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Concerts near Budapest (Metallica, Simply Red, Tina Turner and more)

Metallica in BudaőestSince 2009 started we have started to write some small articles about upcoming events and concerts in major cities not to far from Budapest. So far we are featuring cities such as Vienna, Bratislava, Prague and Munich. And since we started with this, we have realized that quite a lot of hot-shots skip Budapest on their tours. For example Tina Turner will have two concerts in Vienna and four in Munich in February, but she will not even cross the border to enter into Hungary. Metallica will also perform in Vienna and Munich, but not in Budapest. The same is the fact when it comes to Il Divo.

So far the thing these artists have in common is that they do not visit Bratislava or Prague either. But arists such as Simply Red and Eagles visit Prague as well, but not Budapest, neither Bratislava.

Well, maybe Budapest is not yet such a world city… some more years to wait before everyone comes to Hungary as well, but things are improving so we look with great expectations into the future!

Page Rank Update (December 31-2008)

I guess this has nothing to do with Budapest, but on the last day of 2008 it was a Page Rank update. That means that the values of the Google Toolbar has changed. For our page nothing changed, which means we are still standing at Page Rank 4, which we are quite satisfied with, though it would be cool to get a little big higher somehow. Considering the fact that we have our birthday tomorrow (hungarybudapestguide.com is then 1 year old) I am though quite happy about having page rank 4.

At this page rank update not to much happened within our pages, except from the fact that our restaurant page and the page with the history of Hungary suddenly jumped from 0 page rank to 3.

Tomorrow we will celebrate our birthday, so come back for some great offers!

Australia in Budapest cinemas

Australia reviewJust after Christmas Australia was launched in the cinemas of Budapest, and it is not often, but for some days it was three films that I wanted to see in the cinema (which does not happen often). The first was Bedtime Stories, the second was the “The Tale of Despereaux” (Cincin lovag) and the third was Australia. So far I have seen two of them, Bedtime Stories and Australia.

We went to Palace Mom Park to see Australia, as this was the only cinema showing the film with English speaking and Hungarian subtitles. As I read about the film I noticed that it was a long film (160 minutes), so I bought a big popcorn and a big coke, just to be prepared.

The film was long, but it did not feel to long. It tells the story of Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) leaving for Australia to visit her husband and to help him on his farm. Things does not turn out to be the way she thought they were, and eventually she meets with Drover (Hugh Jackman) and Nullah (Brandon Walters), a little boy who does not fit into society.

In the film these three together face several challenges, and as the Second World War breaks out in Australia with an attack on Darwim, the events heat up even more.

During the film I was never bored, but I rather enjoyed the film from start to end. It was not a superfilm, but quite okay, and a nice way to use 160 minutes inside, if you do not really want to go out into the cold Budapest winter.

Based on all of this I give the film 6 out of 10 smiles!

Hungarian title: Ausztrália

Cinemas in Budapest

Happy new year from a freezing Budapest

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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