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| Keleti pályaudvar |
So to get there, you can take Metro 2 towards Örs vezér tere, and get off at Keleti pályaudvar, it's three stops away. Convenient, hah?
2013. május 18., szombat
Saying goodbye to Hungary - let's go to Vienna!
Trains to the West start from the Eastern Railway Station (Keleti pályaudvar) - I'm kidding you not. It's a beautiful building, and if you allow my to brag a bit, I'm a direct descendant of the architect - not that it did any good for my drawing skills :).
So to get there, you can take Metro 2 towards Örs vezér tere, and get off at Keleti pályaudvar, it's three stops away. Convenient, hah?
So to get there, you can take Metro 2 towards Örs vezér tere, and get off at Keleti pályaudvar, it's three stops away. Convenient, hah?
Money, money, money...
Our currency is called "Forint". We shoud have switched to Euro a couple years ago, but apparently, we didn't - nor are we likely in the next decade, if you ask me.
A good rule of thumb is to use 200 as a multiplying factor when trying to compare prices: 1 US dollar equals roughly 200 HUF. Recently, the 200 forint bill and the 2 and 1 forint coins have been eliminated, instead, we have a coin for 200, and prices are rounded up or down to avoid having to pay anything needing a 1 or 2 coin.
When paying for anything, keep in mind that at most places (especially small shops or markets) will either not accept the 20.000 forint bill claiming they have no change for it, or will look at you grumpy if you're trying to play with one, so just keep those for larger purchases.
Here are prices for some basic items, just to get you oriented:
A scoop of ice cream: 160 forints
A loaf of bread: 230 forints
A liter of milk: 250 forints
A meal at a standard restaurant: 2500 forints
A coffee: 500 forints
Entrance fee to a bath: 5000 forints
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| Forint coins |
A good rule of thumb is to use 200 as a multiplying factor when trying to compare prices: 1 US dollar equals roughly 200 HUF. Recently, the 200 forint bill and the 2 and 1 forint coins have been eliminated, instead, we have a coin for 200, and prices are rounded up or down to avoid having to pay anything needing a 1 or 2 coin.
 |
| Forint: coins and bills |
Here are prices for some basic items, just to get you oriented:
A scoop of ice cream: 160 forints
A loaf of bread: 230 forints
A liter of milk: 250 forints
A meal at a standard restaurant: 2500 forints
A coffee: 500 forints
Entrance fee to a bath: 5000 forints
2013. április 25., csütörtök
Margit Island
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| Limbó hintó |
Folk views and tunes: Szentendre
2013. április 24., szerda
Downtown highlights
While museums, exhibitions and other cultural features abound, in three days I wouldn't bother - you can see fine art elsewhere too. Here a couple things that are worth walking by.
Walk by the Danube
The cityscape along the Danube is part of the World Heritage - thus I kind of have an obligation to be proud of it. It really is worth checking out, so just walk across any of the central bridges (Lánchíd, Margit híd, Petőfi híd, Szabadság híd) and take a look around. Worth seeing both day and night. By night I would take the BKV boat and go for a roundtrip (see Transportation). The Pest downtown Danube shore features many parks, restaurants and coffee houses, oftentimes street musicians, and is overall very romantic.
The Parliament
The building of the Parliament has also been on all kinds of top-100-buildings-in-the-world kind of lists. It's pretty amazing. It's also pretty on the inside, but it's such a hassle to get in, and then the route you can take is extremely restricted, as if we were guarding the Holy Grail, that I wouldn't bother. Take a walk around, however, that government district is very upscale and nice. To get there, take a metro to Kossuth tér station.
The Basilica
Well, you must have seen a couple of these already, but nevertheless, we have one too. The neighboring streets are very nice, with little parks, good restaurants and bars, definitely a good area to get lost at.
Hősök tere (literally: Heroes' Square)
A couple tram stations away, but not too far. Take Metro 1 (the yellow, which is also the oldest) to Hősök tere station. The square itself is pretty cool, as well as the two museums on the two side, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of hmm, well, crafts? Not sure how to translate this, but anyway, pottery, tapestry, jewellery and the likes. If you walk back a couple stations on Andrássy út, that's a particularly nice street with all the embassy buildings.
Very close are the Zoo, the Grand Circus and Vajdahunyad Castle, either of which are a good program if you have the time.
Walk by the Danube
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| Danube by night |
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| The Parliament |
The Parliament
The building of the Parliament has also been on all kinds of top-100-buildings-in-the-world kind of lists. It's pretty amazing. It's also pretty on the inside, but it's such a hassle to get in, and then the route you can take is extremely restricted, as if we were guarding the Holy Grail, that I wouldn't bother. Take a walk around, however, that government district is very upscale and nice. To get there, take a metro to Kossuth tér station.
The Basilica
Well, you must have seen a couple of these already, but nevertheless, we have one too. The neighboring streets are very nice, with little parks, good restaurants and bars, definitely a good area to get lost at.
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| Szent István Bazilika |
A couple tram stations away, but not too far. Take Metro 1 (the yellow, which is also the oldest) to Hősök tere station. The square itself is pretty cool, as well as the two museums on the two side, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of hmm, well, crafts? Not sure how to translate this, but anyway, pottery, tapestry, jewellery and the likes. If you walk back a couple stations on Andrássy út, that's a particularly nice street with all the embassy buildings.
Very close are the Zoo, the Grand Circus and Vajdahunyad Castle, either of which are a good program if you have the time.
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| Vajdahunyad Castle |
In case of emergency
General help (the equivalent of 911): 112
Police: 107
Ambulance: 104
Fire department: 105
The American Embassy: (36-1) 475-4400 (this works for American citizens even after hours)
Police: 107
Ambulance: 104
Fire department: 105
The American Embassy: (36-1) 475-4400 (this works for American citizens even after hours)
The Market
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| Vásárcsarnok first floor |
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| Paprika stand |
The easiest way to get here is by tram: there's one connecting Deák tér (where you're staying) with Fővám tér (which is where the Market is).
Immediately across the market is the infamous Váci utca, which is a street where no local goes, but all the tourists do. If you ask me, you lose absolutely nothing by skipping it - it's the typical tourist stuff you get pretty much everywhere. It's tacky, overpriced and not even authentic.
Confectioneries
Confectioneries are awesome in Hungary. I think it's because people are very picky about their sweets, so most places use mostly natural ingredients, real butter, real cream, sugar, fruits and so on. Unlike in the US, or at least what I see in Madison, confectioneries are as important as coffee houses in Hungary, you'd invite your friends there for a meeting. Buying cake in a store is being cheap, and it's usually also of low quality. A piece of cake usually costs about a dollar or two, and it's simply delicious. I always save up my calories over the year so when I go home I can stuff myself silly with cake.
Two cake types allegedly invented by Hungarians are Dobos, which is essentially a chocolate cake with a burned-sugar piece on the top, and Eszterházy, which is a walnut/chestnut-cake. Other kinds worth mentioning are Rigó Jancsi, képviselőfánk (literally representative doughnut - wherever did that name come from???), bejgli - typical Hungarian Christmas pastry now served all year around, comes in walnut and poppy seed versions. Á propos poppy seed, we use poppy seed as a cake filling or on pasta, which is fairly unique - I know people from other countries freak out because they think that much poppy seed will give you hallucinations... It's definitely worth trying pastries with poppy seed filling. Just keep your toothbrush at hand, because you'll look like you have an ant farm on your teeth :).
Confectioneries also mean ice cream. Portions are much much smaller than in the US and comparatively more expensive - just be aware. One scoop is about four grams, five if you are lucky. I love that you can get whipped cream on it, and it's the real thing, heavy and sweet.
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| Dobos cake |
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| Eszterházy cake |
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| Boggle with walnut or poppy seed filling |
Bars
Bars
Do go to some bars. It's where you pick up the Budapest-feeling. There is a new wave of bars around the city that are entirely unique and a lot of fun, they are called 'romkocsma', literally ruin bar. People rent rundown places or sometimes even yards and stuff it full of second-hand chairs, tables, weird, interesting items that are sometimes thematic sometimes random, creating this surreal, nostalgic, incredibly fun atmosphere, and run it as a bar.
For example, you can sit in an old car and sip your beer, or in half a bathtub, and often these places have many rooms, each with a different collection of items, so you can go explore a little bit of history. Over a few years dozens of these popped up all over, and now they have a hierarchy, there are fancier ones, there are not so fancy ones, but they are all fun. From the outside they look like typical student places, but that does not deter other people usually, like my parents.
If there's one thing that is unique in the Budapest night life, it's these places. They are kind of "soft bars", they serve tea, coffee, pastries, cocktails, hard drinks are rare, but nevertheless, I'd go before about ten o'clock.
Here's a list of these with maps: http://romkocsmak.hu/index.php?id=romkocsmak_lead
I can personally vouch for Szimpla and Instant - during the day, anyway :).
Do go to some bars. It's where you pick up the Budapest-feeling. There is a new wave of bars around the city that are entirely unique and a lot of fun, they are called 'romkocsma', literally ruin bar. People rent rundown places or sometimes even yards and stuff it full of second-hand chairs, tables, weird, interesting items that are sometimes thematic sometimes random, creating this surreal, nostalgic, incredibly fun atmosphere, and run it as a bar.
If there's one thing that is unique in the Budapest night life, it's these places. They are kind of "soft bars", they serve tea, coffee, pastries, cocktails, hard drinks are rare, but nevertheless, I'd go before about ten o'clock.
Here's a list of these with maps: http://romkocsmak.hu/index.php?id=romkocsmak_leadI can personally vouch for Szimpla and Instant - during the day, anyway :).
Beer, wine and spirits
Wine
If you are wine-drinkers, you`ve come to the right place. Hungary is very proud of its wines, to the extent that we often get into international lawsuits over trademarks. 'cause of course only we can make good wines.
One thing you have to know is that there are two kinds of wines in terms of sugar content: dry (`száraz`) and sweet (`édes`). People who think they know something about wines swear that we can only call dry wines by the word wine, everything else is grape juice. Well, if you ask me, and many other fellow non-wine-experts, we would secretly admit to you that we hate dry wines. In traditional Hungary, men drink dry wines, and it might be forgivable for women to drink semi-sweet or sweet wines - thank the Lord. Another reason why people sometimes shy away from sweet wines is that those were often counterfeited by adding sugar instead of letting the natural sugars ferment, and you can`t fake a good dry wine. But I don`t think you have to worry about that.
In terms of grapes, we have white, red and rosé wines. Some of the better brands of white wines are Tokaji wines (Tokaji Muskotály, Tokaji Szamorodni etc.), some of the better red wines are Egri wines (Egri Bikavér, Egri Leányka). It's always been hard for me to learn what goes with what, especially at better places with pages long wine lists, so I'd just ask the waiter.
A specialty of Hungary are dessert wines. Ooooh, yes, that`s the good stuff. These are very sweet, very tasty wines, usually served with cheeses and fruits. Some of these are Tokaji Aszú, Tokaji Eszencia, and the ultimate bursting sweet 'jégbor' (literally: ice wine). These are usually pricier, but oh, boy, are they worth their price.
Especially during the summer, Hungarians often go for 'fröccs' or spritzer, which is part carbonated water, part wine. While to dedicated wine-lovers this might sound like the desecration of wine, it is actually a very refreshing summer drink. These come in various proportions, each with their own special name, and serious fröccs-drinkers know these by heart, of course - I never cared enough to learn them, but it's a fun piece of our wine culture, see chart.
Beers
I think you wanna go for the wines. Don't tell anyone I said this, but Hungarian beers are not particularly interesting or good. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are drinkable. But they are mediocre. However, many places serve Czech or Belgian beers, or even English ones, often on tap, so we always go for those.
Spirits
The special Hungarian spirit is called 'pálinka'. It's usually around 40% alcohol, and is made of fruits. There are many kinds, some made purely out of one fruit, some of mixed fruits, some even served with dried fruits in the bottle - those pieces will kick you hard. One of the better trademarks is Fütyülős.
If you are wine-drinkers, you`ve come to the right place. Hungary is very proud of its wines, to the extent that we often get into international lawsuits over trademarks. 'cause of course only we can make good wines.
One thing you have to know is that there are two kinds of wines in terms of sugar content: dry (`száraz`) and sweet (`édes`). People who think they know something about wines swear that we can only call dry wines by the word wine, everything else is grape juice. Well, if you ask me, and many other fellow non-wine-experts, we would secretly admit to you that we hate dry wines. In traditional Hungary, men drink dry wines, and it might be forgivable for women to drink semi-sweet or sweet wines - thank the Lord. Another reason why people sometimes shy away from sweet wines is that those were often counterfeited by adding sugar instead of letting the natural sugars ferment, and you can`t fake a good dry wine. But I don`t think you have to worry about that.
 |
| Tokaji Aszú |
A specialty of Hungary are dessert wines. Ooooh, yes, that`s the good stuff. These are very sweet, very tasty wines, usually served with cheeses and fruits. Some of these are Tokaji Aszú, Tokaji Eszencia, and the ultimate bursting sweet 'jégbor' (literally: ice wine). These are usually pricier, but oh, boy, are they worth their price.
Especially during the summer, Hungarians often go for 'fröccs' or spritzer, which is part carbonated water, part wine. While to dedicated wine-lovers this might sound like the desecration of wine, it is actually a very refreshing summer drink. These come in various proportions, each with their own special name, and serious fröccs-drinkers know these by heart, of course - I never cared enough to learn them, but it's a fun piece of our wine culture, see chart.
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| Fröccs types |
Beers
I think you wanna go for the wines. Don't tell anyone I said this, but Hungarian beers are not particularly interesting or good. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are drinkable. But they are mediocre. However, many places serve Czech or Belgian beers, or even English ones, often on tap, so we always go for those.
Spirits
The special Hungarian spirit is called 'pálinka'. It's usually around 40% alcohol, and is made of fruits. There are many kinds, some made purely out of one fruit, some of mixed fruits, some even served with dried fruits in the bottle - those pieces will kick you hard. One of the better trademarks is Fütyülős.
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| Fütyülős pálinka |
Transportation
From the airport
You have three options: my parents can pick you up (easiest and fastest), you can take a taxi, or you can take the bus.
1. I`ll give you my parents` numbers, just remind me.
2. If you want to take a taxi, ask for the fare in advance! Some taxi drivers take advantage of tourists and charge them more because they assume you don`t know the prices. A normal price to the city center would be in the range of 5000-7000 forints (~$25-35).
3. Taking public transportation from the airport is somewhat adventurous, but manageable. Bus #200 goes from right in front of the airport, it`s impossible to miss. Buy your ticket in a newsstand within the airport, because they charge you more on the bus. Take bus #200 to the final destination of Kőbánya-Kispest, where you have to transfer to metro #3 (it goes only one direction from here, so you can`t take the wrong one). Just follow the crowd, they all take the metro. Get off of the metro at Deák tér -this should be the closest to your apartment.
Around the city
If nothing else, Budapest has a wonderful public transportation system, which I never appreciated enough until I came to the Midwest. Buses, trams, metros, electric buses called `troli`, trains, boats and so on. The transportation company is called BKV, and oh-have-we-many-jokes-about-them! If you buy a three-day pass (assuming they still have those), or 24-hour ones, you get unlimited free rides everywhere, on everything. I always go for this option instead of the individual tickets. Every station is crawling with ticket inspectors, going in and out, whom you don`t want to cross, they can be very rude and very aggressive sometimes. There`s this ever-ongoing battle between inspectors and Budapesters, because many people try to `blicc` that is, avoid paying fees, which, of course, pisses the inspectors off, so they tighten the grid, but that only makes people become more creative and the cycle goes on. Instead of installing security gates and sparing the conflict, we keep these low-paid people around, who feel like they have to get back at you for their miserable lives, maybe because otherwise they wouldn`t have jobs at all. So, just make sure your ticket is valid and with you.
Here`s the webpage of BKV in English: http://bkv.hu/en/
Maps, trip planners, prices are available.
A new invention of BKV is boats on the Danube, run by Mahart Zrt. The plan was to transport people to work and back, but quite frankly, 99% of passengers use this for tourist purposes - but for that, it`s wonderful. So, don`t pay gruesome amounts for private boat tours on the Danube, just hop on one of the public ones, the experience is the same, minus the boring tour guide.
Driving
Should you decide to rent a car and drive, there`s one very important thing to know: there`s no turning right on red in Hungary! Signage is also scarcer than in the US, most of the time small intersections are uncontrolled, so you always yield to the one on your right, and stop signs are practically non-existent. But alas, I wouldn`t drive in Budapest, it`s just like every other big city, crazy, crazier, craziest.
You have three options: my parents can pick you up (easiest and fastest), you can take a taxi, or you can take the bus.
1. I`ll give you my parents` numbers, just remind me.
2. If you want to take a taxi, ask for the fare in advance! Some taxi drivers take advantage of tourists and charge them more because they assume you don`t know the prices. A normal price to the city center would be in the range of 5000-7000 forints (~$25-35).
3. Taking public transportation from the airport is somewhat adventurous, but manageable. Bus #200 goes from right in front of the airport, it`s impossible to miss. Buy your ticket in a newsstand within the airport, because they charge you more on the bus. Take bus #200 to the final destination of Kőbánya-Kispest, where you have to transfer to metro #3 (it goes only one direction from here, so you can`t take the wrong one). Just follow the crowd, they all take the metro. Get off of the metro at Deák tér -this should be the closest to your apartment.
 |
| Deák tér (left) and your address (right) |
Around the city
If nothing else, Budapest has a wonderful public transportation system, which I never appreciated enough until I came to the Midwest. Buses, trams, metros, electric buses called `troli`, trains, boats and so on. The transportation company is called BKV, and oh-have-we-many-jokes-about-them! If you buy a three-day pass (assuming they still have those), or 24-hour ones, you get unlimited free rides everywhere, on everything. I always go for this option instead of the individual tickets. Every station is crawling with ticket inspectors, going in and out, whom you don`t want to cross, they can be very rude and very aggressive sometimes. There`s this ever-ongoing battle between inspectors and Budapesters, because many people try to `blicc` that is, avoid paying fees, which, of course, pisses the inspectors off, so they tighten the grid, but that only makes people become more creative and the cycle goes on. Instead of installing security gates and sparing the conflict, we keep these low-paid people around, who feel like they have to get back at you for their miserable lives, maybe because otherwise they wouldn`t have jobs at all. So, just make sure your ticket is valid and with you.
Here`s the webpage of BKV in English: http://bkv.hu/en/
Maps, trip planners, prices are available.
 |
| Sample passes: 72-hour pass for 4150 forints (~$20), weekly pass for 4950 forints (~$25) |
A new invention of BKV is boats on the Danube, run by Mahart Zrt. The plan was to transport people to work and back, but quite frankly, 99% of passengers use this for tourist purposes - but for that, it`s wonderful. So, don`t pay gruesome amounts for private boat tours on the Danube, just hop on one of the public ones, the experience is the same, minus the boring tour guide.
Driving
Should you decide to rent a car and drive, there`s one very important thing to know: there`s no turning right on red in Hungary! Signage is also scarcer than in the US, most of the time small intersections are uncontrolled, so you always yield to the one on your right, and stop signs are practically non-existent. But alas, I wouldn`t drive in Budapest, it`s just like every other big city, crazy, crazier, craziest.
Baths
The continental crust under Hungary is extremely thin - now before you freak out that this is an unwarranted geology lesson, my point is that we are a geothermal energy-empire, well, we would be, if we had the money to develop anything. But, we do have probably the most baths per acre or whatever, and many of those are in Budapest. In fact, the fanciest and oldest ones are in Budapest. These buildings are usually beautiful, the services are elaborate and the water is awesome. Many of the waters have healing properties, with different minerals and usually sulfuric compounds good for various cardiovascular, rheumatoid and respiratory conditions. To pick your bath, go to http://www.budapestgyogyfurdoi.hu/.
Frankly, this is where I would go to deal with my jet lag :).
Frankly, this is where I would go to deal with my jet lag :).
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| Szechenyi Furdo |
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| Gellert Gyogyfurdo |
What and how to eat
Breakfast
The kind of breakfast places we have here are fairly rare in Hungary, except in hotels. Most people either eat cereal/toast at home, or grab freshly baked pastries on their way to the office. Bakeries abound (the word is `pekseg`), and there are many kinds of pastries worth trying. Pastries come sweet or salty, but even the sweet ones are hardly ever as sweet as in America. Try `kakaos csiga` and `pogacsa` for sure.
To-go coffee is pretty much non-existent in Hungary, except for the one Starbucks that just opened up. We like the coffee house experience for our money`s worth, the nice place, the view out from the window, the nice mugs and service. Coffee is stronger than in the US, so watch out. Coffee houses also abound, look for the word `kavezo` when in need of coffee.
Lunch
Contrary to the US, lunch is the most important meal in Hungary. Good restaurants abound around where you`ll be staying. We hardly ever eat salad before a meal, salad is usually a side dish. Start with soup, soup (`leves`) is a very important part of the Hungarian diet. Our soups are usually more watery than the creamy soups in the US, and there are many delicious types. Three in particular worth trying are `Jókai bableves` which is a bean soup, `Újházi tyúkhúsleves` which is a chicken soup with vegetables, and any kind of `raguleves`, which is usually made of some kind of wild meat with tarragon, and is often served inside a loaf of bread. Most restaurants carry these. Soups are served with bread. I think originally soups with bread were an important part of the diet because folks were poor and this is a good way to fill your belly quickly and cheaply.
As for entrées, I`d just ask the waiter`s recommendation. A couple things that you might find interesting and unique are dishes prepared with liver (I know it sounds scary, but it`s soooo good...), dishes served with `nokedli` or `sztrapacska`, both of which are a kind of special pasta, usually served either with sheep cheese (juhtúró) (a South-Slovakian, North-Hungarian specialty) or peppered cabbage.
Fish dishes are very popular and good too, featuring typical Hungarian fish species (`harcsa`, `pisztráng` or `fogas`), definitely worth trying. Don`t be misled by all the ads and skip goulash - frankly, I`ve never had good goulash in a restaurant. It`s always way too greasy and thin, a total rip-off. I`ll cook you goulash once.
You have to know that Hungarian restaurants will not serve you tap water normally. You can ask for it, but they look at you funny if you ask for tap water. Restaurants make half their profit on beverages, so they`ll serve you ridiculous-sized mineral water for astronomical prices when you ask for water. Some places serve soda water (soda is carbonated water in Hungarian, not what we call soda here), I usually go for that. I`d also ask for recommendations for wine - there are so many, and the names are so weird, but the waiters usually know their stuff. See other post for more on wines.
Don`t be surprised if you don`t see salads or too many healthy options on the menu. We don`t eat those :). I think Hungary is still in that stage of development when we think the more meat and grease you have in a dish, the richer you look. So many of the traditional dishes are quite heavy, served with potatoes, rice or pasta, which doesn`t help things. You can, however, always ask for pickles, which are very good, try `csalamádé`, mixed pickled vegetables.
Considering desserts, they usually can`t go wrong. They are pricy, but I`ve never been disappointed. A particular specialty is 'Somlói galuska'.
Gratuity in Hungary is between 10 and 15%. Most places (I think) accept credit cards, but it`s always safer to have cash in this country. Oh, you have to tell the waiter how much tip you want to give before he charges your card, which is rather inconvenient, because the calculation has to be done in a moment's notice.
Dinner
Many Hungarians eat lighter meals for dinner than they had eaten for lunch, often not even hot meals. It`s worth a trip to a grocery store, to look for stuff you don`t eat in the US. Our breads are generally very good, and very cheap, so are our milk and dairy products. Most products don`t keep for long, because there aren`t nearly as much preservatives in them - but then, you`ll only be there for three days. Try `teliszalami` by Pick, eat our very unique cottage cheese (`turo` or `tehenturo`), apparently nobody else makes the kind we make.
Try `Turo Rudi`, which is a very popular, almost iconic Hungarian delicacy made of cottage cheese, so good that now the Chinese are making a fake version of it :). I think that`s a sign that the idea is worth stealing. Our chocolates and biscuits are good too, look for the brands `Boci` and `Gyori` for stuff that`s actually Hungarian. Not that it`s owned by Hungarians anymore... Our liver pates are also delicious (`majkrem`), as well as our dry sausages (`kolbasz`, look for `Gyulai` or `Szegedi`). Mineral waters (`asvanyviz`) are plentiful and very cheap compared to the US - we have many that have won various awards. My personal favorite is Theodora, but Szentkiralyi is good as well.
The kind of breakfast places we have here are fairly rare in Hungary, except in hotels. Most people either eat cereal/toast at home, or grab freshly baked pastries on their way to the office. Bakeries abound (the word is `pekseg`), and there are many kinds of pastries worth trying. Pastries come sweet or salty, but even the sweet ones are hardly ever as sweet as in America. Try `kakaos csiga` and `pogacsa` for sure.
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| kakaós csiga |
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| pogácsa |
Lunch
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| Jókai bableves |
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| Újházi tyúkhúsleves |
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| tárkonyos raguleves |
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| juhturos sztrapacska |
Fish dishes are very popular and good too, featuring typical Hungarian fish species (`harcsa`, `pisztráng` or `fogas`), definitely worth trying. Don`t be misled by all the ads and skip goulash - frankly, I`ve never had good goulash in a restaurant. It`s always way too greasy and thin, a total rip-off. I`ll cook you goulash once.
You have to know that Hungarian restaurants will not serve you tap water normally. You can ask for it, but they look at you funny if you ask for tap water. Restaurants make half their profit on beverages, so they`ll serve you ridiculous-sized mineral water for astronomical prices when you ask for water. Some places serve soda water (soda is carbonated water in Hungarian, not what we call soda here), I usually go for that. I`d also ask for recommendations for wine - there are so many, and the names are so weird, but the waiters usually know their stuff. See other post for more on wines.
Don`t be surprised if you don`t see salads or too many healthy options on the menu. We don`t eat those :). I think Hungary is still in that stage of development when we think the more meat and grease you have in a dish, the richer you look. So many of the traditional dishes are quite heavy, served with potatoes, rice or pasta, which doesn`t help things. You can, however, always ask for pickles, which are very good, try `csalamádé`, mixed pickled vegetables.
 |
| Somlói galuska |
Gratuity in Hungary is between 10 and 15%. Most places (I think) accept credit cards, but it`s always safer to have cash in this country. Oh, you have to tell the waiter how much tip you want to give before he charges your card, which is rather inconvenient, because the calculation has to be done in a moment's notice.
Dinner
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| Turo Rudi |
Try `Turo Rudi`, which is a very popular, almost iconic Hungarian delicacy made of cottage cheese, so good that now the Chinese are making a fake version of it :). I think that`s a sign that the idea is worth stealing. Our chocolates and biscuits are good too, look for the brands `Boci` and `Gyori` for stuff that`s actually Hungarian. Not that it`s owned by Hungarians anymore... Our liver pates are also delicious (`majkrem`), as well as our dry sausages (`kolbasz`, look for `Gyulai` or `Szegedi`). Mineral waters (`asvanyviz`) are plentiful and very cheap compared to the US - we have many that have won various awards. My personal favorite is Theodora, but Szentkiralyi is good as well.
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