(VERY) ROUGH GUIDE TO BUDAPEST AND HUNGARY

1. GENERAL HUNGARIANISMS

To put things into perspective: We are tiny. I mean TINY. Hungary is smaller than the state of
Pernambuco and Pernambuco almost has as many inhabitants.

How do we call ourselves? Magyar. Surprisingly enough Turkish languages also call us magyar. Other
languages use a form of Hungary. Our language is grammatically closely related to Finnish. Which
means it could well be spoken by extra-terrestrial as you’ll find very few things which are familiar
from other languages!

Which languages do we speak? Apart from Hungarian, obviously, which is a beast to learn. Most
young people will speak English. German knowledge is the second most common. If you’d like to ask
somebody for information in the street, go for the under 35 year olds – they are far more likely to
speak English. Bad news: ticket sellers, entry and security guards, public transport ticket controllers
etc. rarely speak anything else than Hungarian, but you might get lucky.

Where else is Hungarian spoken? All the territories, which are in the neighboring countries but have
a Hungarian minority. After World War I 71% of Hungary’s territory went to other (either existing or
newly created) states. Look here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary#/media/File:Trianon_consequences.png

That of course created all kinds of enmities, which continue to plague the region, unfortunately.
Huge Hungarian minorities live in Romania (Transylvania region), Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine.

Do we have traditional RIVALS? Yes, we do. Number one is Romania, owing to the fact that a huge
part of the country used to be Hungary (see above). Same reasons for Slovakia and Serbia. You might
notice negative attitude towards these countries (it’s the same vice versa). Also, you will probably
come across negative attitudes towards local Roma people.

About the REGIONS of Hungary. The river Danube cuts the country in half, flowing from the
northwest to the south. The area west to the Danube is Transdanubia (Dunántúl), the east is
associated mostly with the Hungarian Great Plain (Alföld), bordered by mountains of the north.

This is a simple and good enough map with the largest cities and regions:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transdanubia#/media/File:RegionsHungary.png

RELIGION. Mostly Christian, there is a Jewish community and a small Muslim one as well. There are
Buddhist places of worship, too. The western side of the country is Roman Catholic majority, the
eastern side is divided Catholic/Protestant. Debrecen is the centre of Calvinism and Protestantism in
general in the country. The far northeast is Greek Catholic.

CURRENCY. Hungarian Forint (HUF). 1 Real is about 81 Forints now.

Banknotes: 20 000 HUF, 10 000 HUF (don’t mix those two, the colours are quite similar in recent
notes!), 5000 HUF, 2000 HUF, 1000 HUF, 500 HUF.
http://www.mnb.hu/bankjegy_es_erme/bankjegyeink
Coins: 200 HUF, 100 HUF, 50 HUF, 20 HUF, 10 HUF, 5 HUF
http://www.mnb.hu/Bankjegy_es_erme/mnbhu_ermek

Rounding rules: As there are no 2 or 1 HUF coins, if you buy something, it’s either rounded to 5 or 0,
so if something costs 248 HUF, you’ll pay 250, if it’s 242 HUF, you’ll pay 240.

Credit cards: as long as you’re within towns and cities, they are accepted almost everywhere. ATMs
are abundant. If you’re in the countryside, better prepare cash, though most villages have at least
one ATM or an open post office where you can get money.

The sin of sins. Don’t try to turn up in a shop (especially a small one) in the morning trying to pay
with a 20 000 or 10 000 HUF banknote. They will look at you as if you killed their family. They will
hate you 

2. TRANSPORT. As the country is tiny, there is no need for inland air traffic.

Railways are well-developed and Budapest-centric. The railway company is called MÁV. You can find
express trains, InterCity (IC) trains, fast trains, commuter trains and regular (slow) trains. Expresses,
IC trains are much better, faster and usually air-conditioned – but you pay extra for the seat
reservation. You might use international trains for traveling within Hungary, too. In general – for me
– it’s more comfortable than buses.

The web address for the train schedules: http://www.mavcsoport.hu/en

Bus services are frequent, too. There are long-distance buses and regional ones. The national bus
company is called Volánbusz. Each region has its own regional bus company with the central station
usually in the capital of the county. Cities have their own public transport system, too.

Official site of Volánbusz: http://www.volanbusz.hu/en

The web address for the bus schedules: http://ujmenetrend.cdata.hu/uj_menetrend/en/index.php

Car sharing is becoming more and more popular. Main site for it is http://www.oszkar.com/

In the countryside you might try hitch-hiking, though trying it alone is not the safest thing ever for
women.

Unfortunately (and quite puzzlingly) there is no website where there is an integrated train and bus
schedule, so if you go somewhere by train and then change to bus (which is very often the best way
to reach some places), you have to do a double a search. It’s stupid.

3. SAFETY

This is no Brazil – so to say, our safety index is much higher. Muggings and robberies are very rare,
armed robberies extremely rare, you are very, very, very unlucky to fall victim of a violent crime. The
main things you have to look out for are pickpockets on stations/crowded places and burglaries. You
can encounter scams and „tourist traps”, like in any part of the world.
Walking around at night is safe (there are exceptions, but generally it is). Night buses are safe to use.
You’ve learnt how to stay safe in Brazil, so staying safe in Hungary should be no challenge. Use your
wits, open your eye and stay safe!

Police emergency calling number is 107

Warning: a huge number of migrants – mostly refugees from Syria – are coming through Hungary
nowadays. You will see it in the railway stations and in Debrecen, too. The government whipped the
refugee fear up, so people might not look at them kindly.

4. HEALTH AND SANITATION

Tap water is safe to drink and usually of good-to-excellent quality. Budapest and Debrecen both
have good quality drinking tap water. If you are at a place or public well where the water is not safe
to drink, you’ll see „Nem ivóvíz” signs.

Public toilets are varied in quality. If you want to go to a street public toilet – well, only do it in the
last and most urgent case. Toilets in shopping malls are usually good. No need for toilet paper bins,
sewage system is wider than the Brazilian one – paper goes straight in.

Diseases: Fortunately we have no mosquito-caused fevers. No really dangerous insects. The most
dangerous are ticks – they can carry Lyme disease and and encephalitis. If you’re spending time in
nature (spring—autumn period), it’s best to carry an insect repellent and thoroughly search for ticks.
If found, just get them out with tweezers. They mostly live in forest/undergrowth areas.

Dangerous animals: humans, mostly… Nothing really serious.

Ambulance emergency calling number is 104

Firefighters emergency calling number is 105
General emergency calling number is 112

5. IF I WERE YOU (AND IF I HAD TIME), I’D VISIT THESE PLACES…

Budapest, of course, and you will do it. One of the most beautiful cities of Europe, even though we
always complain about it!

Lake Balaton, especially the north, hilly side of it. Well worth a long weekend. Tihany with its old
abbey and Balatonfüred are places not to miss. The party capital of Balaton is Siófok on the south
side of the lake. The Káli-medence on the north side of Balaton is like a mini Provence.

The Danube Bend, with the old castle of Hungarian kings in the little town of Visegrád, the town of
Esztergom with its amazing basilica and the stunning natural beauty of it. The river splits two
mountain ranges in half and comes down with a sharp bend. My favourite place in the whole
country. And I’ve seen a lot of things!

Lillafüred. Miskolc might be a huge and not-so-pretty city (the capital of the northeast, traditional
industrial city), but its outskirts are superb. Lillafüred with the Castle Hotel and the lakes might be
one of the prettiest and most romantic areas of Hungary. Nearby Miskolctapolca has an awesome
and huge thermal bath, including pools in caves. The Bükk plateau – a huge plateau over Lillafüred –
offers great hiking opportunities and looks like an alpine place! Quite close to Debrecen, too.
Őrség. A remote border area in Western Hungary, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Rolling hills, tiny
villages, everything is green, huge forests, ancient churches, and the whole area is as picturesque as
they can get. Beautiful and relaxing place.

Hollókő. A World Heritage village in the north. Easter is huge fun with beautiful folk costumes,
buckets of water thrown at the girls, folk dances and stuff. It also has a medieval fort over the village.

Mohács. The main attraction is „busójárás” (February 4-9 in 2016), which is an ancient folk tradition:
people are dressing up in folk costumes and (sometimes very scary!) masks to scare off winter and
celebrate the oncoming of spring. Huge party and very spectacular.

Pécs. Almost Mediterranean in feeling and certainly one of the most beautiful Hungarian cities – the
capital of the South. World Heritage ancient Christian worship places. Great city centre. Great wine
traditions.

Eger. Lovely city of the northeast with a lot of Turkish influence and the fort which kept out the
Ottoman Turks in 1552 – one of the proudest military victories of ours (the fort fell to them later,
anyway). Wines. Wines. Wines. Everywhere. Nearby Egerszalók has an amazing spa.

Tokaj. Especially if you’re into sweet wine. The town (and its vineyards) even feature in the
Hungarian anthem! Nearby villages (Mád, Tállya) might even be better with good wineries.

Szeged. Capital of the southeast. Huge summer festival. Famous river fish dishes.

Kőszeg and Sopron. Two pretty and traditional towns by the Austrian border. Kőszeg is the smaller
and the more charming, Sopron is the bigger and livelier, but both are great.

Nyíregyháza. The traditional city rival of Debrecen has a great zoo, it’s well worth checking out! The
city is also worth a visit.

Kékes (Kékestető). The highest peak of Hungary with 1014 metres in the mountain range called
Mátra. TV tower on top, amazing views. Ski slopes. If you go on a clear winter day, you might even
see the Tatra mountain range in far away Slovakia. The nearby mountain villages and resorts
(Mátrafüred, Mátraháza, Galyatető, Mátraszentimre, Parádfürdő, Parádsasvár etc.) are beautiful.
Regional buses go up near the top of Kékes, but it’s far more challenging to start from Mátraháza and
hike up. It will HURT.

Hortobágy. Close to Debrecen. The heart of the Great Plains of Hungary with showrooms and live
showcases of traditional life in the plain. I’m more of a mountain type, but it’s good for a visit. Talking
of Debrecen: don’t miss nearby Hajdúszoboszló with its world class thermal spa!

Nagybörzsöny. Tiny, tiny remote village in the mountain range called Börzsöny next to the Danube
Bend. Two medieval churches. Great atmosphere. An amazing shop selling all kinds of jams, spreads
and chutneys you can imagine. Old water mills. Small forest train. The scenery is kickass. Nearby
villages are cute, too.

Caves of Aggtelek. Far up north in another remote village. Huge cave system, actually you can cave-
hike through to Slovakia! Guided cave tours.
Thermal Lake of Hévíz. It’s huge. It’s thermal. It’s in the west. It’s funny in winter – there might be
minus 10 C outside but the lake is 26-30 C warm!

6. TELEPHONE

Hungary’s calling code is +36. The three main mobile providers are T-Mobile, Telenor and Vodafone.
Tesco also sells mobiles and cards. Coverage can be so-so in remote, mountain and forest areas. All
providers offer quite good smartphone data deals.

7. POWER

Electricity is 220V, standard European.

http://www.adaptelec.com/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&products_id=156

8. EMBASSY

If you need the Brazilian Embassy for whatever reasons: it’s in the city centre, Szabadság tér 7., in the
Bank Centre building. It’s situated between Kossuth Lajos tér (Parliament, M2 metro stop) and Arany
János utca (M3 metro stop).

http://budapeste.itamaraty.gov.br/pt-br/
ROUGH GUIDE TO BUDAPEST
THE NAME. Budapest consists of Buda (the west, hilly side of the Danube) and Pest (the east, plain
side of the Danube). Those two were separate cities until the unification in the 19th century and
there is still a rivalry between the two sides. I, for example am from Pest and have nothing to do with
those upper-class guys over the other side  Buda has lots of greens, hills and mountains, the Royal
Castle, the real rich parts of the city, while Pest has the city centre and it’s the centre for culture and
nightlife, too.

1. GETTING AROUND.

The local public transport company is BKV/BKK. Public transport – even when we complain about it –
is well-designed, frequent and good. You rarely need a taxi. Night public transport is probably one of
the best in Europe. Within the inner city districts (V, VI, VII, VIII) walking is a good option, too.

METRO. Comes in four flavors. Your tickets are checked when entering and can be checked on the
way out, too.

Line M1 (yellow): The oldest metro in the continent. Little one, kinda cute and short, runs from the
city centre through Andrássy út (one of the main boulevard) to Városliget (City Park) and beyond.

Line M2 (red): The most important one. Runs east-west from Örs vezér tere to Déli pályaudvar
(Southern Railway station). Touches the national stadium and sports arena (Stadionok), 2 main
railway stations (Keleti, Déli – you will probably go to Debrecen from Keleti, which you can also reach
by M4), the biggest junctions in the city centre (Blaha Lujza tér – change to tram line 4/6; Astoria;
Deák Ferenc tér – change to M1 and M3 metros), the Parliament (Kossuth Lajos tér), the main traffic
hubs of Buda (Batthyány tér; Széll Kálmán tér). You’ll likely to use it the most.

Line M3 (blue): Runs south-north from Kőbánya-Kispest (railway connection, airport connection)
through the city centre (Corvin negyed, Kálvin tér, Ferenciek tere, Deák Ferenc tér, Arany János utca)
to the biggest railway station (Nyugati – the Western station) and beyond to Újpest-Központ.

Line M4 (green): Almost as pointless as the metro in Salvador. Huge money project, not so useful.
Runs northeast-southwest from Keleti railway station to Kelenföldi railway station. Main stops in the
city: Kálvin tér (change to M3), Fővám tér (Central Market Hall), Szent Gellért tér (Gellért hill), Móricz
Zsigmond körtér (very important traffic hub of South Buda) and Újbuda-központ (South Buda center).

TRAMS

There are a whole lot of them. They are yellow. What is very important:

Tram 4 and 6. Both circle around the Great Ringroad (Nagykörút) of Budapest. This is the busiest
tram line of the world, running 0-24, touching the most important points of the city. Tram 4 runs
from Újbuda-Központ (change to M4) to Széll Kálmán tér. Tram 6 runs from Móricz Zsigmond körtér
to Széll Kálmán tér. You can reach the main nightlife hubs (Király utca), the Nyugati railway station
and huge junctions like Oktogon and Blaha Lujza tér with these trams as well as the Margitsziget
(Margaret Island).

Trams 47 and 49. Both circle around the Small Ringroad (Kiskörút), in the inner city, starting from
Deák Ferenc tér going to Buda.

TROLLEYBUSES

They are mostly servicing residental areas and some inner city districts. They are red.

BUSES

They are all over the place and they are blue. The most important line is bus 7, running through
Rákóczi út, the main east-west road from Pest to Buda.

SUBURBAN TRAINS (HÉV)

They are green.

H5: This is the most important for you as you can reach Sziget by this. Starts from Batthyány tér, runs
to Szentendre, which is a beautiful little town, worth a visit (great outdoor folk museum, too).
Batthyány tér is an M2 metro stop. At Margit híd you can change from/to trams 4 and 6. The station
of Sziget is called Filatorigát.

H6 and H7 service Csepel (the biggest island of Budapest, to the south), H8 and H9 service the
eastern suburbs. You probably won’t need any of these.

IMPORTANT

Public transport day service starts about 4.40 and stops about 23.30. Night service starts about
23.40.

On all public transport lines if you have a weekend/week/month/year ticket and cross the boundary
of Budapest, you NEED a supplement ticket. So, for example if you go to Szentendre, your ticket is
only valid until Békásmegyer (the last stop within Budapest) and you need the supplement ticket.
Single tickets are valid for the whole journey, even with boundary-crossing.

Timetable app for smartphones: I’d use the app called Bpmenetrend

Official site for the public transport company of Budapest: http://bkv.hu/en/

TAXIS

They are standard yellow with a yellow traffic plate and the prices are government-set. Base fee is
450 HUF (one-off). Per km fee is 280 HUF. Waiting fee is 70 HUF/min. So price should be 450 HUF +
280 HUF/km + waiting time. If you move within the city the price should not exceed 2200-4500 HUF.
Better call a taxi than hail one. The biggest one, Főtaxi can be called at +36 1 222-2222.

From the airport use Főtaxi, it’s the only official taxi company of the airport. DO NOT STOP for
people offering taxi services, they are „hyenas”,as we call them, probably ripping you off. Walk out
of the terminal to the taxi point of Főtaxi. You walk up to the counter (they speak English), tell
where you go, get a receipt and go to the taxi. About airport taxis, see here:
http://www.bud.hu/english/passengers/access_and_parking/by_taxi

A taxi from the airport to the city should cost you 6000-7000 HUF. If you are facing an outrageous
bill, snap a photo of the taxi plate or the driver badge and complain to the company.

2. MAIN CITY DISTRICTS

District V (situated in Pest. Called Belváros in Hungarian): THE city within the city. Centre of trade,
commerce and tourism. Pickpockets, too. The main pedestrian street is Váci utca. The main tip for
Váci utca: NEVER go to the restaurants there, a lot of them are notoriously and outrageously ripping
off tourists and it’s hard to spot the bad apples from the good ones. Just don’t go.

District VI (Pest. Terézváros in Hungarian): Still very much the inner city, very busy and bustling
district with major traffic hubs and a lot of nightlife.

District VII (Pest. Erzsébetváros in Hungarian): See district VI. Full of ruin pubs (romkocsma), a
Budapest speciality – pubs situated in run-down buildings with quite interesting decoration. They are
hugely popular. District VII is a bit seedier than VI and V and it used to be quite run-down, but since
the ruin pubs attracted money and visitors, it’s getting much better. It’s also the old orthodox Jewish
quarter and the Jewish ghetto of 1944-45.

District VIII (Pest. Józsefváros in Hungarian): The district of contrasts. The inner side of the district –
between the two ringroads – is the Palace Quarter full of great buildings, museums, culture spots and
university buildings. The outer side of the district is the home of one of Europe’s biggest city
development projects (Corvin-negyed), but it also has some of the most dangerous and seediest
places of Budapest. I work here and it’s a very fun district – you can have awesome buildings in one
street and buildings full of bullet holes (from the 1956 revolution) in the next. Main rule: within the
Great Ringroad is the Palace Quarter – it’s great. The opposite side of the ringroad is OK (especially
Corvin-negyed), but don’t go much further, deep into the district without a local guide. It’s not very
dangerous, but you can run into drug traffic spots and local tough guys.

District IX (Pest. Ferencváros in Hungarian): probably only the inner side of it is worth a mention, it
has another pedestrian street (Ráday utca) full of restaurants and pubs, as well as the main Market
Hall. Further outwards, Ferencváros is seedy. Not really recommended. Not dangerous either, but
nothing to see and some streets are rough.

District XIV (Zugló in Hungarian). One of the biggest districts. Lots of green, huge residential areas.
The part bordering the city centre has the City Park with the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Zoo, lots of
museums and a boating lake.

District I (Buda. Vár in Hungarian). The Castle of Buda. Rich, rich district with the old Royal Castle
and surroundings, plus the fort of Buda. Full of sights and museums.

District II (Buda). Big district with some of the richest quarters, some of the busiest ones, thermal
spas, hills and forests.
District III (Buda. Óbuda in Hungarian). Huge district, very varied. There are ancient Roman ruins,
small, old, atmospheric streets, huge blocks of buildings, hills, forests – it has it all. Sziget is here.

District XII (Buda. Újbuda in Hungarian). Mainly residential and university district, one of the best
(and still affordable) places to live.

3. STAY SAFE

As I said, look out for pickpockets. Especially on trams 4 and 6, petty theft is rampant! It’s almost
always crowded there. Also: in the railway stations, near Váci utca and anywhere where is a crowd.

I don’t really recommend walking the aforementioned seedier streets of districts VII, VIII and XI at
night. The really bad streets are out of the tourist spots, so very little chance to bump into something
unwanted.

After the metros stop, the metro underpasses can be full of strange guys. Better keep on the surface.

Watch out if you have to wait on Blaha Lujza tér at night. It’s usually just regular people, but there
can be really strange guys, addicts, homeless and tough gang guys lurking around. I never had a
problem and police presence is almost continuous, but be aware of what happens around you.

Night time rule: go where there are more people, avoid the deserted places. But that’s common
sense, really.

Pub rule: watch out for the drinks! There were cases where drugs/barbiturates were put into the
drinks, causing KO and opportunity for theft, rape etc. Keep an eye on the glass, and – especially
women – should be careful when accepting a drink from total strangers.

Drugs: Hungary has a very strict drugs law. Forget it, in general. Drug possession can get you jailed 1-
5 years. Drug trade can get you jailed 2-20 years, maybe life sentence. Info in English here:
http://drogriporter.hu/en/druglawhungary

Street violence is very rare, as I’ve written.

4. SZIGET

How to get there? Suburban train H5 goes there. Get off at Filatorigát. The terminal of H5
(Batthyány tér) is a connection to metro M2. Margit híd stop provides connection to tram 4 and 6.
The suburban train is likely to run at night as well. From the city centre it’s a 45-60 minutes trip to
reach Sziget.

From Filatorigát you have to walk in through the bridge.

Info in English on nearly everything: http://szigetfestival.com/info/festival_info

General tips:

Apart from one place (Csónakház) you cannot pay in cash when in Sziget. You’ll have one-touch
cards – you have to upload money on them and then use them. You can find ATMs in more spots,
though it’s likely to be a queue there. MasterCard PayPass cards can be used for payment as well.
There are safe lockers for anything valuable.
Bring mosquito repellent and sunscreen. You won’t regret it.

Sziget is quite huge, so it might take 15-20 minutes to get to a stage from another, especially when
there is a crowd. The main stages are pretty close, though. Narrower roads might have “traffic jams”
after/before a concert.

Look out for various interesting stuff, Sziget is much more than music: from morning yoga to
massage spots, from religious activities to circus and theatre acts you can find hundreds of programs.

Day time is better spent outside the Sziget, though. Not that much going on, and everything is
cheaper outside! Use it for visiting city spots or just walk around and enjoy the scenery.

Bring toilet paper with you! Just saying. It’s years of experience.

If there is someone with allergy/asthma/reduced lung capacity, dirt can cause a problem. The
organisers do everything they can, but there will be dirt regardless, resulting in breathing difficulties.

Charge! There are official charging spots around the festival area for smartphone/tablet etc.
charging.

5. THINGS TO SEE (THE MAIN ONES)

Castle of Buda. Can take half a day at least, especially if you go to a museum. Fisherman’s Bastion
over the Danube of course is a must. But half the buildings are on a must-see level.

Margitsziget. A smaller island than Sziget. Favourite jogging/walking spot of the locals with a music
fountain, medieval ruins, pools and bath, sports fields and even a tiny zoo.

Parliament. It’s huge, beautiful and can be visited. For a fee, of course.
http://latogatokozpont.parlament.hu/jegyarak

Gellért-hegy. The hill is right over the Danube, on the Buda site, with a statue on top. Walk up, it’s
steep but short – and the sights are amazing.

János-hegy. It’s the highest point of Budapest with a lookout tower on top, great view from above.
From Széll Kálmán tér there is a bus to Normafa (bus 21, 21A), the top is a 45 minute walk from
there. Down you can go with the amazingly fun Libegő (chairlift!)

http://www.bkv.hu/en/zugliget_chairlift_/

Great Market Hall. Bustling with goods, a beautiful building and a huge market hall. If you go, ask –
it’s full of rip-off stalls designed for unsuspecting tourists, but you can find value things, too!

Just walk. Just take a walk around the inner districts and enjoy the architecture. The city is full of
amazing buildings, though some of them are quite run-down. Even us, locals can see surprising things
after many years of walking! Same goes for just walking by the Danube on the riverbanks – you
absolutely should do it. And of course you shall not miss walking across the two most beautiful
bridges, Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) and Szabadság híd (Liberty Bridge) – best do it at evenings.

City Park (Városliget). The central zoo is here, the Vajdahunyad Castle is picturesque, you can row
boats in the lake, or you can just hang around in the grass. It’s awesome. There are museums, too.
Szent István Bazilika. St Stephen’s Cathedral, the biggest church of Budapest. Well worth a visit. If
you climb up, you can look down on the city.

The spas of Budapest. Best to check out is Széchenyi bath in the city park (M1 metro stops right
there), but there are many others, even Turkish ones! Go and you won’t be disappointed.

EAT AND DRINK

Basically anything  Traditional Hungarian cuisine might be hot and a bit heavy. Italian, Turkish,
Middle Eastern, Chinese, Indian, Japanese etc. restaurants and food stalls are in abundance. There
are a few Brazilian restaurants, too, best to avoid them, if you can believe the reviews.

TRY:

Gulyás (the soup, I mean)

Pörkölt (what other nations call goulash – it’s not a soup, but a main dish)
Halászlé (fish soup from river fish in a brilliant red colour)
Local sausages and salamis
Rakott krumpli (a very basic, home dish – layered potato with eggs, sausage, sour cream, bacon. And
it’s great! If you’re lucky, you can find it on menus)
Sólet (There is feijoada. And there is sólet – the bean dish of the European Jewish community. Try it
in the Jewish quarter. It’s great).
Hideg gyümölcsleves (cold, sweet fruit soup – can be made of various fruits, my personal favourite is
sour cherry. Amazing stuff to eat in the summertime!)
Lángos. Flat bread fried in oil, topped with garlic/sour cream/cheese etc. If it’s made fresh, it’s filling
and brilliant. If not, forget it – it’s only good very fresh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1ngos
Pickles. Pickles (savanyúság in Hungarian) have a great tradition – pickled stuff (cucumber,
cauliflower, onions, garlic, chillies etc.) to go with mostly the main meat dishes. You might like it or
not, but it’s worth a try and there are many variables!
Kürtőskalács. A special type of sweet pastry. Looks like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCrt%C5%91skal%C3%A1cs The smell alone smells it. Look out
for places where they make it on the spot!
Rétes. Strudel. Filled with anything, sweet or salty. Just look out for the good ones – they should look
like a lot of filling and very thin pastry. Like this:
http://media.foodnetwork.ca/recipetracker/dmm/C/L/Classic_Cherry_Strudel_001.jpg

Lecsó. Vegetable-based dish. Fresh onions, bell peppers, tomatoes in a paprika sauce. Get white
bread with it. Might be hot (depending on the pepper used), you might find zucchini, rice or eggs in
it, it can even come with sausages. Every household and restaurant makes a different one.

Wines. We tend to think maybe too much of our wines, but anyway, some of the Hungarian wines
are high quality. You can’t go very wrong with these affordable and good ones from the following
wineries: Vylyan (dry reds mainly),Gere (dry reds), Bock (dry reds), Sauska (dry reds), Laposa (dry
whites), Feind (dry whites), Nyakas (dry whites), Hilltop (light, dry whites), Pók Tamás (reds), Sauska
(whites, sweet ones, too), Disznókő (sweet and dry whites), Oremus (sweet and dry whites), Figula
(dry whites), Takler (reds and rose), Dúzsi (reds and rose). Look out for the wine selection in Lidl
supermarkets, it’s surprisingly good and affordable.
Spritzer (dry wine + soda water) is a popular summer refresher, typically Hungarian.

Pálinka. LOOK OUT. Spirit distilled of fruits. High alcohol content, around or over 50% v/v. Every
Hungarian will make you drink it. It will hurt you (sooner or later). Caution: the homemade ones can
really hammer! If you hear somebody saying “ah, my grandfather made this from local fruit”, be
prepared for anything. Or just run away. The good ones are really good though, and it’s not (just) for
binge drinking.

Local beers. Nothing to write home about. Standard lagers. The best local ones are probably Soproni
1895 and Dreher Bak. There is a craft beer revolution in the country, craft beers are everywhere –
they vary wildly in quality.

Unicum. Bitter liqueur. Sure to bring wildly differing reactions – it’s a love-hate thing.

SUPERMARKETS
Main ones: Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Auchan, CBA, Coop (in the countryside), Spar. My personal favourite is
Lidl and Aldi, but it’s a matter of taste. Tescos and Auchans have the widest range of goods. CBA and
Coop are Hungarian chains.

Warning: due to an idiotic government decision, Sunday is a closed day for most shops. Keep that in
mind, it’s not easy to shop on a Sunday!