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Don`t forget your bag at the Dagály
From The Budapest Sun • December 7 - 13, 2000
Part of a series about the medicinai baths and swimming pools of the capital
THE Dagály - pronounced dog-eye - is one of the many strands in Budapest. A swimming bath, sauna and medicinal water complex surrounded by acres of parkland, trees and grass on which to sunbathe and check out the talent.
The strand is a well-known cultural phenomenon featuring water slides, fried fish and lángos-frisbee-sized doughnuts which leave you with oily fingers as you sit in the hot curative saunas or eggy brown water.
However, in winter, the Dagály changes its character and clientele and truly comes into its own. Gone are the adolescent boys, flexing their muscles and attempting to impress and later pick up girls in molecule-sized bikinis. They are replaced by the middleaged szatír (satyr) with years of experience and a beer belly to prove it.
It becomes a haven for nénis to proudly display their flesh, complete with operation scars and bathing caps from the 1960s. Some are yellow with roses and some feature fluorescent Carmen Miranda fruit arrangements.
Social life hovers between the sauna and the thermal pool. The sauna is two huge rooms where everyone stands, sits or lies in pools of other people`s sweat and discarded skin cells. The slimy feel of the benches, as your neighbor scratches himself down with a robber loofah, is not for the fainthearted.
"Saunas boost the immune system", said my sweating companion."People who sauna regularly never get sick." My only question is how come everyone is coughing? There is a sign that says smoking is not allowed within the stiflingly hot room; a task that is quite difficult even to contemplate.
Papucs (beach sandals) are essential, firstly to blend in with the locals and second,they are vital to guard against "font mushrooms". These places are not for anyone with a fear of foot bacteria.
A recent innovation is the foot disinfectant spray dispensers which have been introduced into the ladies` changing room. They are supposed to issue a jet of water and alcohol if you press down on a pedal. Unfortunately, usually all that comes out is a fragrant wheeze since the spray has run out again.
A necessary fashion accessory is the shopping bag, preferably in woven colored string, although a JÉÉÉ supermarket sack in shiny orange comes a good second. Lockers are provided for shoes and heavy coats, but most people bring sandwiches, newspapers and yellow lemon juice bottles filled with mysterious liquids, hence the shopping bag.
The Dagály`s jewel is the gyógyvíz - the medicinal pool. Here we sat in the open air in sub-zero temperatures. It is best at dusk when the lights come on and twinkle through the shopping bags, evoking a fairy-tale world.
The pool is divided into two parts. On the far side you can observe the comings and goings at the buffet through the glass, as the patrons inside indulge in that typically healthy Hungarian activity of consuming beer, pálinka, ciggies and scones laced with teperto (fat-fried pork cubes).
The light-blue tiles have a friendly layer of mildew and there is built-in seating under the yellow corrugated roofs which shelter you and your shopping bag from the rain. Lines of plastic bags sway gently in the breeze. Most people cluster around the hot water source where the temperature is in marked contrast to that around your ears. Everyone stays below water level as they venture out into the gloom, balancing bags on their heads and doing a sub-aqua Groucho Marx duck walk.
On the far side, the water is not as warm, but you can float on your back amongst the leaves and gaze up at the pine trees, contemplating life as the rain or snow sprinkles your face, toes and anything else protruding above water level.
A word of warning; young women will endure less hassle if they come in groups of two or more. The curative minerals in the water appear to have a stimulating effect on the hormones of middle-aged men, the ones who wear their woolen bobble hats in the water and adipose as a trophy.
At around 5pm in winter, it gets so dark outside you can`t see anything through the steam rising up from the water. Figures suddenly loom out of the fog. In the more secluded corners, all manners of trysts and romantic encounters take place. It is the place for Angyalföld gossip; extra-marital affairs are discussed and even conducted here.
A peculiar fact is that Magyarok (Hungarians) usually have a mania for wearing hats and keeping their heads warm. Try going outside with a néni friend and watch the reaction. Yet here in the Dagály most people ignore the fact that several amongst them are sittin in sub-zero temperatures with soaking wet hair. One of life`s mysteries.
The cloakroom néni is a character. She locks your cupboard and gives you a key with an entirely different number on it. Something always hurts and she is always in a foul mood. However, since I started tipping Ft20, slipping it surreptitiously into her apron pocket, as is the custom, the cupboardlocking process has been sped up miraculously and she beams me a gold-toothed smile.
Down the subterranean corridor, decorated in red, yellow and orange 2cm-square tiles, you reach the 30-meter pool under the tent. Here the atmosphere tan sometimes get a bit stressful, although it has been brightened up with thrée potted palms.
Trouble starts when a crowd of walruses start plowing up and down the center of the pool. They won`t budge from the middle of the lane even if faced with Krisztina Egerszegi, so it might be better to venture along the long plastic corridor where air fresh-ners are festooned like Christmas tree decorations and then emerge into the November mist. The sun shines brightly, even when there is still thick snow on the ground.
The outdoor pool is only for the hardiest - or foolhardiest. The temperature guides are there for a reason and on the really extreme days you can feel icicles forming under your nose. The trick is to keep as much of your body as possible under water.
In the 50-meter pool the water is not warm but a tepid below-body temperature inspiring energetic movement rather than hanging around. With the blue skies and the hius of Óbuda just over the river, it is an invigorating way to spend a Sunday morning.
Goggles guard sensitive eyes against an overdose of chlorine, yet give a view of the sub-aqua world that is not always welcome. From under-water the liegs dangling in the clear blue water look like pink seaweed, or maybe a scene from Jaws. On one of our visits, the sight of a white mouse-like object on the bottom made us hastily retreat to the medicinal pool.
Many of my Hungarian friends refuse to come with me into this part, saying it is suspicious that the nénis stay there all day without a break from the ham opening time to closing and appear to drink regularly from yellow plastic bottles, despite the warning not to remain longer than 30 minutes or so, because of the strength of the mineral content.
Dagály
Népfürdo street
M3 to Árpád bridge
Open: Oct1-Apr30 Mon-Fri 6am-7pm; Sat-Sun 6am-5pm;
May1-Sept30 Mon-Sun 6am-7pm.
Ticket office open until one hour before closing.