Ruinpubs, Retro gardens

Ruinpubs, Retro gardens....

The Budapest nightlife can be your first nice and relaxing experience being at the many ruinpubs in Budapest. There after, every night you will ask for more ruinpubs :) You will enjoy hopping from such pubs installed in the courtyards and gardens of empty houses. They are in the most natural form - RELAXing you naturally in their most natural environment - ruins. Let's see the first ROMKOCSMA (ruin pub) - Szimpla kert.


Szimpla kert



http://ruinpubs.com/

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Budapest to Prague - Special Mood of Prague

The Special Mood of Prague



Not just because Prague is a popular destination for holiday makers, it is one of the European cities in its original architecture that has the least damage from the war. Prague has beautiful architecture from Art Nouveau to Renaissance, as well as Cubist and Gothic style.

When in Prague, you must not miss the Prague Castle which is the biggest castle in the world.

It has been around since the 9th Century!


Imagine, this is the Lennon Wall. It was said that there are John Lennon-inspired graffiti and lyrics from songs by the Beatles. An important yet symbolic wall full of graffiti that represents youth ideals in the country.

Next on the list that you must see is the 'Old New Synagogue'- Europe's oldest active synagogue. The reason why you must see it is because it was spared during the Nazi's destruction, so it means it was never entered by the Gestapo during the war!




Everybody will surely advice you to check out this unique Astronomical Clock. It has a dial that represents the position of the sun and moon in the sky. You must also try to catch the 'Walk of the Apostles' and the speciality about this clock is also the calendar dial with medallions.



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Hungary Tourist Information 
Melissa And Doug Toys
funny art
Sass studios photography 

Rent a car with driver in Budapest

Hungarorent Car

VEHICLE RENTAL WITH CHAUFFEUR

Any of our vehicles can be rented with chauffeur. Benefits of the construction are:

Deposit is not needed.
The driver of the vehicle takes full responsibility regarding to the vehicle, so in case of an accident you will not have any kind of obligations to compensate.
Persons travelling with the vehicle will be covered by accident insurance.
(more info at www.hungarorentacar.hu)

Autoglobalrent

Hire a car with driver

Our "Hire a car with driver" service makes your journey comfortable, planned and you will easily be on time. Our reliable, polite and experienced drivers have proven their skills with years of quality service.
(more info at www.autoglobalrent.hu)

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Edinburgh Photographer
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Traveling Through Budapest or To Budapest

From time to time, we received questions about traveling through Budapest or to Budapest. Zsolt and I decided to write a post about private tours in Budapest for travelers who are planning their trip for Spring/Summer.

One of the questions is about traveling to Uzhhorod, a city of 110,000 which is located in western Ukraine. It is located at the Slovakia border as well as near the border with Hungary. Going there can be by InterCity (IC) which are long-distance passenger train services in Europe and in Hungary, the Hungarian intercity trains are operated the Hungarian railway company, MAV-START. Depending on the routes, the frequencies are usually at every 2 or 3 hours. To Szombathely, Sopron or Gyor, it is every 4 hours.

Traveling with elderly or young children, it is a good idea to stop over in Budapest. Wheel chair, pram, walking stick, crutches, walker, portable musical instrument (in its case), even wreath for grave are categorized as hand luggage (with weight limit not exceeding 30kg). There are instructions about where you can put them here http://www.mav-start.hu/travel/travel_information.php.

Active travelers crossing Hungary for sports activities, you can also bring your bicycle (those collapsible type in collapsed state), ski equipment, rubber or canvass boat (dismantle-able type) plastic barrel and sports equipment dimensions not exceeding 30x50x80cm.

If you are traveling with your pet, they are allowed with you only if you pay the animal fare limited to the second class cars of the train. One passenger is allowed maximum of two dogs. Large dogs of more than 20kg has other arrangements.

Within Budapest, or for day tours outside Budapest, there are many private tours service providers for a more comfortable tour at realistic prices. Whether it is seeing the elegant villa district, exploring charming villages around the city or even Jewish heritage tours, it can be customized to suit your individual requirements. For large families from 6-14 passengers, there are Mercedes van options available.

For InterCity train services, currently provides their latest information on their website. However, it is always more assuring to contact the customer service department for more specific and direct answers specific to the location in your query.

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Edinburgh Photographer
MS Paint art

Hungarian Movies: Kontroll 2003

This movie is directed by Nimród Antal and it is about a strange man and his fellow inspectors. They race and rival along the tracks. Sándor Csányi is one of the main cast who races in the underground metro system. This is a drama, a comedy and also a crime featured film. The director Nimrod Antal is a Californian of Hungarian ancestry. 


If you like the genre: romance and thriller, you will enjoy this film too.


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Edinburgh Photographer
MS Paint art

Budapest Bus stations (arriving by bus)

Arriving to Budapest by bus

Just like arriving by train, arriving by bus can be also fun from the surrounding countries mostly. Our advice is to choose bus only if you arrive from the west (Austria, Germany) or from the North-West (western part of Slovakia, Czech Republic). Arriving from these directions you will travel on fast highways. Though a lot of new highways are under constructions recently, arriving from east or south you may spend just too much time on buses.

International services of Eurolines and the Transdanubian services of Volánbusz arrive at the new Népliget station:



Click on the logo of the transportation companies and you will find all information you need. To compare to the train company or to the city transport company I think that VOLÁNBUSZ has a quite good website for English speaking users.

VOLÁNBUSZ


Eurolines is a group of Companies their services you can reach directly here or from the VOLÁNBUSZ site above.

Eurolines

Domestic buses use two other stations, too. Buses from East Hungary arrive at the Népstadion bus station, those from the Danube Bend at the Árpád Bridge bus station. Each bus station is connected with a metro station.

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Edinburgh Photographer
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15th March: Celebrating the 1848 Revolution in Hungary

Programmes for Children on the 15 March 2011

Or find out what this day's celebration is about in the Hungarian history.

BudapestZIN: 15th March: Celebrating the 1848 Revolution in Hun...: "Hungary Public Holidays - 15th of March Celebrating the 1848 Revolution in Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many revo..."

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Edinburgh Photographer
MS Paint art

15th March: Celebrating the 1848 Revolution in Hungary

Hungary Public Holidays - 15th of March Celebrating the 1848 Revolution in Hungary

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many revolutions that year and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. The revolution in Hungary grew into a war for independence from Habsburg rule.

István Széchenyi, Lajos Kossuth, Józef Bem, Sándor Petőfi were the most respected national figures in Hungarian History. They were not only leaders and participants during that time. The anniversary of the revolution's outbreak is thus on March 15 and it is one of Hungary's three national holidays.

The revolution started on March 15, 1848, with bloodless events in Pest and Buda (mass demonstrations forcing the imperial governor to accept all demands) followed by various insurrections throughout the kingdom, which enabled Hungarian reformists to declare Hungary's autonomy within the Habsburg Empire, under the governor Lajos Kossuth and the first Prime minister Lajos Batthyány. The new government approved a sweeping reform package, referred to as the "March Laws", that essentially created an autonomous national kingdom of Hungary with the Habsburg Emperor as its king. They also demanded that the Hungarian government receive and expend all taxes raised in Hungary and have authority over Hungarian regiments in the Habsburg army.

Hungarian hussar

Aware that they were on the path to civil war in the summer of 1848, the Hungarian government ministers attempted to gain Habsburg support against Conservative Josip Jelačić of Croatia-Slavonia by offering to send troops to northern Italy. By the end of August, the imperial government in Vienna officially ordered the Hungarian government in Pest to end plans for a Hungarian army. Jelačić then took military action against the Hungarian government without any official order.

With war raging on three fronts (against the Croats, in the Banat, and in Transylvania), Hungarian radicals in Pest saw this as an opportunity. Parliament made concessions to the radicals in September rather than let the events erupt into violent confrontations. Faced with revolution at home in Vienna too, Austria first accepted Hungary's autonomy. Shortly after the Austrian revolution, Franz Joseph took over  as Emperor (his uncle Ferdinand I was mentally retarded). Still, Hungarian autonomy was refused.

The final break between Vienna and Pest occurred when Field Marshall Count Lamberg was given control of all armies in Hungary (including Jelačić's). In response to Lamberg being attacked on arrival in Hungary a few days later, the imperial court ordered the Hungarian parliament and government dissolved. Jelačić was appointed to take Lamberg's place. War between Austria and Hungary had officially begun. (source: wikipedia)


Hungarian Hussar

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Visit Beacon Hill Holiday Cottages in Northumberland to see some great Hungarian revolutionary collections. 


Hungary public holidays


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Melissa And Doug Toys
funny art
Edinburgh Photographer
MS Paint art

Heroes' Square

Heroes' Square originally uploaded by zsoolt.

Budapest has several places that might be attractive and interesting for you. However these places are usually some distances apart from each other. Not like in Prague where everything that is worth to visit is within a circle. Moreover, they can be discovered in a maximum of two hours, on foot. Budapest is different. You have to find the pearls :)

One of the frequented places is the Heroes' Square (Hősök Tere) and its surrounding area.

Heroes' Square (Hősök tere) is one of the major squares of Budapest. It lies at the end of Andrássy Avenue with which it comprises part of a World Heritage site next to City Park.

Two important buildings surrounded it, namely: Museum of Fine Arts and Palace of Art (or Art Exhibition Museum).

The central site of the square, as well as a landmark of Budapest, is the Millennium Memorial. Two other names for this landmark Millennium Monument or Millenary Monument are used interchangeably. You can see statues of the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century and other outstanding figures of Hungarian history.

The construction of the memorial was started when the one thousandth anniversary was celebrated in 1896, but it was completed only in 1929.

The Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum) is a museum in Heroes' Square. It was built by the plans of Albert Schickedanz and Fülöp Herzog in an eclectic-neoclassical style, between 1900 and 1906.

The museum's collection is made up of international art (other than Hungarian), including all periods of European art of more than 100,000 pieces. The collection is made up of various older additions such as those from Buda Castle, the Esterhazy and Zichy estates, as well as donations from individual collectors. The Museum's collection is made up of six departments: Egyptian, Antique, Old sculpture gallery, Old painter gallery, Modern collection, Graphics collection. The institution celebrated its centenary in 2006.

 

Van Gogh, originally uploaded by zsoolt.

The Hall of Art (Műcsarnok) is an art museum also located in the Heroes' Square, facing the Museum of Fine Arts. It is worth visiting as it is the greatest exhibition hall in Hungary, exhibiting representative works of art of Hungarian as well as other artists and it regularly organizes themed exhibitions.

Műcsarnok, originally uploaded by zsoolt.

Our tip:

Heroes' Square and its surrounding area is a perfect place to walk around. Though at times you can see local guys playing and practicing their skateboarding skills on the Heroes' Square, the place is not really an intended attraction unless there are major events. Around the Vajdahunyad Vára, there is a little artificial lake which was under reconstruction in 2007 summer. Normally, you can rent boats for romantic dates there:) We did not list it here but somewhere very near, you can find the Zoo, the Amusement Park and the famous restaurant of the Gundel family. Or to the other direction, you can find the Museum of Transportation which has a cute café behind which actually was a train. (Some time later we will post about this place)

Budapest guide, Heroes' Square, Budapest travel


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Edinburgh Photographer
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Budapest to Venice: Attractions and Sights other than St Mark's Square

We have been to several places together so far and the travel experience in Venice was one of our most treasured. Getting to Venice from Budapest is rather easy, with many choices of travel modes from trains to planes. That time, we chose a place in Venice that is right next to the historical landark, Scala Contarini del Bovolo.

A beautiful and very charming sight, arranging our stay there was a breeze. Most of the hotels in Venice are expensive. So it seemed you do not really need compare too much. Just choose the most central and you can have fun getting lost in Venice like what many travelers' recommended. We, Z&Z recommend you the same 'getting lost in Venice' is one of the fun things you can do as part of the exploration and discovery.

A medieval city like Venice offers wonderful sights even within its courtyards such as as this one in the San Marco district.

The place we stay is right next to the infamous spiral staircase and it was right in the back alley. Not the easiest to find at first, but it seemed every corners in Venice is like this. In the mornings, we had every opportunity to see many other tourists hunting down this famous stirs. Curious eyes marveling at its beauty - a unique mixed of Renaissance, Gothic and Byzantine styles. The name of this special architecture built in 1499 was after the snail (as in 'Bovolo' in Venetian dialect). So you can clearly reference it to the spiral form that is so graceful for an architecture to be.

With white arches that leads to a landing overlooking the city - bell towers, tiled roofs and domes of Saint Mark. All these well known Venice attractions are worth to check out. It was a pity we were not able to do so when we were there.

If you notice, there are significant contrasts from the quaint roofs of Venice's smaller residential areas to the ornate official buildings and churches.

It was an adventure in itself to find our way to Scala Contarini del Bovolo after the water bus ride. However, we will never forget that the south-west of the Rialto leads to an unforgettable Venetian yet mysterious sight. Of course, there many restaurants, the grand canal, Basilica Di San Marco Venice, Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Burano, Murano are the sights that you must not spend a little time with each.

Read more about Budapest to Venice, Italy Why Venice?.

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BNXS
Edinburgh Photographer
MS Paint art

Budapest Apartments

Lately renting an apartment is popular in Budapest. They are relatively cheap, and the feeling is more like having a home than in a hotel. Though we have cautioned you to NOT get involved with people approaching you at railway station offering apartments, basically renting an apartment is a great and exciting way of living in Budapest.

When we were in Prague or when I traveled to Kiev, I always choose this option. Furthermore, there are several other opportunities in Budapest other than renting an apartment.

Private, independent apartments in Budapest

• Akademia Apartment
• Akácfa Apartments
• Alfa Apartments
• Angels Apartments
• Art deco Apartments
  
• Asbóth Apartment
• Blue Lagoon Apartment
  
• Buda Castle Apartments
  
• Canaletto Apartment
• Casa Sol Apartments
• Castle District Apartment
  
• Cavaraggio Apartment
• Dali Apartment
• Designer Apartment
• DeVille Apartment
  
• Dohány Apartment
• Embassy Apartment
  
• Galamb Apartment
• Happy Apartments
  
• Holiday Service Apartments
• IMI Apartment
  
• InnerCity Apartments
• Jacuzzi Suite Apartment
  
• Kékgolyó Apartment
• King Edward Apartment
  
• Kígyó Apartment
• Margit Apartment
• Michelangelo Apartment
• Mondria Apartment
  
• Monet Apartment
• Museum Boulevard Apartment
  
• Navigare Apartments
• Opera Apartment
  
• Opera Residence Apartments
• Queen Mary Apartments
  
• Raffaello Apartment
  
• Rákóczi Apartment
• Rákóczi 2-room apartment
• Rákóczi 3-room apartment
• Riverview Apartment
  
• Semmelweis Apartment Budapest
• Swedish Apartment
  
• Szerémi Apartment
• Thalia Apartment
  
• The Baroness Apartment
  
• The Hollywood Apartment
  
• The Venetian Apartment
  
• Van Gogh Apartment
• Vaudeville Apartment
• Vaci Apartment
  
• Váci utca Apartment
• Városház Apartment
  

More choices at:
www.budapestholidayservice.com
www.budapestrooms.com
www.budapestbestapartments.com
www.hotelonlinehungary.com
www.apartmentsinbudapest.com
www.best-of-budapest.com

If you stay for more than a month, it is worth to rent an apartment for a longer term

Some examples:

• Andrássy Apartment
• Futo
  
• Rumbach Sebestyén
• Zsolna

You can find more choices:
www.budapestrent.com

Our Advice:

As you can see, there are so many choices in Budapest for renting an apartment. Both for long term and for short term. Even you can choose among different categories considering the price, the location or the quality of the service. The real serious services have website in English and they answer e-mails, phonecalls. And most of them are.

If they do not, just simply ignore them..and go for a next choice on your mind. From some of my friends, I've heard that sometimes during the booking process, they start to talk about extra charges like cleaning or anything else. For me, I personally don't like surprises in this field, and if I find the price "starts to be" different from the rate they showed on their website, I finish the conversation there and then.

If you are planning to travel in Budapest for a longer period of time (student, businessman, moving here) and you are searching for a rent, it is better to search for an agency. Since we did it just recently and we needed a service which can handle our case in English, too (communication, contract in English, they help to arrange the registration papers for foreigners)
We used this agency:

EUROCENTER REAL ESTATE AGENCY BUDAPEST

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MS Paint art

Hungarian Winter Farewell Carnival

Mohácsi Busójárás


There is a well-known carnival event in Hungary that starts six days prior to the Shrove Tuesday. It is a feast of six days that ends on Sunday. Its name is "Busójárás".

This is a special Spring greeting event - more like a traditional folk custom which originally was the local Croatian's own feast. They were the ''sokc'', the minority during the Turkish occupation.

Šokci fiddler

To chase away the Turks, they wore frightening masks made of willow and sheep fur and constantly make lots of noise with flappers and instruments. This rite is believed that these men (also known as "busók") who were disguised in the animal hyde (the dressed skin) and fur were the ones who truly had chased away the invading Turks. So they parade by marching in front of thousands of spectators to chase away the winter with these devilish looking faces.

All these became a tourist attraction since it became a preserved tradition event. This nationwide and well-known event with several cultural activities, exhibition, concerts and folk music performances attracts up to 20,000 visitors every year.

This year, it will be held from the 3rd til 8th of March 2011.

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Melissa And Doug Toys
funny art
Sass studios photography 

Venice Carnival 2011 - Boat Parade

Having guests quite often from other continents (especially from Asia) we realized that people prefer to explore the surrounding countries using Budapest as a base. I think this is a great idea, and with a new session on this blog, we would like to give you some ideas on how to manage short excursions from Budapest to enjoy the fun carnivals and festivals in Europe.

Venice Carnival 2011 in Venice, Italy

This first video is about Venice, not so much about the carnival. However, it is a beautifully edited video and it is almost showing Venice very correctly, and very professionally. The title of this video is not the best fit, but I think it is worth to have a look, to have an idea and to feel how Venice is like, especially its atmosphere. Then again, being there is totally a different experience - the smell of the place, the small alleys, the maze-like 'getting lost' sense of fun. These are hard to express in words, neither in a video nor on photographs. You got to be there!

It is rather easy to get to Venice from Budapest, there are many options such as by orangeways buses, or by the EN Euronight trains. Click on to read about our train ride experience to Venice from Budapest .

This second video is about the Boat Parade 2011. I love to see these colourful fancy dresses and costumes and on the boat makes it seemed cumbersome but certainly fun! Love those masks too. How can a carnival be without those mysterious looking masks!! :)

Gellert Baths | Budapest

 

[[Tamone1981]]

The Gellért Baths and Hotel is a complex that also offers medicinal and recreational services. It offers a wave pool, a Jacuzzi, indoor and outdoor thermal baths, and a kids' pool.

The swimming pool at the Spa

Medicinal services are available at the Gellért Baths for treating practically any complaint. A day-time hospital and inhalatorium operate in the institute, which provide all-round medicinal treatment.

The spa water is effective in the treatment of degenerative disorders of joints and the spine, chronic and subacute arthritic complaints, disorders of the vertebral disks, neuralgia, aortic stenosis, and impeded circulation. The inhalation therapy section treats patients with asthmatic and chronic bronchitic complaints.

The water erupts from springs inside Gellért Hill. It is sulphurous thermal water that contains sodium and is rich in calcium-magnesium-hydrocarbonates; it has a significant fluoride content. source: http://hungarystartshere.com/Gellert-Spa-Lido-and-Swimming-Pool-Gellert-Gyogyfurdo

Prices: The full entrance price to both the swimming pool and the men's and women's thermal facilities is between 3600 and 3900 HUF (about 13-15 Euro), which also includes a cabin rental, where guests can change clothes.

If one leaves within 2 hours, 300 HUF (about1.2 Euro) will be refunded.

Multiple-use tickets can also be purchased (favorable for groups) - valid for 50 entries, giving close to 20% discount.

Children tickets (for ages 6-14) are offered a bit over half the adult price; children under 6 are admitted for free; children under 12 must be in adult company.

Massage prices:

Powder massage (30 minutes) - 4300 HUF (about 14 Euro)

Aroma, Relax massage (20 minutes) - 2800 HUF (about 10 Euro)

Aroma, Relax massage (30 minutes) - 4300 HUF (about 15 Euro)

Location: You find the bath in the southern part of the city centre, on the Buda side - the right bank of the Danube, very close to the Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd).

Address: H-1118 Budapest, Kelenhegyi út 4.

Telephone: (36-1) 466-6166

Fax: (36-1) 466-5747

How to get there: You can reach it by public transportation on tramways 18, 19, 47 and 49, or on buses 7, 7A and 86.

Website: http://www.gellertbath.com/

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Sass studios photography 

What's Happening in March in Hungary

15th of March is one of the important national holiday in Hungary. This day is the remembering the Revolution and War of Independence of 1848 - 1849.

During this time, the most respected national figures in the Hungarian history are remembered. It is marks the anniversary of the revolution's outbreak.

Bloodless. It was an approval by the new government about a sweeping reform package called 'March Laws'. That was also when Hungary created its autonomous national kingdom and made the Habsburg Emperor its King.

This day, the children in schools will prepare the Hussar hats during their art classes as part of their lesson plan that ties in with the Hungarian history. The Hungarian Hussar on horses are also seen at vicinity near the Heroes' Square. Almost like a family event with children, hungarian traditional food, hussars in smart uniforms, horses.

The other March event that is important is the farewell to the Winter. Early march is when the infamous carnival event is held. From 3rd to 8th March for 2011, this is a traditional folk custom turned into preserved tradition of carnival event. Most tourists would want to visit Mohács to see this spectacular event.

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Melissa And Doug Toys
funny art
Sass studios photography