Volt Festival 2015

Volt FestivalVolt Festival is one of the most popular festivals in Hungary which takes place in the beginning of summer every year since 1993.

Volt Festival is always held in Sopron which is a city really close to the Austrian border. The festival is held in the first week of July and it will be like this in 2015 as well. At the festival several music genres are represented from rock through hip-hop, jazz to electronic music. Apart from the countless concerts at the festival there are other programs and cultural event as well. The next year’s programs, artists and musicians are not fully settled yet but there are already some news on the programs and concerts.

So far in 2015 visitors can enjoy the concerts of John Newman, Parkway Drive, Rise Against, Motörhead, Parov Stelar Band, Lilly Wood & The Prick and Àkos (Ákos is a Hungarian singer). 2014’s most popular bands and performances were the Arctic Monkeys, Icona Pop, Hurts, 30 Seconds To Mars, MGMT, Woodkid and so on. At Volt Festival you will have the chance to get to know the most popular Hungarian bands as well.

Next year, in 2015 Volt Festival will be held from 1st July in 2015 until 4th July in 2015 in Sopron, Hungary.

If you want to know more on the festival, the programs and concerts of last year or you want to check out some pictures of the festival visit the following site.

Christmas presents to buy in Budapest

What is the ideal present to buy your loved ones in Budapest for Christmas? In this article we will give you some nice tips on buying the best souvenirs and gifts for Christmas.

There are several opportunities to choose from, many stores and even Christmas markets where you can get the nicest and most unique presents for Christmas. Read on, and get some ideas for what to bring home after a visit to Budapest before Christmas. If you simply want to know more about shopping in Budapest, then we recommend this article.

Szaloncukor

Hungary has a traditional candy for Christmas called szaloncukor which you can hang on the Christmas tree as decoration. It comes in several flavours such as marzipan, coconut, caramel, different flavoured jelly and so on which is covered in a thin layer of chocolate. You can get this at very low prices (with very low quality), so if you plan to bring this home with you, buy with higher quality, be it Milka, Szamos, Stuhmer or some other a bit more expensive version.

Szaloncukor
Szaloncukor as a Christmas present

Erős Pista

The other popular gifts from Hungary is Erős Pista (Strong Stephen) which is one of the most popular hot sauce in Hungary. It is an ideal gift for everyone who is into cooking. Erős Pista is made of minced hot paprika and salt and it could not be more Hungarian for sure. Hungarians use it in the different national dishes such as gulyás (goulash), lecsó and paprikás csirke. It can be really useful if you want to give some spiciness to your dish, and it is perfect to give some nice Hungarian taste to food lacking taste or in need of some more spice. This can be bought almost everywhere, in the market hall, in grocery stores and so on!

Erős pista
Erős Pista is the one to the right with the red top! (the other is called sweet Anna).

Hungarian wine

If you have some friends who like a good wine, and especially sweet white wine, then you should buy them a sweet Tokaj wine and bring it home to them for Christmas. This is a magnificent present that will make them happy, and especially women often enjoy this wine. Some sommeliers in Hungary call the sweet Tokaj wine Viagra for women. That might be a small exaggeration, but it for sure tastes good! If you are more into full bodied red wines, then the more expensive wines from the region of Villany is to be recommended. If you want some really Hungarian taste on the wine, and not follow the typical trends from abroad, then the red wines from the Szekszard region can be recommended, these are often light bodied and has a very nice spicy taste to them.

Sweet White Wine
Sweet white wine from Tokaj

Souvenirs from the Christmas markets

If you would like to buy other type of presents such as bags, different Christmas decorations and similar products you can find them on the Christmas markets in Budapest. At the markets there are plenty of handmade gifts such as the most beautiful lamps, different bags, scarfs, hats, gloves and all kind of accessories, toys for children, mugs and kitchen accessories as well such as wooden cheese boards and serving platters.

Túró Rúdi, Sport szelet, ischler and more

If you want to bring some of the basics of Hungarian chocolate and sweets with you home, then the number one favorite to bring home is the Túró Rúdi. This is a piece of cottage cheese (sweet) covered with dark chocolate in the standard version. This is served cold, so if you plan on bringing it home with you, then make sure to put it in the fridge as soon as you get back home again. Another famous chocolate is the Sport szelet. The paper almost looks like a chewing gum, but beyond the paper you will find a piece of dark chocolate with rum among its ingredients. For those in love with cakes the Ischler is ideal, because you can bring it with you home, at least if you get it packed in a piece of paper. This is a kind of biscuit cake with jam on the inside and covered with chocolate on the outside.

Ischler Sport Szelet Turo Rudi
Here you can see an Ischler, a Sport Szelet and a Túró Rúdi

These are some ideas and thoughts for what to bring home from Budapest with the goal of giving them away as Christmas presents. But, do not forget to buy double portions of everything, because you will for sure want to keep a bottle of Hungarian wine and some Erős Pista yourself.

Sziget Festival 2015

Sziget 2015Sziget Festival is one of the most popular festivals in Hungary although during the summer Hungary has plenty other festivals to choose from such as Volt Festival, Balaton Sound and so on.

Every year the festival opens it gates for the visitors in the capital of Hungary in Budapest. The festival takes place on an island called Hajógyári-sziget in Budapest in every August since 1993. The festival like in every year so far will be held in 2015 from 10th August to 17th August. The festival offers a wide range of various programs and concerts from different artists and musicians from all over the world. The festival popularity grows every year and it attracts thousands of people from the four corner of the world. The programs and concerts are not announced in 2015 yet but Sziget always has the most popular and unique musicians and singers. Last year’s most popular performers were Prodigy, Macklemore & Ryan, Placebo, Outkast, Calvin Harris, Skrillex, Lily Allen, Deadmau5, Korn, Blink-182, Bastille, La Roux and so on. There are also different tickets you can buy from the different daily passes to the weakly passes.

If you want to be part of one of the biggest and most popular festivals in Europe then you can not miss Sziget Festival in Budapest. If you want to know more about the festival and find other useful information, visit our page dedicated to the Sziget festival.

Sziget Festival 2015

August 10th – August 17th

For more information on other things happening in Budapest, check this site!

Nickelback Budapest 2015

In 2015 Nickelback will be on stage and give a unforgettable concert in the capital of Hungary in Budapest.

Nickelback Budapest
Nickelback Budapest

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band which was formed in 1995. Nickelback is one of the most successful and most popular Canadian rock bands and during the years they have sold over 50 million records world wide. Their biggest break through in their career was when they released their album Silver Side Up in 2001 and from the album How You Remind Me was and still is their biggest and most known hit. Nickelback came out with their latest album in November this year and the No Fixed Address was the Canadian rock band’s eighth studio album. In this occasion the band will be off to a world wide tour which will start in February in 2015. In total the band will give 98 shows world wide. Nickelback will also visit Hungary during the tour and they will give a concert in the capital of Hungary in Budapest. In Budapest the concert will take place at the Papp László Budapest Sportarèna on Friday 16th October in 2015 and their next location will be Prague where they will give a concert on the following day on Saturday.

Tickets: WorldTicketShop.

OneRepublic concert in Budapest 2015

One Republic concert BudapestOneRepublic will give a concert in the capital of Hungary in Budapest in the summer of 2015. OneRepublic is an American rock band which was formed in 2003.

OneRepublic released their first debut album Dreaming Out Loud in 2007 and from the album Apologize which was remixed by Timbaland was a great success and brought international success for the band. The second album of OneRepublic was Waking Up which was released in 2009. From the second album All the Right Moves, Secrets, Marchin On and Good Life were number one hits on several charts. The band came out with their third and latest album Native in 2013. OneRepublic is currently on a world tour with The Native Tour which is the band’s third world tour. The tour started in 2013 and will last until 2015. The band will give in total 142 concerts all over the world from North America through Europe to Asia. In this occasion OneRepublic will also visit Hungary where they will give one concert in Budapest.

In Budapest the concert will take place at the Papp László Budapest Sportarèna and the concert will be on Sunday 7th June in 2015. Tickets for the concert are already available.

For more information on the concert tickets and prices check the following site: WorldTicketShop.

If you look for some other cool program in Budapest, why not do a winetasting program or something similar?

Budapest Spring Festival 2015

The Spring Festival will open its gates again next year and the festival will take place in the capital of Hungary in Budapest from 10th April in 2015 until 26th April in 2015.

Spring Festival 2015
Spring Festival 2015

This is one of the most popular cultural events in Budapest which takes place at different points of the city. As in every year in 2015 the visitors can choose from a wide selection of various programs during the festival such as concerts, theatre performances, folk music and different children activities as well. At the Spring Festival there will be plenty of concerts, musicales, operas, different dance performances. At the exhibition visitors can listen to the best concerts of the different orchestras, philharmonics, musicians and singers such as the Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok, Denis Matsuev and the Hungarian National Philharmonic, David Sanborn Band, Kirill Petrenko and the Bavarian State Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra and so on. The Spring Festival in Budapest will be held from 10th April in 2015 until 26th April in 2015. Tickets for the concerts and the festival are already available.

For more information on the Spring Festival in Budapest check the following site or the official Budapest Sprint Festival site.

Some pictures from the Christmas market in 2014

One evening not so long ago we visited the Christmas market in Budapest at the Vorosmarty square. Of course we made some photos, though not the best ones, but why not share them with all of you out there, who unfortunately could not come to Budapest to visit the Christmas market this year.

Take a look at the pictures, and maybe you can come to Budapest next year instead to enjoy the Christmas fairs then? As soon as we get the dates for the Christmas market in 2015, we will post them here to our Budapest blog.

Christmas fair in Budapest
Christmas fair in Budapest
The most popular market at Vörösmarty square
The most popular market at Vörösmarty square
Beautiful decorations and lights
Beautiful decorations and lights
Budapest Christmas Market 2014 2
Lots of nice stuff to be bought at the market
Budapest Christmas Market
Christmas market at Vörösmarty square

The friendship between Rippl-Rónai and Maillol

Rippl ROnaiThere will be a huge exhibition on the two artists Rippl-Rónai József and Aristide Maillol from the middle of December in 2014 in the National Gallery, located in the Buda Caste.

The exhibition will be held in the Hungarian capital in Budapest. Rippl-Rónai József was a Hungarian Post-Impressionist painter who was born in 1861 and died in 1927. He was one of the most influential Post-Impressionist artist of Hungary and he also had a great impact on the life of the art in Hungary. Aristide Maillol was a French sculptor, painter and printmaker. He was born in 1861 and he died in 1944 and he is one of the most outstanding sculptor of France.

The exhibition in Budapest will show the friendship and the art works of the two artists. The exhibition focuses on to reveal the secrets behind the friendship of Rippl-Rónai and Maillol through their master pieces. At the exhibition visitors can discover the artists most important art works and you will also have the chance to have a closer look on the most famous portrait of Rippl-Rónai of his friend Maillol. Apart from this at the exhibition there will be a wide range of various art works of the artists including several works of Maillol (sculptures, carpets, paintings and so on). There will be approximately 40 art works of the French sculptor at the exhibition. The exhibition on Maillol and Rippl-Rónai will take place at the Hungarian capital in Budapest at the Hungarian National Gallery. The exhibition can be seen from 17th December 2014 until 6th April in 2015.

For more information on other exhibitions and events in Budapest, click here.

Which is the best beer in Hungary?

Best Hungarian BeerNowadays there are all kinds of, various types of beers available everywhere which might make the decision on a beer more difficult. So in this article you can read about the best Hungarian beers.

The most typical and well known Hungarian beer is Arany Ászok which was first produced in 1924. It is one of the cheapest beers you can get in the stores and in the pubs as well. Arany Ászok is a pilsener style lager, the colour of the beer is really clear and golden brown. The taste of the beer is a little bitter and it has a weak flavour and the alcohol content of the beer is 4.3%. The other famous Hungarian beer is Soproni which has different flavours (lemon, cherry so on). It is also a pilsener style beer and just like Arany Ászok it also has a golden brown colour but its alcohol content is 4.5%. Borsodi Világos is the third most popular Hungarian beer in Hungary. Borsodi was first produced in 1973 in the Northern part of the country. It is also a pilsner style light beer with 4.6% alcohol content like most of the beers produced in Hungary. Borsodi also comes in different flavours nowadays, the most popular flavour is lemon after the original taste. All of these beverages are typical Hungarian beers which you can easily buy any of the the stores or pubs in Hungary usually for really cheap.

Besides these three beer types Dreher is also a very famous and popular beer brand in Hungary. If you have tasted all these four types, you have tasted the four most popular and famous beers in Hungary!

If you want to taste beer directly in a brewery, why not join us on a brewery visit?

Google Art Project at the Museum of Fine Arts

The Museum of Fine Arts is located in the capital of Hungary, Budapest and it was one of the first museums in Hungary that joined to this innovative and unique project to the Google Art Project in 2012.

Paul Cezanne in Museum of Fine Arts
Paul Cezanne in Museum of Fine Arts (this and lots of other pictures can be seen online)

The main goal of the Google Art Project is to bring closer the audience to the greatest master pieces of the museum. This new technique let everyone to discover more on the paintings and it makes it possible to check even the smallest details on the paintings. It is also important that with this new technique all the art works will be saved for the next generations. With the Google Art Project 30 art works of the museum will be available only with a few clicks from home. The new technique works just like the Google street view and it will open up new possibilities in the world of art and for everyone who is interested in art. On the art works with Google Art Project you can check all the small and hidden details which can not be seen otherwise.

Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Check it out right here! For more information on the museum itself and its temporary exhibitions, check this site.

For your information, the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest is also a part of the Google Art Project, meaning that you can see more than 100 artifacts and pictures from the museum in the Google Art Project online as well!