Category: Budapest

Happy new year from a freezing Budapest

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Weather BudapestWe wish all our readers and visitors a happy new year from a freezing cold Budapest. Around midnight as 2008 turned into 2009 it was around -10 Celsius in Budapest, and as I checked out our weatherpage this morning it showed -8 Celsius. That is quite cold, so if you are in the city, or on the way to Budapest, make sure to dress up!

I am not sure if you have set any goals for 2009, but we have a goal to become an even better Guide to Budapest, so that we can serve our visitors with more and better information about what is going on in the city, and suggestions for programs, museums and attractions to visit in the city. Yesterday we also updated our page with information about concerts happening in big cities nearby Budapest (Prague, Munich, Vienna, Bratislava), and we hope to be able to keep this updated as well.

I agree; Munich is quite far from Budapest, but if you like driving (fast), it can still be done in a day to visit the city for a concert, and then drive back afterwards (you will arrive early in the morning the next day, but it can work at least).

Have you got any wish/desire for 2009?
Feel free to share it with us by posting a comment below telling us about it!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Budapest

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatIt might be a little late to write about Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat right now, as the last performance in Budapest will be performed tonight at 19:00, but December 23 I had the joy of visiting Madach Theatre in Budapest to watch, you guessed right, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (József és a színes szélesvásznú álomkabát). It was a surprise for me, so therefore I had no time to get high expectations, and the truth is I knew very little about this piece before I arrived.

The story deals with the character Joseph from the Bible, the son of Jacob, and his dreams and how they become reality. The songs tells the story from the Bible with great punctuality, and with some highlights such as when Pharaoh sings as if he was Elvis. The songs of the musical are those that get stuck on your mind, so walking home after the performance the melodies were played over and over again in my head.

Of course the play was in Hungarian, and we congratulate Attila Galambos and Blum Tamas with a great tranlsation. The Hungarian texts were just as good as the English, and a joy for the ear to hear. English lyrics were shown above the scene during the play, but the bad thing was that the stage is so big, that if you watch the lyrics, you will not see what is happening on the stage. If you sit at ground level you might get some neck problems as well! The solution might be to buy a ticket on one of the galleries.

All tickets are sold out for tonights performance, but if it will ever come back to Madách Színház we warmly recommend Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to all people who love music and musicals.

In my oppinion this gets ten out of ten smileys.

Hungarian title: József és a színesvásznú álomkabát
Made by: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

Bedtime Stories

Posted on by Budapest Guide

A good laugh is said to extend your life. Going to cinema should therefore extend your life, at least if the film is a funny one. Adam Sandler is supposed to be a funny guy, and when I saw his name as the main character in the film, I knew that this is supposed to be a humorous film. Earlier this year I saw the film “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” and though it did not became a favorite, it managed to give me a good laugh several places.

Can you imagine what would happen if all the stories told you turned true? That is what happens to Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) in Bedtime Stories. Or maybe not all turns true, but just some parts. What parts?

This is the story of Skeeter that has to watch out for the children of his sister, and every day ends up with a bedtime story. On the first day after telling such a story he notices that the bedtime story starts coming true, for example as chewing gum starts raining down from “heaven”. Following these episodes he wants to take advantage of the bedtime stories for his own promotion, but all things does not seem to happen the way he would like it to.

Bedtime stories took away 90 minutes from my life, but hopefully it gave back just as much through the funny things happening in the film. Though it could have been even funnier, I was quite satisfied watching the film. All in all this is a family film; totally pure (no sex), no violence, fun things happen all the time and for the girls some romance as well!

Based on all of this I give the film 8 out of 10 smiles!

Hungarian title: Esti mesék

Cinemas in Budapest

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted on by Budapest Guide

When I went to the cinema to see “The Day the Earth Stood Still” I did not have to high expectations. The last Keanu Reeves film I saw in the cinema was “Constantine”, and I remember only the fact that in my eyes it was terrible. With that in my mind I sat down to enjoy this film, the reinvention of the classic from 1951.

There are some things that makes me laugh when I go to cinema. One of those things are strange robot creatures which behave strangely. I got a nice laugh in this film! A giant robot that reminded me of Robocop with red laser coming out from the mask gave me a good reason to smile. But, the problem is that it was not meant to be funny.

The story of the film deals with Keanu Reeves coming to the earth as an alien (Klaatu), and he is here to decide what should be the destiny of the earth. Destruction or a second chance! We follow him and Helen Benson (played by Jennifer Connelly ) who tries to help him, who has a son following them throughout the film.

This could have been a good film, and though it might be that I do not like science-fiction to much, this was quite boring. I survived the film, and though one of the persons I watched the film together with really wanted to leave the cinema, and some other guests actually did, we stayed towards the end.

All in all I gave the film 3 out of 10 smileys!

Hungarian title: Amikor megállt a Föld

Cinemas in Budapest

Invisible Exhibition – Free entrance for three days

Posted on by Budapest Guide

We wrote an article about the Invisible Exhibition in Budapest a while ago, and two days ago I noticed a commercial in television about the Invisible Exhibition. It told that they would have free entrance to the exhibition from the 1st of January until the 3rd of January. Great news, isnt it? I could not see the information anywhere on the webpage of the exhibition, but I guess if they told so in a commercial at the television it is true! Use the opportunity, and get insight into the life of a blind person!

Another interesting addition to the exhibition is the fact that they invite their visitors to an invisible dinner, starting Thursday 29 January. After that they will arrange it every Thursday. This can only be joined if you pre-register by sending an email to [email protected]. More information can be about this at the webpage of the exhibition (information only exists in Hungarian).

More information about The Invisible Exhibition can be found here.

More upcoming events and concerts

Bodies Exhibition… update!

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Yesterday we wrote that there were only three days left of the Bodies Exhibition in Budapest. Now it is only two… today, and tomorrow! But, if you are planning to visit the exhibition, be prepared for long lines. Yesterday around 17.00 it was several hundred people standing in line to get into the exhibition, and they had to wait for a long time. To make it even worse; the temperature outside is around -5 Celsius, so it gets extremely cold! To avoid this it is recommended to visit the exhibition earlier in the day, and if possible; buy tickets online and visit it together with a group of at least ten people. If you do so, you will not have to wait outside as much as the rest of the visitors (and you will get a cheaper entrance as well).

By the way; the exhibition is really interesting, and the models are very well made. If you do not know the inside of your body so well, it can be some hours where you will get to know it much better!

Bodies Budapest

More upcoming events and concerts

Three days left of Bodies in Budapest

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Much more than hundred thousand people have visited the Bodies Exhibition in Budapest since its start, and now it is going towards an end. The exhibition will be open on December 31, but after that the doors will close and the exhibition will move on!

Opening hours for the last three days:

December 29. 10:00 – 20:00
December 30. 10:00 – 20:00
December 31. 10:00 – 14:00

More information can be found about the Bodies Exhibition in this article.

More upcoming events and concerts

Strike is over at Budapest Airport

Posted on by Budapest Guide

The strike at Budapest Airport is over, at least for a while. That means both Ferihegy 1 and Ferihegy 2 is in use again, and planes leave on schedule and from the planned terminals.

Both LESZ and RDSZSZ (the unions that were striking) went back to work before christmas. Even though they went back to work, they are still negotiating with Budapest Airport to get more money for their work. If the negotiations does not lead to change, they will stop working from January 6.

The train strike has also ended, so now transportation to Hungary, from Hungary and within Hungary should be going as usual!

Information from Budapest Airport
Budapest Airport opens Terminal 2A at 05:00 on Friday, 26 December. Terminal 1 opens one day later, at 04:00 on Saturday, 27 December. Until 27 December, all airlines operating from Terminal 1 are shifted to Terminal 2B.

Until 26 December, all passengers enter the transit area through terminal 2B that operates with full capacity. The check-in for some non-low-cost flights operating within the Schengen zone is at terminal 2A. BA advises all passengers to get in contact with their airlines. BA call center and flight information: +36 1 296 7000.

Blog now part of standard design

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Today we updated the design of our blog, and from now it will be a part of the standard design of the “Guide to Budapest“. We hope this will make it easier for you readers, and that you will find what you are looking for faster than before!

We daily receive emails from people wanting us to reserve tables for them at New Years eve. Some restaurants are starting to get full, so if you want us to reserve a table for you, we advice you to read our article about Budapest on new years eve, and send us an email as soon as you have decided where to go!

Picture of the Musem of Fine Arts (picture made 24 December, 2008)