Hungarian Name Days
Hungarians are really crazy about name days. Especially older people rather celebrate their name days than their birthday which is basically drawing the attention away from their age. You can find big parties going on just like you celebrate your birthday. In Hungary it is tradition that you give a present for somebodys name day or at least some flowers to girls. Nevertheless this is reason enough to give you the list of Hungarian name days by date.
Written in General, HungaryGrand Market Hall Budapest
The Grand Market Hall in Budapest (Hungarian: Vásárcsarnok) is one of the main attraction for tourists. If you go to a foreign country I think markets are a great way to discovers the culture and food preferences of the country. If I am on holiday usually half a day is reserved to go to a market and check out what is offered there.
It is probably the same in the Grand Market Hall in Budapest because you find typical Hungarian things such as paprika powder, goose liver or Pálinka. At least that is what the tourists should think about Hungary and their eating habits and I guess that is similar in any other touristic market in the world, they try to make you believe what is traditional. But of course Hungary is not only about paprika, Goulash and Salami even though that is what you mainly find in Grand Market Hall.
Written in Budapest Sights, HungaryHungarian National Holidays
Celebration and fireworks!
Many of the national holidays in Hungary are the same as in other countries such as Easter, New Years Eve or Christmas. Of course there are some differences but mostly they are similar. One thing here in Hungary that differs and was new to me since we don’t have this rule in Germany is that bank holidays have to be compensated on another day. Means if the public holiday is on a tuesday and you get the monday off it is very likely (most of the time even regulated by the law) that you have to work the following saturday and have only sunday off that weekend. A rule which I don’t really like but OK.
Anyways, here are the public holidays in Hungary.
Written in General, HungaryEmbassies
Your country in Budapest!
If you need a new Visa, have a passport problem or anything else that is related to your country and needs official attention than you will find here the embassies in Budapest of the countries where most of the visitors come from. Are you missing your embassy or know another address than drop me an email.
Written in General, HungaryDentist in Hungary
White teeth and a beautiful smile!
Dentists in Hungary do not earn very much in Hungary as well as doctors in hospitals or for animals. Because of this low payment it came up that many dentists moved their workplace to lake “Neusiedler See / Ferto-tó” which is half in Austria and half in Hungary closed to Sopron. Many Austrians come here over the weekend or just for a day to get their medical treatment for their teeth by a dentist in Hungary because it is very cheap compared to Austria. The service and the output is the same but the price is much lower. But there are also dental clinics in Budapestwhich are well visited and often combined with a nice weekend.
Written in Finance & Business, HungaryCurrency of Hungary
Forint, HUF, Ft.!
The currency of Hungary is the Hungarian Forint abbreviated as Ft and often denoted as HUF. The Forint waas introduce in 1946 is devided in 100 Filler. Since 1999 the Fillér does not exist anymore since it is too little money (1 Filler would be around 0,00004 Euros). The Hungarian currency Forint as we know it today was introduced on August 1st 1946. In 2008 even the 1 and 2 Forint coins got useless since all prices are rounded up or down to 5 Forint. In 2009 the Hungarian government also introduced the 200 Forint coin with the official statement that the production cost would be lower. In fact the real reason, thats what everybody thinks, is that Hungary wanted to make the next step to the Euro and have a coin which comes close to the 1 Euro coin. Not only in value but also optical.
Written in HungaryHungary Travel
More than just Budapest and Balaton!
If you plan to travel to Hungary there are usually two points to stay at or at least these are the most common. On the one hand you have Budapest, the city this entire site is about, or on the other hand you have the lake Balaton region which many people visit to relax or to party.
Written in HungaryHungary Girl
Hungary girl vs. Budapest girl!
The girl from Hungary is always seen as a sex bomb, easy to catch and beautiful. They are beautiful but not easy to catch. It is very hard to get close to girl from Hungary but once you know her you will be loved and integrated in the family pretty soon.
Written in HungaryHotel in Hungary
Budapest, Balaton, Hévíz!
If you search for a hotel in Hungary or a hotel in Budapest the difference is not too big. To find a hotel in Hungary is not a difficult task but what about quality and service. It is well known that the service sector in Hungary is lacking. Of course if you go to a 4 star or above hotel in Hungary you can be sure to get decent service. But what about the classes below?
Written in HungaryHungary Map
Hungary on one map!
Find your way in Hungary. On this map you can zoom in, out, see street names and much more. This by Google Maps provided map can show you every spot in Hungary and even in the entire world in detail. No matter if map style, satellite or hybrid. Find your spot in Hungary on the map. Alternativly if you go to Budapest check out the Budapest map.
Hungary
Landscape, climate, language
Hungary is a country in Central Eastern Europe and is surrounded by 7 other countries which are Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria. The capital of Hungary is Budapest. Since May 1, 2004 Hungary is a memeber of the European Union. The country is devided into 19 different couties but Budapest, the capital, is independent from any county government. Hungary is a mainly flat country except from the northern hilly region Transdanubia. The climate is a continental climate. It is said that Hungarian as a language is related to Finnish and Estonian but no Hungarian I ever met said that he understands any word in one of these two languages.
Written in HungaryHungary Flag
The colors of Hungary!
The flag of Hungary is a 3 striped flag, the colors are red, white and green. These three colors come from the original coat of arms of Hungary which shows a silver (white) cross on a green hill with a red background. The colors have a meaning for Hungarians. Red stands for the blood that all Hungarians lost in several fights, white stands for the cleanliness and purity of the country and green is the color of the revolution in the 19th century.
Written in HungaryBudapest Hungary
Budapest, or as many people call it the „Paris of Eastern Europe”, is a fascinating city and in the same time the capital of Hungary. The history, architecture as well as the flair in the city is unique. A visit in Budapest is a must for everybody as it is fun, cultural education and excitement in one trip. Starting from Europe Budapest is not a big trip anymore since many low cost airlines discovered Budapest as a popular destination and offer fairly cheap flights from nearly any European country. The flight takes about 2 hours and when you leave the plane you will see a different world. Budapest hotels or other accommodations like hostels or apartments are fairly cheap as well and in the same time you find European standard quality and good service.
What should your weekend or complete week in Budapest contain? A must is a sightseeing tour either with an eyewitness travel guide who provides customized tours for small groups or with one of the sightseeing tour companies which carry you around in a bus to all major sights in the city.
Another thing to do is to visit one of the Budapest baths which the city is famous for. More than 100 natural, thermal sources are counted in and around Budapest which provide the famous baths like Szechenyi, Gellert or Rudas with water.
For couples Budapest will turn into a romantic trip when the lights among the Danube turn on. Take yourself time for a riverside restaurant during one evening or choose a sightseeing cruise on the Danube at night as an evening program to enjoy the lights of the city. I promise you will be amazed.
If you plan a longer trip to Budapest or Hungary you should also take into consideration to make a trip to Lake Balaton or for a wine tasting to Villanyi which are popular one or two day trips even among Hungarians. In Villanyi you will find a high density of wine cellars with excellent wines. The Lake Balaton is the pride of Hungary since there is no seaside and nearly all Budapest citizens go there for the weekend to relax. Back in Budapest there are many bars, cafés and restaurants waiting. The coffee house culture came to Hungary during the Hungarian-Austrian time and still lasts. Cafés like Café New York, Café Central or Café Gerbeaud are definitely worth a visit. Since a couple of years many bars pop up out of the ground in some backyards of old houses. These bars use unused houses as a location which gives an amazing flair to the bars. The restaurant scenery developed amazingly in the last decade so that you find high quality restaurants with tasty food all over the city. Compared to other European capitals you pay much less for a dining out.
At nights when the lights turn on and the glance of the city comes up the first clubs start to open their gates and the nightlife starts. Usually big place like Liszt Ference tér are used to warm up, have a couple of drinks and after move one of the numerous clubs around the city. No matter if it is an open air place during the summer time or a club in an apartment hous’ cellar the party will be long, intensive and pure fun. Budapest is and stays one of the most romantic and interesting cities in Europe as it combines modern European standards with old fashioned (sometimes still communist) elements. So you see there are a lot of things to discover in Budapest and if you plan to come it is recommended to choose the late summer to go for that trip because the weather is still nice but the majority of tourists are already gone.
In this spirit: “Sziasztok”.
Keyfacts about a country and it’s capital!
- Country name: Republic Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság)
- Population: around 10.000.000
- Capital: Budapest (around 2.000.000 inhabitants)
- Language: Hungarian
- Size: 93.033 qkm
- Time: GMT +1
- Currency: Forint
- International area code: 0036 or +36
- Climate: Continental
- Borders: Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria
- Electricity: 230 V
- Religion: ~6.5 million Catholics, ~4 million Refomists, ~430.000 Lutherans, ~273.000 Greek orthodox and ~20.000 Jews
- Budapest Size: 525 qkm (2/3 on the Pest side, 1/3 on the Buda side)
- Highest point of Budapest: János-hill (527 m).
- Member of international organizations: NATO, OSZE, WTO, IWF, OECD, member of the EU
For average temperatures please check our weather link.
Further interesting facts about Budapest and Hungary you find on Reuters.
Written in General, Hungary
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