Margit Bridge Closed
Margit Bridge in Budapest is one of the most used bridges in Budapest and additionally one of the two entrances to Margit Island. This main traffic road is closed now until 2011 at least. First Margit bridge was closed for cars only, except from taxis. Now taxis aren’t allowed as well just trams, bikes and pedestrians are allowed to cross the bridge. So you can walk it, bike it or use the tramp to cross the Danube on Margit Bridge.
So what does that mean for the traffic in Budapest? You might know that for the past years also Liberty bridge was closed and everybody thought that it will be a desaster but it wasn’t. I think in the case of margit bridge it will be the same even though Margit bridge has much heavier traffic than Liberty bridge does.
Written in Budapest NewsARC poster exhibition in Budapest
At the moment the ARC exhibition is taking place in Budapest on Ötvenhatosok square which is near the hero square. The task was to create a poster for the topic “What is happiness” which turned out to deliver some very very good results. Some funny as hell, some really serious but all of them super creative. The exhibition will run till 22nd of September and who cannot watch it due to the distance you can watch the pictures in gallerie which you find here. So make sure to check back after September 22nd.
No as I said some pictures were just hilarious for example this one:
It took me a moment to get it but I think thats just simple and good. There were tons of good posters so if you have the chance to see it go for it. It is for free, you can get drinks there and it is open till late if not all night. For all of you Hungarian speakers check the website.
Written in Budapest News, Music & ArtsAC/DC concert in Budapest impressions
I haven’t been to the AC/DC concert yesterday in Budapest Sportarena but I heart from several people that it waas a blast. Well the only proof I could find so far is on Youtube, so check out this video of the concert yesterday.
Looks pretty awesome. Cheers
Written in Budapest NewsBudapestagent on Facebook
Today morning I had a little time and thought about creating a page on Facebook for Budapestagent.com. Well the Result you can find here. Of course still I am learning about the creation of pages, all the applications that can be added and so on. Its not as easy as I thought cause it is mixing up with my normal Facebook Account and all of a sudden I have Twitter Tweets, Rss Feeds and so on on my normal Facebook profile even though I want them to be on the Facebook page.
Well anyways I think it is a nice way to see if and how popular Budapestagent.com is and if the information is really helpful. In my mails I have daily critics, feedback, hate and love mails but transferring that to a more or less open platform is a nice possibility. So if you are on Facebook please “Become a fan of Budapestagent.com on Facebook” I would be more than happy.
As I am really into Social Media at the moment you can also follow me on Twitter.
Written in Budapest NewsBudapest March 15th riots
No March 15th national holiday in Budapest without riots. Of course yesterday (luckily I haven’t been in Budapest) there were some demonstrations by the far right again as nearly every year. Since 2006 I am writing about it but since these are no big news anymore I will just post old links where you will find videos, pictures and articles by famous news sources such as the New York Times, CNN or the BBC.
25.10.2006 – incl. videos
24.10.2006 – with BBC pictures
03.10.2006 – 2 videos
19.09.2006 – CNN news
For more posts about riots in Budapest try the search in this blog or check out Google News about yesterdays riots. Cheers and live in Peace.
Written in Budapest NewsGyurcsány resigned
That was a big news over the weekend. Ferenc Gyurcsany, primeminister of Hungary, offered his resignation. He will leave his place to somebody new if his party, MSZP, finds another candidate for the Primeminster position. Problem is that the opposition votes against any social spendings which makes the work harder than it should be. Fidesz now has the MSZP where they want them to be. Gyurcsány offered to step back from his position if that is necessary to lead the country out of the current crisis.
Till April 14th Gyurcsány will remain as Primeminister, till than a new candidate should be found to avoid completely new elections which the main opposition party Fidesz is calling for. Nevertheless Gyurcsány was reelected as the partys president with 85% of the votes.
With that news the Forint started to be weaker again and jumped up above the 300 mark. At the moment around 302 Forint per Euro which is most likely to go up the next days. So if you are planning to change some Euros into Forint I would wait 2 or 3 days.
As I am not the political monster and just sum up what I read in other sources I recommend to you to read the following stories about Gyurcsány and his resignation:
Written in Budapest NewsNew Metro trains arrived in Budapest
The new Metro / subway trains arrived in Budapest. Brand new, white and for sure more secure than the old ones the Metro wagos arrived by bus late last month. I don’t know if these trains are only for the new build, soon to be ready (couple more years?) Metro 4 or for all Budapest Metro lines. Check out the Video:
Looks nice and shiny. The question is when these trains will make their first ride in Europes second oldest metro system.
Written in Budapest NewsForint hits the 300
Well it happened already yesterday or a day before. 1 Euro is worth more than 300 Forint which makes your holiday in Hungary cheaper than ever. Also buying a house would be “cheaper” than ever.
Airport strikes again
As I wrote a bit more than a month ago I had the feeling that the Budapest Airport strikes 4 times a year. Well there we have the first strike of 2009 just approximately 35 days after the last strike. At least it is not holiday time and not right before christmas now but anyways it seems like a big farse to me. As Caboodle wrote the reason is that “The unions are demanding changes to their collective agreement, freezing layoffs and paying benefits retroactively.” Anywas Malév, the Hungarian airlines ensures that all flights will take off even though it will come to delays and passengers should be at the airport about 2 – 2,5 hours before the flight just like last month.
Written in Budapest News6 Festivals you shouldn’t miss 2009
The year has just started and already plans are going on about all kinds of festivals in Budapest. Even though some festivals and their offers tend to be quite similar each and every event is a nice opportunity to see something really Hungarian and get a feeling for Hungarian food, drinks and mentality. Therefore I collected some festivals in 2009 which you shouldn’t miss in Budapest no matter if you are an expat living here or a tourist visiting for a week. If you have the chance to visit one of the festivals I highly recommend to do so.
1. Mangalica Festival
Most of you might ask yourselves what Mangalica is. Mangalica is a typical Hungarian type of pig which somehow reminds me of a sheep as well. The festival is all about this type of pigs, no matter if it is in shape of a sausage, living or in arts. Honestly this type of meat tastes absolutly amazing and has its price in the shops but it is worth to try it.
The festival offers a “pörkölt cooking competition”, pigs to see, information about the pigs and why they are Mangalicas as well as a lot to eat and drink as usual in Hungary. For further information on the Mangalica pig check out Wikipedia and for more information on the festival (unfortunaltey just in Hungarian) and its programme click here.
The festival takes place at Városligeti Vajdahunyad Vára between February 6th and 8th.
2. Budapest Spring Festival
The Budapest spring festival is taking place since years and years by now and is one of the most visited festivals in Budapest. It is mainly about concerts ranging from folk over opera to cross over concerts for 2 weeks. I assume that during these 2 weeks you are able to see more than 100 performances of all types of music. Also available are performances for children and some special which is this year Japanese performances.
It would be useless to start to tell you about the performers so I refer to the official website wich is the programme in the same time. For more information click here.
3. Summer on Chain Bridge
You might have seen it that during the entire summer the chain bridge in Budapest is closed for cars and busses because on saturdays and sundays the chain bridge is full of little shops selling arts, gifts, food and drinks as usual in Hungary. What you will find here is a nice walk across the chain bridge without disturbing traffic watching hand made arts and gifts while having a beer and a sausage or something similar traditional Hungarian.
The summer on chain bridge is not a spectecualar festival as it is not concentrated on one weekend per year but on the entire summer but for a nice sunday walk it is absolutly recommendable. I didn’t know but on research I found out that the festival has a website. Check it out here. It takes place from June 21st till August 17th.
4. Budapest Pálinka Festival
Probably the festival most people would like to go to because they can have a taste of Hungarys favourite shot, the Pálinka. Pálinka is like a fruit spirit in all kinds of flavours with honey (mézes) or without including fruits (ágyas) or not and so on. It is a really nice festival near Déak Ferenc Tér with Pálinka manufacturers from all over Hungary.
What I don’t really like at the Pálinka festival is the control which the exhibitors have from the organisators. Every visitor has to pay entrance which is justified with a useless Pálinka glas and you need value tickets for everything you want to buy if it is Pálinka, a juice or sausage. Also the Pálinka producers are bound to the prices the organizers give so that every exhibitor has to give a Pálinka away for a minimum of 200 HUF no matter if it is a really bad one or a high quality Pálinka.
Nevertheless it is a nice opportunity to try some different Pálinkas and maybe take a bottle home. Unfortunately there is no website for the year 2009 yet and no exact date but check out the website for more information.
5. Wine Festival Budapest
Another popular festival in Budapest which is quite much alike with the Pálinka festival as it has the same organizers I guess. What you find here is a large variety of wines from all over Hungary, from Villany to Tokaj you will get every wine and nearly every large winemaker of Hungary is present there. Of course you will get all types of other things as well like beer and food as usual in Hungary but it is all about the wine.
Same issue as with the Pálinka festival I don’t like the fact of control over the producers by dictating the price and asking money from the visitors but this is what we have to live with. Still there is no exact date for the wine festival in Budapest but it will be in the castle disctrict as every year.
6. Sziget Festival
Of course the Sziget Festival in Budapest has to be on this list as THE biggest festival among the listed and even in Europe according to the number of visitors. One week music on several stages on the “Óbudai-Sziget” which is the island in the north of Budapest. Still there is no lineup for this years Sziget but it will be a blast like every year. People from all over Europe coming for bands like Iron Maiden, Alanis Morisette, Jamiroquai, Sex Pistols, R.E.M. (all 2008), Manu Chao, Chemical Brothers, Pink, Sinéad O’Connor, Faithless (all 2007), Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, Radiohead, The Rasmus, Placebo or Prodigy (all in 2006). You see I could go on and the names on the list don’t get worse but what I can guarantee you is that this festival is just blowing your mind. I mean you get anything from good music to sex, from food to drinks as usual in Hungary on Sziget festival. There is no way around not going there if you are from Budapest or here in this time.
The Sziget will take place between August 12th and 17th on Óbudai Sziget in Budapest and the ticket prices for the entire festival range from 100 to 150€ while the daily ticket will be again around 10.000 to 12.000 HUF (40-50€). Get more information, ticket information, videos and pictures here.
Written in Budapest News, Daily Life“No tour today because of ice”
These where the words I read today morning on my way to work on every sightseeing tour by boat pier in Budapest. The Danube is covered in ice since a couple of days and since then sightseeing boats are not allowed to cruise on the Danube. Big ships such as transporters are still allowed to go their way through Hungarys capital but even the large river cruise boats coming from or going to Vienna and Bratislava I haven’t seen in a while.
Still the weather is not getting warmer so that there seems to be no chance in the next few days for the sightseeing boats to go on a cruise. Anyways the winter in Budapest is not the busiest time but for a few people the sightseeing trip by boat would have been for sure a nice opportunity.
Written in Budapest NewsGas Cuts effect Budapest
During the last days the gas problems started to effect Budapest quite much. The Budapest Airport was the first to switch from gas heating to oil heating as Reuters reported yesterday. Also yesterday I heart that Suzuki had to close its factory for the duration of the gas discussions. When I opened my Google reader today morning Portfolio.hu reported that also Westend turned down heating from 26 degrees to 20 degrees celsius as they fall into the third category of gas users which are most likely to be shut down today. Also the warm water in the visitors toilets will be shut down today.
And this is not all, Tesco is searching for posibilities to alternativly heat their stores as spokeswoman Mónika Hackl said yesterday. The other shopping giant Auchan spoke open about a lack of alternative heating possibilities which would cause serious problems for their stores all over Hungary.
From today on the Graphisoft Park, I think 2nd or 3rd biggest business park in Budapest, shut down the heating from today and employees of no other companies like Microsoft or SAP have to work in the cold or from home.
Budapest starts to be in real trouble concerning these gas issues and there is no end to be seen. I think it is incredible which power gas owning countries have by simply turning down the gas.
Written in Budapest NewsFree guided tour in Budapest
Well first of all I want to say happy birthday and wish my best to Hungarybudapestguide.com a very good and comprehensive website about Budapest. More or less a competitor of me but no reason not to congratulate and say thank you for all the comments. Now as a gift Hungarybudapestguide.com gives away a free guided tour in Budapest but only if you send an email to them today.
Free guided sightseeing tour in Budapest means that you will get a tour guide by foot for free, no hidden costs or anything. Unfortunately it is not said for how long the tour will last. If you want transportation e.g. by car you need to hire it yourself.
So that is a big chance for you to grab a free tour if you send an email to them but hurry since it is only for today. Congratulations again.
Written in Budapest NewsNice Budapest Pictures
Just a quick post to let you know about 3 very good pictures of Budapest. Picutres taken from iClickclick. Really really good as I think.
The name “Budapest Moving” is well chosen for these pictures.
Written in Budapest NewsAfter the airport come the trains
When I opened my feedreader this morning I had tons of airport strike news to read. Honestly I am not sure how much is going on there at the moment but as I read at Hungarybudapestguide inbound and outbound flights are still going on Ferihegy only that outbound flights have a delay of around 30 – 60 minutes and the airport recommends to arrive at least 3 hours before departure due to the long time waiting at the security check in.
As if that wouldn’t be enough I saw today morning on the TV and also in my feedreader that also MÁV, the Hungarian railway company is on strike. Well thats a nice timing. Budapest Airport and trains on strike and that right before christmas. Sounds like a nice holiday for all those going by plane or train to their relatives. I will leave Hungary on saturday but by car, as usual when I am going to Transilvania. As I heart there is about half a meter of snow and -20 degrees celsius already… I can’t wait, honestly.
Coming back to the strikes, I have the feeling that the airport is on strike 4 times a year probably for just not working a couple of days. Thats at least what a friend told me who is working on the airport that he is not really on strike but loves his time off. I don’t want to presume any lazyness but I really have the feeling that they are quite often on strike. Anyways in a couple of days it will calm down, everybody can go on holiday and have a nice christmas.
Written in Budapest NewsMore Lights in Budapest
I read today in a newspaper article, I think it was Metro, that soon 2 more bridges in Budapest will get lights at night. At the moment just the Chain Bridge is fancy lighted at night but soon to come, Margit Bridge and Freedom Bridge will get lights as well.
The costs for this project will be taken over by the country of Japan. Why Japan? The diplomatic relationship between Hungary and Japan is celebrating its anniversary and thus Japan will take over the 250 million Forint costs for the lights.
That for sure will look nice, I have seen a modified image in the newspaper, but it will for sure take away some attention of famous Chain bridge. Well, we will see.
Written in Budapest NewsBudapest Bar Scam
End of last week I was searching a bit online and stumbled upon an article or a review about the Bar Galaxia in Budapest. So far so good but the review was more than bad and reported about a typical Budapest Bar Scam around Vaci út in Budapest.
Typical is that 2 good looking, young girls pretending to be students chat up some tourists on Vaci út. They pretend to not know any bars around but of course they know exactly where they are going. The bars you go to are super expensive and you will not go out there under 25.000 HUF per person for a few drinks. A good collection of bars you can find at the website of the Embassy of the USA which include the following:
-
Diamond Club
Budapest II district, Bimbó út 3. -
Eden Night Club
Budapest VI district, Andrássy út. 54. -
Galaxia étterem, bár
Budapest V district, Bécsi utca 3. -
La Dolce Vita
Budapest V district, Október 6. utca 8. -
Mercy Club and Lounge
Budapest VII district, Dohány utca 88. -
Nirvana Night Club
Budapest V district, Szent István krt.13. -
Pigalle Night Club
Budapest VIII district, Kiss József utca 1-3. -
Városközpont (accessible by outside elevator)
Budapest V district, Váci utca 16.
These are the bars to avoid in Budapest according to the embassy of the United States of America. Of course there are more bars like this but that is a good start. If you search on Google for Bar Galaxia in Budapest you will find tons of articles about the scam. Here are some articles and forum posts I found which perfectly describe the scheme of the girls and and bars.
Forum post at Topix.com about Swindle in Budapest – Click
Article about Budapest bar Scam at johnnyjet.com – Click
List of bars/restaurants to avoid by the US Embassy – Click
And I also collected a list of especially table dance / strip bars in Budapest to avoid – Click
If you need reliable bars in Budapest check out my list of reviewed bars in Budapest where you can go to. If you want to go to a nightclub in Budapest please select one of the trusted. The most trusted and famous nightclub in Budapest among tourists is for sure the Marilyns night club at Baross utca. So you can go there, enjoy yourself but have a transparent pricing scheme.
So please, if you are up to catching girls here in Budapest go through the city with open eyes, read every menu before you order and don’t let them chat you up on tourist centers like Vaci street because there you for sure get ripped off. If you need recommendations or have any experience with Budapest Bar Scam please leave a comment or drop me a line by email.
Written in Budapest News, OddGrand openings in Budapest
Two openings this year to talk about. As mashkulture.net reports Roberto Cavalli opened up a store in Budapest. Together with his partner and friends, Hungarian film producer Andy Vajna (Terminator Trilogy) his Andrassy ut flag store opened up. Cavalli and Vajna were present themselves as you can see on th pictures.
Second grand opening will be Costa Coffee this december. The London based coffee company plans to open up 10 stores in Budapest, the first 2 will be this year on Oktogon and on Vaci utca. Prices for a regular 3dl Caffe Latte will be between 550 and 600 HUF as Caboodle reports.
Two stores that nobody really needs but it is nice to see that international companies are expanding to Budapest and Eastern Europe.
Written in Budapest NewsBudapest Fashion Week 2008
This weekend the Budapest Fashion Week will be held in VAM Design Center. From today, friday November 28th till sunday November 30th nearly 21 designers and fashion companies will present their letest creations. Every day from 7 p.m. till 10 p.m male and female models will hit the catwalk in fancy dresses.
The companies presenting the fashion are Váradi Csaba, Makány Márta, Orosz Réka, Király Mónika, Iványi Kriszta, Gere Márta Georgina és Magdolna Veronika, EXP, Krausz Dianna, Varga Gyöngyi, Tóth Mónika, LeCorset, Szakos Kriszta, Reök Cecília és Varga Tímea, Coterie Studio, Glotz Erika, Madream, Mantra, La Coll, Mixchel, Kenguru.
The fashion will be presented by the hottest Budapest girls and models from all over the country. The entrance price for the fashion week is 1500 HUF (~6 Euro) or if you come in a group of more than 15 persons you will pay 1300 HUF per ticket. For more information about tickets and pricing find more information on Ticketpro.hu the official ticket office for the Budapest Fashion Week.
So if you are a fashion fan and have time, go have a look at Budapest Fashion Week 2008.
Written in Budapest NewsChristmas Markets open in Budapest
Usually I tend to say that christmas markets open up on December 1. but I was wrong. Last weekend already the christmas market in Budapest at Vörösmarty Tér opened up and it looks like a lot of people have been there during rain and snow to get their first mulled wine (Glühwein). So if you feel like going out in the cold to get some sausage, mulled wine or just watch the every year returning shops on Vörösmarty Tér Christmas market you can.
I myself will go most probably the coming weekend already. Even though I don’t expect much more than hot wine and the same old christmasish stuff you can buy there and the food you get on every fair. If you are keen on some pictures you can check there here or here.
Written in Budapest News
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