匈牙利／Hungary（Part 1）

第一次知道有匈牙利这个国家是因为它的英文名字，因为匈牙利的英文发音就和“饿”的英文发音几乎相同，当时还以为真的有一个国家叫“饿”。当然，和一般人一样，本人对匈牙利的了解就止于它的怪名字。更何况，刚刚才游完不怎么精彩的布拉堤斯拉伐，因此对匈牙利也就不敢抱任何期望。不过，原来匈牙利比想象中有趣多了，结果不知不觉就在那里待了将近两个星期。
（1新元=138匈牙利福林／1美元=200匈牙利福林）
Oh yes, for those of you who still don’t know, there IS a country called “Hungary”. Not “HUNGRY”, but “HungAry”. Reminds me of the program “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?”, where there was this woman who was asked to name the country of which Budapest is the capital city and on hearing the answer, she went, “What?!! HUNGRY? You mean that is a country?!” Like you, I don’t know anything about Hungary, except that it does sounds like being “hungry”. So I wasn’t really expecting anything when I arrived in the country, especially since I was coming from Bratislava which was such a disappointment. However, Hungary turned out to be way more interesting than Bratislava and I ended up staying there for almost two weeks without realizing it.
（1 SGD = 138 Hungarian Forint／1 USD = 200 HUF）

＊布达佩斯／Budapest
原本只想在布达佩斯待两三天，结果在那里待了五天。其实也不是因为布达佩斯太大，只是整个城市给人很轻松、很悠哉的感觉，让你不想急着离开，因此普通来说花两天就可以完成的行程，我分成四天来完成。
When I first read up on Hungary, I thought that two or three days will suffice for Budapest, capital of Hungary. In the end, I spent five days there. No. Budapest is not that big. It’s just that the whole city has such a relaxed feel about it that you don’t feel like hurrying through your itinerary. So what usual will take me two days to complete, took me four days in all.
根据旅游指南，到匈牙利游玩一定不可以错过这里的温泉浴，于是抵达之后，最先做的就是去看看这些温泉浴到底有多好。选择了布达佩斯最出名的温泉浴――塞切尼温泉浴来做“实验”。温泉浴坐落在城市公园内，抵达温泉浴之前得先经过英雄广场。
According to the guidebook, one of the things that one must not miss out in Hungary is a visit to the thermal baths. So naturally, one of the first things I did upon arrival was to check out the baths to see if they are really worth the hoo-ha. Chose the most famous thermal bath – Szechenyi Medicinal Bath, in Budapest as the “guinea pig”. The bath is located within the City Park. Before you hit the park, you will first come across a big square known as the Heroes Square. 因为温泉浴就坐落在城堡附近，所以在去温泉浴前先到城堡周围走走。
Nearby the bath, you will find the castle. 温泉浴的入门票一点也不便宜，普通的入门票就要3000匈牙利福林！好贵啊！唯一的好处是，门票是没有时间限制的，因此你要在温泉浴内待多久都可以。在购买门票时，售票员会问你需要储物柜还是舱室。因为不懂得两者的分别，售票员安排了个舱室给我。原来舱室是个小厢房，让你能够在里头更衣。换上泳装后，你可以把私人物件全部留在厢房内，看所员会帮你锁上门，你就可以两手空空去享受温泉浴的设备。这个温泉浴还真大，里头分为几个部分，有不同的泳池，每个池的水温不一样，你可以选择你喜欢的温度来泡澡。另外，也有很多三温暖，每个的温度也不同。如果你嫌在这些温池和三温暖内泡得不够爽，你还可以到这里的户外游泳池去游泳。匈牙利温泉浴果然是名不虚传！
Entrance to the baths is not cheap. An ordinary ticket will set you back by 3000HUF! The good thing is there is no time limit for your ticket, so one can stay in the baths for as long as he likes. You will be asked if you need a locker or a cabin when you are getting your ticket. Since I did not know the difference between the two, the cashier just gave me a cabin. Turned out that cabins are actually little cubicles where you can change into your swimwear, then leave your belongings there, and head for the baths empty handed. The bath is actually pretty big. There are a few different sections with pools of water of varying temperatures. You can also find saunas of different temperature ranges and styles, where you can choose to sit and steam for as long as you want. If the indoors doesn’t suit you, you can head for the outdoor pools too. No wonder they say a trip to the thermal baths is a must for any visitor to Hungary! 布达佩斯其实分为两个部分——布达和佩斯，两个部分之间隔着多瑙河。市中心和旅舍，以及先前提的温泉浴等都是在佩斯部分。布达部分属于山区，因此要眺望整个布达佩斯的风景，就得到布达去。从这里你可以看到佩斯最雄伟的建筑，也是布达佩斯的标志之一，即它的国会大厦，这个可是世界上第三大的国会大厦。
Budapest is actually made up of two parts, separated by the Danube River. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out, one part is called Buda and the other is Pest. The city centre, most budget hostels and the abovementioned thermal bath are all located in the Pest side. The Buda side of the city is hillier and as such, if you want a good view of the whole city, you will have to head for this side of the city. From here, you will get a great view of one of the iconic buildings of Pest, i.e. the Parliament House. This massive Parliament House is viewed as one of the landmarks of Budapest as it is the third largest Parliament House in the world.
布达分为上半段和下半段。上半段是城堡山，这里最受欢迎的旅游景点是它的渔人堡，因为从这里可以眺望彼岸佩斯的风景。
There are two parts to Buda. One part is known as Castle Hill, where the most popular attraction is the Fisherman’s Bastion as you can get a good view of Pest from here. 渔人堡的后面是个大教堂，去的时候正好在装修，所以没有进去参观。
Right behind the bastion, there is a big church which was under renovation at the time I was there.
这里的另一个旅游景点是布达皇宫。布达皇宫自13世纪以来见证了许多战争，已经成为布达佩斯的地标，如今这个皇宫已成为国家图书馆、匈牙利国家画廊和市博物馆。
The other major attraction on the hills here is the former Royal Palace. Here is where major battles and wars have been taking place since the 13th century. As such, it has always been seen as the symbol of Hungary. Currently, the former Palace houses the impressive National Library, the Hungary Art Gallery and the City Museum.
布达的下半段有另一个温泉浴，泡一次温泉浴不够过瘾，所以乘到布达参观时，又去了另一次澡堂。这个澡堂比先前的那个贵一点（3100福林），规模比较小一点。这里虽然也有不同温度的水池让你泡澡，但却没有户外游泳池，三温暖的设备也没有先前那个的多。
Walking downhill towards the lower half of Buda, you will find another thermal bath – the Gellert Baths. This one is no less popular than the first one I went to, but the ticket is slightly more expensive (3100HUF). It is smaller in size with lesser pools to choose from and not that many choices when it comes to saunas. Neither can you find outdoor pools here. 布达佩斯的堡垒就坐落在温泉浴旁边的小山上。堡垒本身并不怎样，但周边的风景就实在很不错，从这里观赏布达佩斯的夜景比在布达上半段更棒。
On the small hill right next to the thermal bath, you will find the citadel. The citadel here is nothing to crow about, but the surrounding view more than make up for the disappointing citadel. And the view of the opposite side is even more beautiful from this part of Buda.