Trip Report: 7 Days in Budapest etc Part 2

Wednesday, I had booked a private half day Art Nouveau tour. and she arranged for us to get into some sites that we would not have been able to on our own. The first was the Fasor Reformed Church. Spectacular. Then we went to the Museum of Custom and Tax /Schiffer Villa which was also spectacular. Then the elementary school at Dob Utca 85, which has amazing mosaics and a gymnasium that is ridiculously pretty. Those children are lucky! The woman that showed us around was so sweet and welcoming. We went to another school, Teleki Blanco, which was nice but not as impressively decorated. We ended at a hotel to see the roof of the Postal Savings building. I’m happy we had our guide, as the usual way to see it is via a rooftop bar, but that is currently closed. But Suzy was able to get us to a guestroom floor that had large windows looking out to see the magnificent tiles. My husband and I stopped for a very late lunch at the Strudel House, which was lovely. Then we ended our art nouveau-centric day with a visit to Gresham Palace/4 Seasons Hotel. Quite amazing, inside and out. I wish we could have stayed there! We took a nice walk across the Chain Bridge. We should have gotten dinner somewhere near there but instead went back to the apartment to rest and had a disappointing meal somewhere near the Oktogon.
Thursday we earmarked to go to Szentendre. Maybe because it was not a weekend or not quite summer, many of the nicer (I assume) galleries/stores were closed. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the Kovacs Museum and even the kitschy marzipan museum was fun for some photos. It’s a very pretty town to wander around. We had a bit of a start when we saw a Nazi flag hanging until we realized there was a film being shot – The Nightingale. We had a fantastic lunch at Teyfol and delicious gelato at Levendula. Then the weather turned and we hightailed it out of there! We spent about 5 hours there. Getting there was easy, thanks to all the instructions on this forum. We had dinner at the farm-to-table Tati. It was very good, but honestly not memorable. Since we were very near the New York Café, we decided to have dessert there. Mistake. We should have just gone inside, snapped a few photos, and left.
Friday’s breakfast at Lion’s Locker was delicious. We checked a few Art Nouveau items off our list on our walk, including the Ernst House and New Theatre. We had tickets for the Freddie Mercury exhibit at the House of Music. What a wonderful building. The exhibit was excellent, except for the technology they use where somehow it starts the audio when you get close to an exhibit. It didn’t work half the time, and although it was replaced, I kept encountering problems. I also would have appreciated knowing how far along into the exhibit we were. It was massive. We then left for the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. I should have listened, because although we arrived at 1:30, all the lounge chairs had been taken. We didn’t spring for any spa treatments or the larger changing rooms. And, despite my packing microfiber towels—I forgot them and had to purchase towels! But we had a fabulous time, checking out all the pools, indoor and out. We had a sunny, lovely day so that helped. Even my water-averse husband enjoyed himself! We spent about 2 hours, which was not nearly long enough. We were happy to see some café stands right outside the entrance, because we were hungry! We enjoyed langos, beer and really good cake (way better than at New York Café). The Metro right outside the baths whisked us to our hotel very quickly. On the way to meet friends we saw Thonet House, and Torok Bank House from the outside. We had some food and drinks at Liz and Chain rooftop bar (Marriott) because that’s where friends were staying, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset and views of Buda Castle. On the way home, people were dancing (waltz?) in the square.
OMG I need a part 3