Day: April 27, 2013

Budapest in May

Posted on by Budablogger

May is one of my favorite months in Budapest. The sun is shining most of the time, the temperatures are nice, the streets are crowded with people and the summer holiday is just around the corner. May is also a month when there is quite a lot going on in Budapest, so if you are headed to Budapest in May, keep on reading!

If you look for a great festival or activity in Budapest in May, then you might find some of the following programs interesting.

Workers Day

This is not really a festival, but it is worth knowing that this is a day of in Hungary, meaning that families use this day to do programs with their children, meaning that you can expect activities like the zoo to be packed with people. There are some demonstrations arranged on this day, but in general you will not really be influenced much by this day-off.

Cinco de Mayo

May 5th is the day when Cinco de Mayo is celebrated, and this is the day of the Mexicans and everyone who love a good street party in Budapest. Normally this party is arranged on May 5th, but sometimes the celebration is moved to a nearby date if that suits the locals and the visitors better. For example in 2013 May 5th happens to be on a Sunday, which is a bad day to party all day and all night long, and therefore the real street party in Budapest will be arranged on May 4th instead in 2013. If you want to take part in this celebration packed with food, tequila and food, visit Iguana in Zoltan utca 16 (near the Hungarian Parliament) where the party starts at 15.00 May 4th and lasts until the morning of May 5th.
Cinco de Mayo 2013: May 4th

Palinka Festival

Do not confuse this with the Palinka and Sausage festival, but as you know all good products need different festivals, and that is true for the Hungarian Palinka as well. On the Erzsebet square in Budapest, in the very center of our city with 2 million inhabitants (almost), the Palinka festival is arranged. It has an entrance fee, and once on the inside you can taste way to much Palinka and other drinks with and without alcohol. In addition to drinks you can taste traditional festival food like sausages, chimney cake and other snacks. If you want to get to know the Hungarian fruit spirit, this is the place to do so.
Palinka festival dates 2013: May 16th – 19th

What to do in Budapest in May?

In addition to festival and specials gigs in town there are some other programs which are specially suitable to do and enjoy for those coming in May to Budapest. Some of those are for example:

Open air bars and clubs

Ankert: If you miss the beaches when coming to Budapest you could visit Ankert, a club in the middle of the city with its own sandy beach. The water where you can take a swim is missing, but this is a place with cool atmosphere in Paulay Ede utca 33 (Ankert).

Topart and Szaft: The Vajdahunyad castle is a real treasure in Budapest that most people do not really have time to enjoy. However, if you decide to take a drink in Topart & Szaft you will get the chance to enjoy your drinks while enjoying the beauties of this castle in the City Park. You can find this place at Olof Palme setany 5.

Akvarium: At the Erzsebet square, where the Palinka festival is arranged, you can find the Akvarium club. Here it is crowded with people on any evening and it is possible to simply grab something to drink outside or enjoy some cool concerts on the inside. Take the metro to Deak Ferenc ter, get out of the metro system and you should be able to find, hear and see Akvarium easily. A great option if you want to eat and drink outside on a hot May-day.

Weather in May

As you pack your suitcase and prepare for your days in Budapest in May you should in general prepare for nice weathers around 20 Celsius or warmer. On really hot days the temperatures may rise above 30 Celsius, but the normal temperatures during daytime are between 20 and 30 Celsius. There are a few rainy days in May, so check the weather forecast before arriving, but most days in May are dry, warm and ideal for those who want to take a look at the best attractions and sights in Budapest. If you are among those who can not fall asleep in a room with temperatures higher than 20 Celsius, you should book a room in a hotel with air-condition (which most 3, 4 and 5 star hotels in Budapest has.)

Some general May advices

  • Do not forget to bring sun lotion, you might need it!
  • Find nice outdoor restaurants where you can eat your lunch
  • If it gets to hot it you can always cool down in the St. Stephens Basilica
  • Drink enough water and other liquids
  • Visit the outdoor thermal baths early morning and afternoon and not during the warmest hours of the day.
  • The river cruises on the Danube are nicest after sunset.
  • If you want are very thirsty and want to drink wine without getting drunk ask for splash (froccs) which is a mixture of wine and sparkling water.

 

Hard Rock Cafe Budapest review and thoughts

Posted on by Budablogger

I just visited Hard Rock Cafe in Budapest. It wasn’t the first time I visited the place, but since I hadn’t been there in more than a year I thought it was about time to return to heaven for people who like to listen to loud music while eating.

Hard Rock Cafe arrived in Budapest just before Christmas in 2011 and my impression is that it has turned into a big success. It seems to be large crowds of people there throughout the entire day and lots of tourists I speak to visit the place, not only because it is cool, but because they love the food.

Hard Rock Cafe location

It must be said that Hard Rock Cafe in Budapest has the most brilliant location of all restaurants in the Hungarian capital. At the location with most tourists in all of Budapest it is located just at the corner where the shopping street Vaci Utca meets Vorosmarty square, so couldn’t be better. As the sun starts shining and the thermometer shows more than 10-15 Celsius they add an outer terrace making it possible to eat in open air.

Hard Rock Cafe review

From the first second you enter Hard Rock Cafe you get a feeling that this is American. The service and the way they treat their guests is somehow not typical for Eastern Europe. The waiters are really polite and “cool” at the same time and they do their uttermost to make all guests feel at home entering the restaurant.

If you have a favorite course in Hard Rock cafe you will probably find it in BUdapest as well, because the menu is a traditional Hard Rock Cafe menu with the legendary burgers, sandwiches and other courses waiting for you. After visiting the Hard Rock Cafe in Budapest 4 times I have still yet to become disappointed with the quality, but the only “problem” is that it feels a little pricy. It isn’t expensive compared to other Hard Rock Cafe restaurants around the world, but compared with other restaurants with similar profile in the capital.

This means that if I want to eat an excellent steak I’d rather eat a bigger and better one in Pampas Steakhouse or Prime Steakhouse, than in Hard Rock Cafe. The hamburgers aren’t that expensive, so if you want a great, big and juicy burger, the Hard Rock burgers should be considered. The most expensive burger costs around 4000 HUF which is quite similar to the hamburger prices in for example TGI Fridays.

Hard Rock Cafe is family friendly

A very positive thing about Hard Rock Cafe in Budapest is that it is family friendly. They have high quality chairs waiting for families coming with small children, they have facilities where mothers can change diapers on the smallest ones and they have big children menus where you find special offers for children, in addition to the fact that it is possible inside the menu to color guitars and draw other pieces of art.

The ketchup problem

This isn’t really a problem, but still it gave us a good laugh during our last visit. Most ketchup lovers agree on the fact that Heinz ketchup is among the best available in the world. So, next to my fries which was served together with the hamburger I thought I wanted to use some ketchup. The problem was just that it was impossible to get the ketchup out of the bottle it was in. We got a few drops on our plate, but after fighting the bottle for a minute we gave up, only to see that the people on our neighbor table fought exactly the same fight. The father wanted to give some ketchup to his son, but it simply did not leave the bottle… huhu! Guess we were all to lazy to ask the waiter for help.

Hard Rock Budapest wrap-up

If you want a Hard Rock experience while in Budapest, do not miss out on this one. They give you an authentic Hard Rock meals with guitars on the walls, music videos on big screens and quite loud music on the loudspeakers. I guess I am conservative, so I would enjoy my meal even more if the volume was turned down a bit, but I guess that is just me. The price level is higher than in most other Budapest restaurants, but it seems as if people and tourists in general gladly pay what Hard Rock Cafe asks for, so why lower the prices then?

Hard Rock Cafe Budapest information

Address: 1051 Budapest, Deák Ferenc utca 3-5
Opening times: 12.00-01.00 or 02.00

Budapest in June

Posted on by Budablogger

June is an amazing month in Budapest with lots of things going on and with nice and warm weather. The temperatures are normally bearable, making it a more ideal month to come to the capital of Hungary than for example July.

Since I started writing about the June weather in Budapest it might be useful to know that the average temperature in Budapest in June is around 20 Celsius. This might very, so in terrible years it goes as low as 15 Celsius, but in very warm years it might be around 25 Celsius. Still, June is month when you normally will be able to wear your summer clothes, without having to escape to often into the shadow to escape from degrees above 35 Celsius.

Budapest in June programs

There are quite a lot of festivals going on in June in Budapest. Some of them are not arranged at the same time every year, but here you will find information about some of those festival you should not miss out on if you come to Budapest in June.

Buda Castle Beer Festival

This is one of the most popular festivals in Budapest throughout the entire year. In the start it was arranged in September, but the arrangers have now made it a pre summer festival instead. Hopefully it will prove out to be a good decision. This is the place to taste hundreds of different kinds of beers and have lots of fun for 4-5 days.
Beer festival dates 2013: June 13th-16th

Belgian Beer Festival

The Belgian Beer festival is the place for those who love Belgian beers. It is arranged in the Vajdahunyad Castle area in the City Park in the Museum of Agriculture there. Check it out if you are a beerlover in Budapest when this festival is going on.
Belgian Beer Festival dates 2013: May 31st-June 2nd

Goose liver festival

Hungary is very well known for its goose liver (foie gras) and if you love it just as much as many Hungarians do, you definitely need to be there at the goose liver festival. This was arranged in June in both 2011 and 2012, but so far it seems as there will be no festival in 2013
Goose liver festival 2013: no dates yet

Gourmet festival

Hungary has for a long time been known as a nation where you get lots of food on your plate, but not so well known as a nation where you come to eat the finest bites of upper quality. This pictures is however changing, and now with two Michelin starred restaurants in town and lots of focus on fine dining, the Gourmet festival will let you taste and see the best of the best in Hungary.
Gourmet festival 2013 dates: May 31st-June 2nd

More June activities

New in 2013 is the Giant Ferris Wheel on the Elisabeth square. This opened on June 7th and will be running until the end of July in 2013. Make sure to check it out if you are in town.

Other great June activities in Budapest are river cruises on the Danube, wine tastings, folklore shows, organ concerts in the St. Stephens Basilica and lots of other stuff.

If you have any further advises and tips, why not write a comment and share your ideas.

[toggle Title=”What happened in June 2013?”]June in 2013 in Budapest was most of all famous for the giant flood. In Budapest the water was almost 9 meters above the normal height. Luckily Budapest managed to resist the water in quite a good way. When it comes to the weather the first weeks of June had cold weather, then followed by extreme heat for 10 days, and after that back to 20 Celsius.[/toggle]