I bathed in public.

And I paid for the privilege.

Everybody does it in Budapest, Hungary.

That's one of the activities over there still swimming in my mind a day after my return to Fort Myers.

Turkish baths, or "The Baths," as Hungarians call it, are so relaxing.

They have truly refined the art of doing nothing.

Every bath house is different, but they all have these pools of water in different temperatures that flow from natural springs underground.

Men and women, young, middle-aged and old, lounge in the waters in their swim suits, chatting with their friends or just staring into space.

You chill in a 30-degree Celsius pool and maybe put your head under a rushing fountain.

Then emerge, slide into your flip flops and pad over to the 38-degree Celsius pool.

There's nothing like easing into the warm cocoon-feeling of warm water. Soap not required. Or even common.

See, these baths are like spas or public pools. There is no goal but to relax.

The way to go is to first dip into medium-warm pool, then go into a hotter one, then sweat as long as you can in the wooden sauna and then emerge into the eye-opening, refreshing cold pools.

In other words: Warm, hot, REALLY hot, then ice-cube cold, back to body-temperature warm and then warmer. That feels oh-so-good.

Bathing costs anywhere from $6 to $30 dollars in Hungary's currency, which are called forints.

I went to two completely different baths during my 9-day stay in Hungary.

First, you have to go to the Szechenyi Thermal Bath, one of the biggest bathing complexes anywhere in Europe.

The hot spring is the city's hottest and deepest and was discovered in 1879.

The architecture is beautiful and ornate. There are mosaic ceilings and tilework to admire all around. The outdoor pools are hot enough for people to enjoy during the dead of snowy winter.

You can choose from several different kinds of massage for an extra price. And you can can get a key for your locker to store your clothes and belongings while you wade.

They have built-in hair dryers too.

But before you dry up, you can sip beer, wine, liquor, water or juice and munch on light cafe food.

The Rudas Thermal Bath on the Buda side of the Danube River was very different in appearance, but similar in amenities.

That's because the Turks built the main octagonal pool in the 16th century. It looks medieval and simple and slightly crude, like the inside of buildings you see in the knight-castle movies.

But lift your chin to the ceiling and you see multi-colored octagonal openings in the dome roof. Sunlight beams down through colored glass, shooting rays into the pool.

At one moment, a beam of light shone on a blue flip-flop beside the pool and my boyfriend's Hungarian buddy noticed and joked, "Ah, the Holy Flip Flop."

At Rudas, women were only allowed a few years ago. It was traditionally a men-only activity, but feminism reached even Hungary. I went on a mixed gender day. Other days are men-only and women-only.

Rudas does have one additional amenity beside the saunas, baths, a cafe, massage rooms and changing lockers.

I passed out along with everybody else on the cushy, long lounge chairs inside the sound-proof "Resting Place" rooms.

Nothing beats a good nap after all those temperature changes in the water.

Ahhh.