Aug 1 - Ludwig, Gellert and the long walk home...

The ladies of room 608 (Patricia, Hannah, Holly) and I headed out early to the Ludwig Museum, a little jaunt down the southern Pest side.  The museum is a modern marvel. Sumptuous space and architecture, but lousy cappuccino!  We started on the third floor which houses the permanent collection.  Among the Picasso's, Roschenberg's, Warhols and many famous male Hungarian artist's in the collection are TWO Beata Szechy's!  It was so nice to see the work of our lovely mentor and friend in such a prestigious museum.  She's one of the only women in the permanent collection - what a shame.  But her pieces were FANTASTIC and I am very happy that I got the chance to see her art.  

On the second floor, there's a temporary retrospective exhibit of Braco Dimitrijevic, which was very intelligent, yet sarcastic and humorous in many ways.  From photos to installations, the work was really conceptual and inspiring.  I particularly liked seeing him as a young man - great hair, great clothes, great art!  I would love to pick his brain over coffee and cigarrettes.  

Holly and  I didn't make it to the Simon Starling exhibit on the first floor, because we were a bit overloaded by then and spent our time in the museum bookstore.  I bought a hungarian cookbook, a calendar for my mom and a book of matches for my collection.  

Next, we headed out to for a lite lunch and on to the Gellert Baths.  It was a little expensive, but totally worth it!  We swam in the outdoor thermal baths, both the hot and cool ones, then went to the indoor baths and did the same.  The water was amazing.  It really felt therapeutic and relaxing.  The place is like a resort/palace and I didn't want to leave!

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of walking back from the baths.  This was a really bad idea.  The walk was way too far after a long day out and being tired from swimming.  I'm really sore and bit cranky now.  All that refreshment out the window!  

So, I'm back at Kiado doing my obligatory blog.  It's a good regiment thought - with just a few nights left here in lovely Budapest, I want to keep all my memories alive and fresh as they happen.  

I have a ton of pics on the camera, but didn't unload them yet.  More to come!  

Tomorrow, I'll spend the day with my cousin Agoston and his wife Erzsebet.  Fortunately, since we don't speak each other's languages, they are bringing an interpreter for the day.  We are going outside of Budapest to Godollo, a castle village about 25 km away.  They're picking me up at 10 am, so tonight will be an early night.  I hope I sleep better than last nite - it's so HOT here and of course, as mentioned before, no AC!  A cold shower is about the only thing I look forward to right now.