The secret museum

We were due to leave to the airport just after midday so we packed our bags and left them in the AirBnb as we had arranged a lift with Melinda.  Knowing we didn’t have a lot of time, we walked the short distance to the Mika Tivadar Secret Museum, located under the Mika Hotel.  The museum focused on the history of the building and surrounding neighbourhood which was once home to factories, the first Hungarian steam bath and the city’s first cinema.  There was lots of information in English, so we were able to learn more about the local area, including the devastating impact of Budapest’s first ghetto that was established nearby and confined around 63,000 Jewish residents. 

It seemed fitting that we should pay a quick visit to the nearby Great Synagogue of Budapest, located nearby on Dohany Avenue which marks the border of the Budapest Ghetto.  The Synagogue is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world.  There were lots of people waiting to join the half-hour tours and we decided that we would have to return another time to visit.

As we headed back towards our apartment, we found a little art shop selling prints of Budapest Parliament and purchased one to frame as the perfect way to remember our trip.  After a stop for coffee and brunch we returned to the apartment.  Melinda had been unable to fit the bikes in her car and had ordered us a taxi, which arrived soon after we did.  

The check in counter was deserted, so in the hope of being able to use the free showers in Dubai airport, we unpacked our panniers to find our unused pack towels. By the time we had repacked our bags there was a long queue and we joined it with our bikes and bags noting that we were the only people with two bags to check in.  We had booked premium economy tickets but the first leg to Dubai was economy only.  Noting the signs advising that only one bag could be checked in, I was very apprehensive as we reached the counter.  I explained that we had booked premium economy tickets and after some consultation, we were allowed to check in both bags.  We had to leave the bikes near the check in counter, so took photos as evidence as we left to make our way through security.  

With plenty of time till our flight, we wandered the terminal and found a late lunch.  We then passed through Immigration and waited for our flight to be called. It was a long, uneventful flight home, though we did enjoy a lukewarm shower in Dubai.