Celsius in the cave so it was very refreshing. The guide was very concerned about me in my sleeveless shirt and insisted that I take a fleece jacket along! Apparently, ˝But I´m a Canadian˝ doesn´t cut it for an excuse to brave cold temperatures when all the locals are bundling up.

We are falling into a pattern of resting in the early evening then going out for a walk & drink after 9pm when it is a bit cooler. I should go take a nap now so that I can keep up with the late night!