Thursday, November 20, 2008

Christmas in WestEnd Citycenter

Christmas has come to WestEnd Citycenter in Budapest! The pictures below can show us that very clearly. Tomorrow will be the opening of the Christmas Market at the Vörösmarty Square, and hopefully I will be able to drop by to make some photos sometime tomorrow. Click at the pictures below for bigger versions.

We wrote last week about our new museum section. We are working on it in these days, and we have recently added the Museum of Ethnography and the Natural History Museum.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Pictures from Szechényi Thermal Bath Budapest

One of my favorite ways of celebrating in Budapest is going to the Szechényi Thermal Bath. If you are tired it is just wonderful to walk into the 38 degree water, and you immediately feel your muscles calm down and relaxation fills your body. Somehow though, I am always extremly tired as I leave the pools, and normally it is just to go home to sleep after some hours in the water. Well, sorry for writing so much... I was supposed to post pictures here. You can see them below. To see even more, visit our Szechényi Thermal Bath page.

Szechényi Thermal Bath BudapestThe legendary chessplayers in the water

Szechényi Thermal Bath BudapestWarm water.. 38 degrees

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Some downtime on our servers today

This morning we had some downtime on the server hosting our website... Quite boring, but fortunately it only lasted for some hours. Now we are back in business again, and feeling better than ever :) Yesterday we reported that the christmas markets are on the move, and they really are. Today walking on the Vörörsmarty Square the small "houses" are almost finished, the lights are arranged, and now they just need to finish their last preparations before the grand opening this Friday.

While waiting, enjoy the Christmas version of the Hungarian Parliament below.

Christmas Parliament Budapest

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Christmas market is soon to open

Christmas Market BudapestMany people from Budapest and from abroad are waiting for the Christmas market in Budapest to open. This Friday is the opening day, and it is already possible to see the people preparing for the Christmas markets around in the city (see picture on the right). Normally the Vörösmarty Square looks as on the picture below, but in a few days it will look as a big square, with an awesome Christmas market. Read more about the Christmas market in Budapest.

Vörösmarty Square

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Weekend taster in Budapest

What is the best thing to start with on a shiny Saturday morning in Budapest? Obviously you would take a walk with your family on the Margaret-island, walk your dog in the neighbourhood or you would have a morning coffee with your friends in a pleasant café, watching as the world goes by. However, until December 7th there is yet another great opportunity to find a good programme in the downtown.

If you are interested in history and culture, you might already have guessed. Or not yet? Well, Heroes’ square is the place to be! The Museum of Fine Arts has organized a fabulous exhibition once again: Pharaonic Renaissance. For a price of 9€ (2200 HUF) you will get a small piece of the ancient Egypt. I am saying small because we do not have to be experts to tell that Egypt is full of treasures, as the world of pharaohs has got so much to offer that our mind cannot even comprehend it.

Coffins, obelisks, jugs, statues and idols, even a mummy and lots of other well-preserved and valuable artifacts have been gathered in one collection from famous museums such as the British Museum and the Louvre, just to mention a few, nevertheless some of these artifacts are the very own of the Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition is organized in a chronological order, starting with the oldest dynasties of Egypt and concludes with the period after the Persian occupation, when once again and for the last time in their history, the renaissance of the pharaohs had come. In a scientific context the peak of the exhibition is the Stone of Palermo on which we can see an ancient list of the dynasties that had ruled over Egypt during thousands of years.

Throughout our visit we will receive a perspective of the olden days, the Egyptian way of daily life, political and religious thinking and culture but if this is still not enough, the museum building itself is already worth a visit, whereas the museum offers a range of group activities during opening hours, e.g. dancing, painting, etc.. But if you are still mesmerized by the smell of morning coffee in your mind, the museum’s got it as well.

Pharaonic Renaissance Budapest

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Monday, November 17, 2008

The Invisible Exhibition

The title caught my attention and I wondered; what can this be? Reading on I realised that the Invisible Exhibition was giving an insight into the life of a blind person. It sounded very interesting, so I decided to drop by checking it out.

How does a blind play chess?
The question was answered in the start of the exhibition, in the visible part. Here we were shown several objects, tools and articles that help the daily life of a blind person. Among these were a chess table, a weight, a speaking computer and so.

How does it feel to be blind?
The first session was just a warm-up before being taken into the dark. No light sources were there, so you felt as a blind person yourself. Here you got the chance to visit the pub, walk in the city, visit a statue park and experience how it feels to be blind in several situations.

The exhibition worked as an eye-opener, giving a little insight into the world of the blind, and it was also special that the guide escorting you in the darkness was a blind person.

Would you like to visit the exhibition as well? If so you will find useful information about the Invisible Exhibition below. For those who want an English speaking guide it is recommended to contact the exhibition before to tell them you are coming. They can be contacted at info@lathatatlan.hu or telephone number +36 20 771 4236

Where is it:
The Invisible Exhibition is located in the 10th (X.) district, in Népliget, within the E-klub building. It is easy to approach my using metro line no. 3 (metro stop Népliget), or using tram no. 1, or using buses no. 99 and 103.

Opening hours

Monday to Friday: 12:00 - 20:00
On weekends: 10:00 - 20:00

Tickets
Adult: HUF 1.450
Student: HUF 1.200
Groups: HUF 990*
Family: HUF 4000**

* in case of 20 persons groups or above, pre-registration is required
**2 adults+children

More information at www.lathatatlan.hu

Other exhibitions and concerts in Budapest

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Friday, November 14, 2008

ABBA - The Show, in Budapest

Abba BudapestSince the film Mamma Mia was released Abba has experienced a super boom with young people catching interest in the old hits, and the old people renewed their love for the old songs and melodies. Well, Mamma Mia. The concert that will take place in Papp László Budapest Sportaréna will feature among others the original ABBA members Ulf Andersson & Janne Schaffer.

ABBA THE SHOW follows the ABBA story from their Eurovision beginnings all the way to major chart success. It is performed by Sweden’s Waterloo, a world renowned group who bring ABBA to life, together with The National Symphony Orchestra of London conducted by Matthew Freeman.

ABBA - THE SHOW - Buy tickets from Eventim
Wednesday, 11. Feb 2009, 19:30
Papp László Budapest Sportaréna, Budapest, Hungary

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Three bridges in one picture

Three bridges in one
This picture was made a couple of weeks ago, and here you can see three bridges. The first one is the Margaret Bridge, followed by the Margaret Island. Then comes the Arpad Bridge, and then comes the newcomer, the Megyeri Bridge. To see it you need to open the picture in big resolution (press the picture to do so), and then you can see in the background of the picture the Megyeri bridge, trying to lead people around Budapest without having to enter the inner city.

It has always been so that if you want to go from east to west or south to north in Hungary, you have to drive through the center of Budapest. To change this (which we would all be happy about) they are trying to build a new highway called the M0 that will lead the traffic around Budapest instead of into Budapest. We are still not completely there, but we are getting closer!

Bridges of Budapest

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Budapest museums in focus

Museum of Fine Arts BudapestWe would like our page to contain information useful for people coming to Budapest, and som expats stuck in Budapest, and that is why we have decided to include information about museums as well at our page. Starting today we will add information about museums in Budapest, and if capacity allows us to, we will also visit the temporary exhibitions to be found in the different museums around, and review them! Sounds good, doesn´t it?

So far we have added a page in general about museums in Budapest, and we just added a page about one of our favorite museums in Budapest as well; the Museum of Fine Arts.

More museums, information, news and pictures will come later!

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Budapest Zoo to expand

Last week we finally expanded our register of activities in Budapest with the circus and the amusement park in Budapest. Yesterday then I read the news that the amusement park in Budapest is going to move in 2009, but it in still not clear to where. Budapest Zoo will take over the area now used by the amusement park, and though the very "old" and "unomveable" attractions will remain, everything else will be removed to the new location of the funpark.

From the zooBut with some attractions remaining the zoo will became an even greater hit for the families, and if it is now possible to use 2-3 hours there without a problem... what will the future bring?

By the way... do you know what can be seen on the picture on the right? That is the "Great Rock" from the Budapest Zoo, an artifical rock, around 100 years old!

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Quantum of Solace in Budapest

James Bond BudapestWhile the newest James Bond film Quantum of Solace has had its premiere in several nations around the world already, it will reach the cinemas in Hungary this Wednesday (12 November). The film that has been seen by crowds already can be seen in all cinemas in Hungary, but watch out; if you do not want to hear Daniel Craig speak in Hungarian you should go to a cinema showing it with subtitles, instead of synchronized speaking. WestEnd (Palace Cinemas) shows the film only with syncronization, but it you go to Mom Park they will show it with english speaking and hungarian subtitles (but watch out... they will show it on three screens, but only one of them shows it with subtitles).

If you want to see a nicer film than James Bond you can also see High School Musical 3 and Madagascar 2 in the Hungarian cinemas in these days. But watch out with the language problems here as well (High School Musical is normally dubbed, but the singing remains in the original language).

To read more about the cinemas in Budapest, go here!

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2008 Jubilee Concert Of The 100-Member Gipsy Orchestra

If you like gispy music, or if you are just looking for something to do on the 30 December, then this might be a good option. For the 11th time this concert is arranged in the Budapest Congress & World Trade Center. The visitors are promised that they will hear music from Offenbach, Rossini, Khachaturian, Liszt, Strauss as well as wonderful examples of folk music and spectacular folk-show elements.

Program:
18.00 Wine tasting and folk dance show
19.00 Concert, part 1
20.20 Concert part 2

Concert tickets:
Tickets – with dinner: Stalls 29 800 HUF
Tickets – concert and wine tasting: Gallery, rows 1-4
Tickets – concert and wine tasting: Gallery, rows 5-9 16 500, 14 500HUF

Further information and ticket sales:
V.I.P. Arts Management: 13-15 Hajós street, Budapest, H-1065
Phone/fax: +36-1-332-4816, +36-1-302-4290
viparts@viparts.hu
www.viparts.hu

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Monday, November 10, 2008

New Years Eve Opera Gala And Ball

We have already written about the New Years concert of the London Philharmonic Orchestra taking place on the first of January, 2009. But, if you are looking for an event on the 31st of December this might be the one. If you want to finish the year in beautiful surroundings and with elite company, the Hungarian State Opera might be the place. The famous Gundel Restaurant will serve the food!

Program of the Gala Night:
20.00 Welcoming of guests in the aula with a welcome cocktail
20.30 Parts of the popular operetta of Johann Strauss, the Bat
21.30 GUNDEL dinner
Served on the stage, banquet halls and galleries of the Hungarian State Opera,
23.00 Performance by the popular Erox Martini
24.00 National Anthem
Champagne
Opening dance by professional dancers
Ball until early morning

There will also be an opera ball in Budapest the 21st February.


Other events in Budapest

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Friday, November 7, 2008

Paris of the east = Budapest?

I have often heard people speaking of Budapest as the Paris of the east. It sounds really nice, and I must admit, that Budapest is a really beautiful city, just as Paris. Having some seconds today I just typed in on google "Paris of the east", curious to see what it would show me. To my great surprise there are many "Parises" of the east. Tehran, Prague, Shanghai, Bucharest and Istanbul were some of the cities mentioned, and it seemd to me as if Bucharest was the most "popular" one with the title "Paris of the east."

There are probably many cities fighting for the title, but for many tourists coming to Eastern-Europe the question is not whether to go to Budapest or Shanghai, or Budapest or Istanbul, but rather if they should go to Budapest or Prague. As editor of this page, and as a person who loves Budapest, I would for sure recommend Budapest, but if you have time, I would visit both Budapest and Prague. After that you can make up your own oppinion what city has most right to the title "Paris of the East"; Budapest or Prague.

Some pictures from Budapest
Budapest by nightSzabadság TérSchöne DonauDanube and the CastleStreet in BudapestSaint Stephens Basilica

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Circus in Budapest


Circus, Originally uploaded by GuideToBudapest

If you are coming to Budapest with children, you should consider visiting the circus in the City Park, nearby the Szechényi Bath, the Zoo and the Gundel Restaurant. The picture above was taken in 2003 during a performance, but do not worry; they change their perforamnces several times a year. For more information you can check out our Budapest circus page.

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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

New Years concert of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

With the aim of starting a new tradition, the Palace of Arts decided to celebrate the new year of 20008 not by the usual, light music played in other places but with the exquisite oratory of Joseph Haydn which involves the magic of the creation and which has been a constant favourite with audiences for 210 years.

The orchestra will be led by Ádám Fischer, who is the most experienced and most inventive representative of the composer’s music. The orchestra is the famous London Philharmonic Orchestra founded by Sir Thomas Beecham, accompanied by the London Philharmonic Choir. The invitation of the London orchestras and choir is not a coincidence: Haydn composed the Creation in London.

The large-scale composition took Haydn two years to complete; it was first shown in Vienna at the end of April 1798. It meant him a huge artistic acknowledgement and financial success. “Since then the Creation has become one of the emblematic masterpieces of European music, an icon. But the respect that surrounds the composition is not the only reason for gaining a place amongst the “compulsory” pieces – such as the passions of Bach, oratorio of Handel and the Missa solemnise of Beethoven of the repertoires in the music life of the world. We actually need the Creation. We need somebody to show us the beauties of the world and convey the message that living on Earth is a good thing.” (András Batta)

Ticket prices: 4000.- 6300.- 8300.- 9900.- HUF.
You can get hold of tickets from Interticket (be aware: the page is hard to use, and the english is not too good)
Source: Budapestinfo.hu

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Delirious in Budapest, December 19

Delirious BudapestAfter 17 years and 14 albums, Delirious? will be playing its Central European farewell show in Budapest, Hungary. They are touring "Kingdom of Comfort", their last studio album that revolves around the heavy theme of social justice. Tickets can be bought from eventim and BudapestGospel.

Event info
Date: 19 December 2008, Friday 7.30PM
Venue: Petőfi Csarnok Main Hall
Zichy Mihály u. 14., 1146 Budapest, Hungary

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Monday, November 3, 2008

Opera Ball 2009, 21 February

The annual Opera Ball will take place on the 21 February in 2009. The star guest will be Richard Clayderman, so if you like him you have one more excuse to come visit the Hungarian State Opera.

The event is not a cheap thing; tickets start from 84.000 forints. For ticket booking, programme and more information go to operabal.com.

Richard Clayderman BudapestRichard Clayderman

Short History of the Budapest Opera Ball: (source: operabal.com)
A social event has been reborn where the leading persons of the middle class that is to say the Hungarian culture, knowledge, power and money meet one another each year. The opera ball had been first organised in 1886 and, after an interval of 62 years, it has revived in 1996. Representing the 111 years' tradition, it has become the largest and most important meeting of the participants of the Hungarian public life winning the keenest attention of the public opinion already the first time.

Other events in Budapest

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Sunday, November 2, 2008

A picture from the Vörösmarty Square


Gerbeaud by night, Originally uploaded by GuideToBudapest

At this square there will in not to many weeks be a christmas market. The Vörösmarty Square, the main square of Budapest, is the place where the traditional Christmas Market will be held this year for the tenth time.

At the picture you can see the Gerbeaud building, and totally in front a nice coffee place where you can get some hot drinks and cold drinks.

Just as a little nice thing; today it has been measured almost 20 Celsius in Budapest. Quite nice, ey? This Thursday we had a guided tour with some Norwegians, and during the tour one received a phonecall, because they needed him to remove the snow from some norwegian roads... I just though; man it is good, at least from the perspective of climate, to live in Hungary.

Lots of pictures from Budapest

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Friday, October 31, 2008

Budapest Spring Festival 2009

Budapest has a lot of festivals, and every year they arrange a spring festival. In 2009 the spring festival will be arranged between 20 March and 5 April. Among the artists you can find:

Ágnes Szakály, Amadinda Percussion Group, Anderszewski Piotr, Arkadi Volodos, Bartók Quartet, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Budapest Tomkins Vocal Ensemble, Camerata Salzburg,
Ensemble Martinù, Harding Daniel, János Dobra, Kálmán Záborszky, Kodály Quartet, Kremerata Baltica, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Maisenberg Oleg, Mika Teranagane, Milan Turkovic,
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Say Fazil, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis and Zugló Philharmonia.

For a full list of the programs and venues, go to www.btf.hu/btf2009/

If you are looking for an apartment or would like a guided tour as you come to Budapest for the festival, feel free to contact us for advices and help!

Other programs and concerts in Budapest

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Christmas market in Budapest, Nov 21-Dec 29

Christmas Market BudapestIn forums all around the world and in travel magazines people now speak of the christmas markets around the world, and around in Europe. I just visited a page where they wrote about the ten best christmas fairs in Europe, and Budapest was not included. Included or not, Budapest has a great christmas market at the Vörösmarty Square (endstation of the yellow underground line), and here you can buy presents, food and have a really good time!

This year it is the tenth anniversary for the christmas market, and more than 150 programs accompany the christmas market. Around 600 000 visitors are expected to visit the market between 21 November and 29 December.

From Budapestinfo.hu
The event is one of the highlights of the festive preparations, there is almost nobody in the capital who hasn’t been to the fair at least once, but it can be said that no foreign tourist leaves the capital at this time of the year without walking to the Vörösmarty square to take part in this lively, yet intimate event with special festive atmosphereThe popular and Europe-wide well known festive atmosphere of the Christmas Fair is due to the unique pavilions and the exclusive goods available in them: almost 100 craft stands offer goods, special gifts and folk art and craft decorations certified by the panel of experts of the Association Of Hungarian Folk Artists.

For visitors who have a taste for traditional gastronomic delights the city centre location of the fair is a real heaven: the smell of the fresh bread “lángos” baked in the traditional “Töki” clay oven, the stands of caramelised pastry horn makers and strudel makers, traditional country food baked in clay ovens, friendly meat grills attract anybody walking near the fair. If you like good mulled wine, you should also be there in the Vörösmarty square: after drinking it, you can take home the special mug it was served in: the “Christmas Fair Mug” gets a new design every year.

Should all this be not enough, visitors of the square are continuously entertained by cavalcade of Hungarian folk music, folk dance, classical music, children’s programmes and concerts. The organizers are preparing special surprises and accompanying events for the anniversary year, making this year’s Christmas in Budapest a truly unforgettable experience.

The organizers maintain the right for any changes!

Other events and programs in Budapest

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Eating at Mátyás Pince

Earlier this week we had the chance to visit Mátyás Pince to taste their food, and to listen to some gipsy music while we were eating. Our goal and what we wanted to discover, was whether this was a restaurant to recommend to tourists or not. And after eating there we have for sure found out.

Hungarian Goulash SoupOur starter was a Hungarian Goulash soup, and we must say; it for sure tasted like Goulash soup... Some people told us that they serve the Goulash soup with beans several places (and they normally do not like that), but here they did not, and we were able to really enjoy the soup.


After the soup we ordered two different main courses; Breast of Pullet Grilled with Fresh Spices of Garden, with Mixed Salad in Roquefort Dressing and Paprika Chicken Stew Szeged Style with Home Made Butter Dumplings. The first is not really Hungarian, but my wife wanted that, so no need to argue! I ate the Paprica Chicken and I was really satisfied with the taste of it.

In places like this they often have annoying gipsy music playing in the background, and sometimes the musicians put their violins almost into your ears, but we had no problem with the musicians or the volume here.

As a dessert we ate "rétes" with ice-cream; a nice ending of a "hungarian" evening!

Conclusion
We really got a taste of Hungary, and if you are looking for a place to eat Hungarian food this might be one that will meet your needs. The prices are high compared with many other places, so it will probably not be a place where we will come back all the time; but for the sake of tasting Hungary it was satisfying our needs!

Restaurants in Budapest

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Pink concert in Budapest, 24 March 2009

Pink BudapestPink will have a concert in Budapest 24 March 2009. The concert will be held in the Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena, and tickets can be ordered from eventim.hu.

Press Release
Brit and Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum singer P!nk today announced plans for a new tour in 2009. The tour will kick off in Belgium on 26th February finishing in the UK in early May. Just last week P!nk scored her second UK No.1 with her new single ‘So What’, taken from ‘Funhouse’, the new album. The single remains at No.1 this week as well as being No. 1 in Germany, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

Pink had a message for her fans "I'm so excited to get back on the road. The 'Funhouse' tour ideas are running rampant in my head. Who knows what they'll come out as.... And I can't wait to see”. P!nk’s previous tour sold out arenas across the UK and Europe and established her as a major headline artist. The ‘I’m Not Dead Tour’ included 56 arena shows and a further 43 Festival dates!

The announcement of these dates coincides with the release of Pink’s fifth album ‘Funhouse’ released on October 27th, the follow-up to 2006’s ‘I’m Not Dead’, which went four times platinum in the UK, selling 1.2 million copies. Since her debut in 2000, P!nk has been widely hailed as a fearlessly talented singer/songwriter, and the Pennsylvania native’s genre-defying creative risk-taking has propelled her to global stardom. To date, P!nk has sold 22 million albums cumulatively worldwide.

Concerts and other events in Budapest

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Chain Bridge on the new 200 forint coin


LáncHíd, Originally uploaded by marcustg

The Hungarian National Bank arranged a competition not long ago where people could vote for what symbol they would like to see on the new 200 Forint coin. They received more than 200 000 votes, and more than half of them voted for the Chain Bridge in Budapest.

The new coin will earliest be used in the first quarter of 2009, while it is expected that people can use the 200 Forint paperversion (that we use now) until the end of 2009.

It is not the picture above that will be on the coin, but we can wait and see how it looks when it becomes available in 2009. If you want to read more about the oldest bridge in Budapest, we recommend you to click on the link above. There you can read more about the bridges history and events since it was first used in 1849.

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Monday, October 27, 2008

No more tickets for the AC/DC concert

As we wrote earlier the tickets for the AC/DC concert in Budapest were expected to be sold out very fast. And they were! There are no more tickets available, so you should either look for another concert or just visit Budapest because of the nice attractions!

AC/DC at YouTube

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The financial crisis weakens the Forint

The Forint has experienced some serious changes in the last months. Earlier this year one Euro could be bought for 230 Euros, but in these days the value has changed to approximately 280 Euros. The dollar, which earlier could be bought for around 150 forints, can now be bought for 200 forints.

Because of this, your money (Euro, Dollar) as a tourist will be more worth in Budapest in these days. For how long the Forint will be as weak as now is not possible to tell.

Even though it is so, some changing shops are still charging a lot as you change your money, so be sure to check that the difference between what they are selling and buying your currency for is not to big. For example: It they sell Euro for 285 Forints, they should sell Forints for 270 Forints. If the difference is like this, it is okay, but if it is bigger, you should look for another place. If you are lucky, you will find better places as well!

Currency and money in Budapest

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Classical concerts in the Budapest Parliament

“Music and Atmosphere” is the title of a forthcoming series of concerts to be given by Hungarian Virtuosi in the Domed Hall of the Hungarian Parliament. Featured composers include Mozart, Händel, Vivaldi, Liszt, Saint-Saëns and Bach.
The concerts are all on Friday evenings and begin at 6 o’clock. Ticket holders arriving at 5 o’clock are invited to enjoy a guided tour of the Parliament building (with commentary in three languages).

HUNGARIAN VIRTUOSI CONCERTS

Violin soloist and conductor: Miklós Szenthelyi

17 october 2008, 6 p.m.
Vivaldi: G-major symphony
Vivaldi: B-major concerto for violin and cello
Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals – The Swan
Bach: D - moll concerto for two violins
Bach: E-major violin concerto

28 November 2008, 6 p.m.
Handel: Passacaglia
Vivaldi: B- major concerto for violin and cello
Vivaldi: B-major concerto for two violins
Mozart: D-major Divertimento
Liszt: II. Hungarian Rhapsody

12 December 2008, 6 p.m.
Vivaldi: G-major symphony
Vivaldi: B-major concerto for violin and cello
Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals – The Swan
Bach: D - moll concerto for two violins
Bach: E-major violin concerto

Concert ticket holders are invited to arrive on the evening of the concert at 5.0 p.m. for the opportunity to take part in a guided tour of the Parliament building. English-, German- and Hungarian speaking guides will lead visitors on a short tour including the grand staircase, the domed hall, the main reception rooms and, providing it is not in use, the debating chamber of the upper house. Photography is allowed, but the use of flashes is not permitted by the Crown Jewels.

Promoter of the concert series:
Bacchus Arts Studio
1055 Budapest Kossuth Lajos tér 1-3.
Tel: +36 1 488-7093
bacchus.studio@gmail.com

Source: Budapestinfo.hu

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

AC/DC in Budapest

AC/DC is going on a world tour, and all around the world the tickets disappear within seconds. The Budapest tickets where put to sale today, but Ticketpro is having problems serving all customers at the moment. If you want a ticket you should hurry up, and be patient. TicketPro Shop.

The concert will be 23. March 2009, in Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena!

ALL TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT - 23. OCTOBER 2008

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

MOJSZEJEV Balett, November 23. 2008

MOJSZEJEV Balett BudapestDuring their last performance in Budapest more than 8000 people saw it in the SYMA Hall in Budapest. Now they are back, and this time the MOJSZEJEV Balett will perform in the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna at 19.00. For tickets go to eventim.

More upcoming events and concerts

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Wednesday, October 8, 2008

23 October 1956 - The Hungarian Revolution

The three big national days in Hungary every year are 15 March, 20 August and 23 October. The 23 October is the day when Hungarians remember the spontaneous revolt against the communist government in Hungary in 1956. It started peacefully with a big student demonstration, but as the State Security Police (communist) started firing upon the demonstrators it turned into a violent revolution. After some days it seemed as if the Hungarians had won, but it all turned worse as a large Soviet Force entered the nation 4 November and overrun the Hungarian forces. More than 2500 Hungarians died during the battles, and more than 200.000 had to flee the country.


A sign of the revolution was the Hungarian flag, from which they cut out the Soviet symbol, and because of that a big hole was in the middle of the flag.

Today
During the national day most shops are closed in Budapest, but museums, thermal baths, zoo and so are open. Restaurants are open as well, but it is recommended to reserve a table beforehand, as several people eat outside on days such as this.

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NATO meeting in Budapest (October 9 and 10)

Tomorrow Budapest will receive Defense Ministers from the NATO countries around the world. They will debate several subjects, but the work of NATO in Afghanistan will for sure use much of the time. There will also be a small ceremony where Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Hungary's Defence Minister Imre Szekeres will attend a ceremony to welcome Hungarian troops returning from Afghanistan.

Because of this the city’s traffic will be in big trouble. The people will meet in the Sofitel, InterContinental and in the Marriott hotel by the Danube and because of this streets near these will all be closed. As the delegation arrives to and leaves Budapest the road from the airport to the city will also be closed, which means long lines for those heading in that direction.

There will also be forbidden to park in the area around the Heroes Square from 6 in the morning until 24.00 in the evening on Thursday. Maybe they are visiting Gundel, or enjoying a bath in the Szechenyi Thermal Bath?

A map showing the closed roads (Source: Nepszabadsag)

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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The 13 Martyrs of Arad - Clinking of beer mugs

October 6. 1849 was a date still to be remembered and commemorated in Hungary. On that day 13 of the generals from the 1848-1849 revolution in Hungary against the Habsburgs were executed in Arad (in Romania today). At the same day Count Lajos Batthyány was executed as well, the first Hungarian Prime Minister. Today a square near the Liberty Square has an "eternal light" named after him (located at the placed where Count Lajos Batthyány was killed).

The famous Lajos Kossuth (whose statue can be seen at for example the Heroes Square and outside the Parliament) managed to escape to USA before they caught him as well.

It is said that after executing the 13 generals in Arad the Austrian generals clinked their beer mugs together celebrating and m