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Report from Budapest Palinkafesztival 2013

Posted on May 17, 2013November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

The Palinkafesztival (Palinka Festival) in Budapest opened yesterday (May 16th) and it will be open until Sunday evening (May 19th). The weather forecasts do not promise beautiful weather, but if you are in town, make sure to check out what’s going on. I was there yesterday at the Erzsebet square and I liked what I saw!

Often the biggest and most popular festivals in Budapest are arranged in the Castle area. However this time the Palinka festival is arranged in the middle of Budapest, at the Erzsebet square, in front of the five star hotels Le Meridien and Kempinski, and next to the popular club Akvarium. My first comment is that I really liked the venue and the fact that it is in central Budapest. At such a location it is hard to miss out on the festival, and it is really easy to get to and from the festival at any time. Much easier than when it is located in the Castle area.

Another bonus with the location is that the festival feels much more intimate and the visitors are gathered at the same place, without giving you the feeling that it is overcrowded. Of course the wine festival could never be arranged here, because the area is to small, but for a Palinka festival this square is ideal.

Some more thoughts on the Palinka festival 2013

Inside the area there are lots of stands where you can buy all sorts of Palinka, the Hungarian fruit spirit. If you are a big fan this is an ideal place to taste new brands and get new favorites, and if you have not clue what Palinka is about, then this is a great place to get some basic knowledge.

As you buy your entrance ticket you will get the chance to enter into the festival area. Inside the festival area all payments are made with this electronic card you buy. The price is 500 HUF for the card and then you need to fill this with money. Money is withdrawn from the card whenever you make a purchase, and whatever is left on the card will be returned to you as you give back your card and leave the festival area (you will also get the 500 HUF that you paid for the card itself back). This system is quite easy to use (they used it at the Beer festival in 2012 as well), it only gets complicated if it is crowded and hundreds of people want to fill up or return their cards at the same time. However there are 4 such stands in the area, so it shouldn’t really cause any problems, I think!

The price for the different Palinkas on the inside starts from about 300 HUF, but you will of course find much more expensive Palinkas as well. If you are not a big fan of Palinka you find a DiVino bar on the inside where you can taste and drink wine, you can buy soft drinks in the Moszkva ter stands and hot and cold food at other stands.

Every evening there will be concerts, and some of the artists performing are really great, so worth to take a look and listen when in the concert area. A great plus in the festival area is that they have lots of benches and chairs, making it very easy to sit down and enjoy good company, some food and of course, something to drink.

Conclusion: If you have the chance, visit the Erzsebet square in Budapest before Sunday evening and check out the Palinka festival… even if you don’t like Palinka!

Budapest in June

Posted on April 27, 2013November 27, 2013 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]

Great spring hotels in Budapest

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Budapest Guide

Budapest is one of the most amazing cities in the world to visit during spring. The sun is shining, the view is stunning and the people smile and enjoy that the winter has finally left them. One important thing when preparing for such a travel is to find a good hotel and here we have some recommendations for you.

When you look for a hotel in Budapest you should absolutely go for a hotel with a central location. A good location makes everything easier and you do not have to spend lots of time getting to the shopping street and central areas. A good price is important as well, so here we will recommend you three hotels in Budapest with great prices and fantastic location at the moment.

Recommended spring hotels in Budapest
Sofitel ChainBridge (*****)
Estilo Fashion Hotel (****)
Hotel Central Basilica (***)

Watch Turkey – Hungary online for free on March 26th

Posted on March 25, 2013February 5, 2025 by Budapest Guide

If you are one of the many fans who want Hungary to be there in the World Cup in 2014, then you better cheer for the Hungarian players as they face a very difficult opponent in Turkey tomorrow. After a disappointing draw against Romania on Friday the Hungarians will aim for three points in this match. This is how you can see the match for free online!

If you live in Hungary you can simply watch it on M1, the national TV channel in the nation. If you live outside Hungary you can still watch it online, but you need to get a Hungarian IP address to do so. If you want to check your current IP address you can do so in the IP Address Guide.

Once you have gotten hold of your Hungarian IP address, you can just visit the homepage of MTV in Hungary, find the live stream and go ahead and watch the World Cup qualifier match between Turkey and Hungary live online, for free.

In the article about how to get a Hungarian IP address, you will read about a VPN tool named NordVPN. It works easily and is very easy and quick to install and setup. But, it can get quite busy at the Hungarian server, so if you are not satisfied with the result you get, you can always ask for a refund for the service (the offer 30-day payback guarantee if you are not satisfied).

The live stream from M1 in Hungary can normally be found here. Sometimes they use another stream during larger sports events, but if they do so, visit hirado.hu and you should be able to find the live stream there.

We just got rid of more than 500 broken links

Posted on March 18, 2013October 25, 2014 by Budapest Guide

For a long time we have known the fact that there are quite a lot of broken links (links not working) in our Budapest Guide. Unfortunately we did not know how to fix these in an easy way, until we recently got a good advice.

The result was that we installed a little plugin at our webpage which checked all links existing in the Budapest Guide. It had to check more than 4000 links (both internal and external links) and the result that showed up was more than 500 links that did not work. Those numbers are not as bad as they sound, because most links still worked, but back in the period before 2009 we used Blogger to post blog posts in the Budapest Guide. Then we changed everything and started to use WordPress instead, and all former Blogger posts and links and pictures went crazy during the export, and that left lots of broken links and images not working behind. Therefore most of the links which we had to fix were from this period.

The article with information about how to find broken links can be found here.

Now everything should be working
Now a few days later we have fixed all links and according to the statistics there should be no broken links at all in the Budapest Guide at the moment. That should make the site better to use for you as visitors and you will not have to experience high blood pressure as you believe you found what you have been looking for for a long time, only to find a broken link. That is so annoying!

Enjoy the Budapest Guide and all the information in the guide about attractions, museums, restaurants, hotels and other cool stuff in Budapest.

We have also updated the Budapest Guides in all the other languages using this plugin, so hopefully you should find all the other guides free from broken links as well!

No traffic at Budapest Airport until tomorrow morning!

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Budapest Guide

A message has just been sent out from Budapest Airport containing the following information:

“The relevant services are making every effort to repair the electrical problem in the control tower at Budapest Airport. Ensuring the reliable operation of the equipment in the tower, guaranteeing the safety of aviation, is of the utmost importance. Consequently, Budapest Airport will remain closed, and will not launch or receive flights, until midnight tonight. At the moment the plan is for traffic to resume at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday 8 December, but this could still be subject to change.

Passengers who hold bookings for flights due to depart this afternoon or tonight are advised not to come to the airport, but to contact their airline. The airlines and Budapest Airport are making efforts to take care of passengers who are already at the airport.”

We have already transported people today back to the town who could not leave Budapest. Check with your airline to get further information on this, and enjoy your extra time in Budapest as good as possible!

Report from Christmas markets in Budapest 2012

Posted on November 27, 2012September 16, 2014 by Budablogger

We are in the middle of the Christmas market season in Budapest and it is easy to see that Budapest is filled up with people coming to visit the traditional Christmas markets. This kind of tourism is booming and it for sure brings some light into a rather dark season in lots of cities throughout Europe. As you keep on reading you will see lots of Christmas market pictures and read some information about the different markets! If you only want the pictures and one video, the scroll towards the bottom of the article, because that is where you can find the goodies!

The most famous Christmas market in Budapest is located at Vörösmarty square. This is the nicest one and it really brings Christmas to the people visiting. This year they have two stages, meaning you can see and hear programs at both ends of the square and lots of stands where you can buy handmade objects and of course lots of food. Our favorite is the Chimney cake, so do not miss out on it if you visit the market. Every evening a new “window” is opened on the wall of Gerbeaud and the square has a total feeling of Christmas, especially now that the trees are decorated as well (thank you Vienna for that idea)! This is probably my personal favorite, but why visit only one market when coming to Budapest?

Another market is located in front of St. Stephens Basilica and hit has an ice skating rink and quite a lot of stands for shopping and of course food of different kinds. The objects on sale are quite similar on all markets, but the atmosphere is still different. This market looks super in the evenings covered in the lights from the basilica, from the ice skating rink and from the decorations on the square. Do not miss out on this one either as you come to Budapest.

A third market is located at the Main square (Fő tér) in Budapest. This one is located by the Árpád bridge, so quite far outside the city center, but if you somehow have ended up in Ramada Plaza (hotel) or some other hotel near this area, then you should visit this. If you also feel fed up with the sound of thousands of tourist, then this is a market to visit, as this is almost 100% visited by locals. This market also has an ice skating rink and quite a lot of live shows every day from the stage. Just take a look at this clip featuring maybe the best a cappella band in Hungary (recorded last Sunday).

The wonderful thing with Budapest is that the city has lots of wonderful locations, buildings and square. So if you like the other markets, then why not go visit the City Park and enjoy the new Christmas market by the Vajdahunyad castle. The castle in itself is a majestic fairy tale palace with amazing architecture and you can just imagine the atmosphere when they add a Christmas fair to this area? Check it out yourself!

Another market is at the Franz Liszt square. If you want to combine the Christmas market with some nice food in one of the restaurants at the square and a nice mixture of locals and tourists, then this is the place. I have not personally been at this market in 2012 so far, but this is a traditional market so it has the same stuff as elsewhere, in a very nice environment.

For more information on the different Christmas markets, read our Christmas markets in Budapest article! But, now it is time for quite a lot of pictures from the different markets.

Pictures from Christmas markets in Budapest

Do you have a favorite Christmas market in Budapest? Write a comment and share your thoughts on the Christmas markets in Budapest!

I have been to Comics Shottail Bar

Posted on November 27, 2012November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

Thursdag evening my wife’s little sister celebrated her birthday in a brand new place near the Great Synagogue in Dohány utca. The name of the place is Comics Shottail Bar and it is a place full of drinks named after action heroes and with comic strips on the walls everywhere around.

To get into the Comics Shottail Bar we had to walk down quite some steps before we reached the basement where the bar is located. Some people have walked down hoping to find some sort of comics store, but this is not the place to buy comic books. The Shottail bar is the place to go for those wanting to drink interesting cocktails and drinks mixed up with different ingredients and interesting mixes.

On the menu in the shottail bar you can for example find Wolverine. This drink is made of Absolut Vodka, Creme de Menthe liqueur, lime and sugar sirup. If you are a fan of Smallville you can drink another specialty of the house made up of Absolut Vodka, Sour Apple liqueur, lime and sugar sirup. The menu is made up of similar „strange” drinks, so if you want to taste the drink called Joker, you will get a mixture of Bubble gum sirup and Tuborg green in your glass. For carpenters who miss their tools they can order a Screwdriver, and this contains Absolut Vodka and orange juice.

The list of drinks and shots and cocktails in the bar is a long one. What I did miss on the menu was though some small snacks or something to eat. If I am supposed to spend an evening in a place it would be great to be able to get a small snack, either some peanuts, a hot sandwich or something similar.

Comics Shottail Bar looks good, feels good and has a large inner space. If you want to spend one evening in Budapest drinking a lot and tasting lots and lots of different drinks, then this place is for sure a winner. But, if you want to drink in an authentic place or a so called ruin pub, then why not visit Szimpla Budapest instead?

Budapest Metro 4 to be finished in March 2014

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Budapest Guide

According to the latest news the new metro line in Budapest, Metro 4, is supposed to be finished by March 2014. The deal most be accepted by supervisory authorities, but if they smile and say yes, we can hope to see Metro 4 opened in Budapest by the end of March 2014. Of course, no one really believes that it will be finished by then, but at least we can hope. It would be great to remove all those construction locations around in Budapest to make space for car traffic again and of course to be able to use the metro connecting Bosnyak tér on the Buda side with Kelenföld railway station on the Buda side!

Go for it and wish you good luck in the process of finishing the metro!

Yesterday I was hacked by hacker

Posted on October 27, 2012November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

I work with several web pages and yesterday in my process of answering email I was supposed to refer to information on one of my websites. But, as I opened the web page it was all white with this simple text visible to visitors: „hacked by hacker”

: My webpage looked like this yesterday: Hacked by hacker

Never in my life have someone hacked any of my sites, so this was something new. Where do you go to find information on such things today, to Google. So I typed „hacked by hacker” into Google and within seconds I realized that I am not the only one suffering from this hack attack. This seems to be a general attack on certain server types around the world, very often united by the fact that they use the Cpanel software. My web page also had Cpanel (while all my other sites which do not have Cpanel did not suffer from similar attack), so this might be correct.

Since the web page we are speaking about uses WordPress I was afraid that the hacker-attack would harm my database with all information, texts and posts. Luckily the hacker attack did not harm these at all, but I had to do some minor work for things to get back to normal again. Step number one for me was to delete index.php/index.htm/index.html from the root directory of the web page and after that add a new index.php file from a working WordPress installation. After that the same thing needed to be done with the index files in the WordPress theme folder. So I therefore deleted the index files from the WordPress theme directory and then got hold of a working index.php to the same theme from somewhere else. After this the webpage got back to life, but no links worked at all. What happened? Somehow the attack also got onto my .htaccess file, so the permalink structure made by WordPress did not work. So I found a similar .htaccess file from another page with the standard WordPress coding for this file, and after this it all started working again.

The question is though if the page has been made any safer? Will the site stand the test if this hacker or another hacker would return… I guess not, but who knows?

I survived my first hacker attack and „hacked by hacker” is history, at least for now. If he returns I will let you know, and maybe I should consider doing some security updates to my WordPress site.

: The hackers are out there!