Long Study Tour: Budapest - Day 2

On our second day in Budapest, we visited a private clinic for Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Clinical Genetics. After that, we were given a few hours to wander around the city. Here is a picture rundown of our day:

A little taste of America on our way to the metro.
 Fries and a milkshake for $2? Yes, please!

What I presume to be a church, a beautiful building that sat just around the corner from our hotel.

The metros were so sketch, but functional. Our tour guide from the
 day before described this simple style as remnants of the Communist era.

KFC. I love spotting American fast food in other countries.

More random striking architecture in Budapest

The maternity clinic mentioned earlier. Not quite sure what
 "tomb" is supposed to mean in Hungarian...

Dr. Zoltan Papp gave us a brief talk about how he started his clinic
and why he chose to specialize in the field.

The stairs we had to climb up to reach the museum.

The Hospital in the Rock (literally). Now a museum to
remember the hospital's service during wartime.

A view of Budapest from atop the City Hill.

Lunch at Cafe Miro. Pan fried cheese on a bed of lettuce and pears.

Pumpkin soup complete with pumpkin seed garnish
and some sort of sweet gingery aioli.

Fisherman's Bastion: Take 1

Fisherman's Bastion: Take 2

View from the Fisherman's Bastion

Matthias Church

Back of Matthias Church

Parliament from across the Danube River

Stopped for some Rete with sweet cheese filling inside.

Cool dudes.

Chain Bridge in the daylight

Walked across the Chain Bridge

Central Market

Inside central market: there were fresh meat and vegetables, souvenirs, wines, and homemade Hungarian treats!

Stopped at the Central Bar for some (more) desserts

I got two special macarons. One was Tokaji (a Hungarian sweet wine)
flavored  and was light pink. The other one had some sort of
 paprika in it. Sorry, it tasted vague too. ;)  My favorite one
 was definitely the Tokaji!

Heroes' Square. This picture really doesn't do it justice. When we drove past it the first time, there was a unified sound of awe from our bus and I just knew I had to come back.

The boys decided to cut across the pond to get to the spa.
 I took the long way around...

We ended the day basking in the heated pools of the Szechenyi Baths. There was also saunas, sulfur pools, and places where you could get massages and facials.

The private clinic that we went to today occupied only two floors of the entire building while all the other floors held public hospital departments. Just walking up and down the stairs (which we did a lot of), it was obvious to tell which floors were public and which were private just by looking at them. The public hospital areas were a bit more rundown and crowded while the private clinic that we went to was polished, and almost looked like a hotel. They even had served us coffee and pastries while we waited for the doctor to arrive. In Hungary, most citizens are covered by state insurance. However, there is the option of paying for private insurance. This creates a bit of social inequality as those who can afford to will opt to pay for private healthcare which is more comfortable, has way shorter wait times ( days as opposed to months), and may even be of higher quality while those who cannot are left sitting in waiting rooms for hours at a time. We also learned that doctors in Hungary get paid very little. Instead there is a tacit understanding that doctors receive large gifts of money, wine, candy, etc. from their patients to supplement their income. Sketch! I guess it's one of those cultural things that are hard to change because it has been so firmly ingrained in the mind of the people.

I can't believe we're leaving Budapest tomorrow. :\ I feel like there's so much more to see!