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Helmut Newton exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts

Helmut Newton exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Helmut Newton BudapestPeople, who like culture, are good people. And the lovers of art never get bored on a place like the capital of Hungary, the wonderful Budapest. The several museums and galleries of the city offer lots of different exhibitions to charm the audience. Just like in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, because there will be a traditional photo exhibition in it.

The museum will open the exhibition from the famous and provocative photographer, Helmut Newton’s work, which show the eras of the artist’s career on 250 pictures. The museum chose the photos of three eras, and these are the one between 1972 and 1983, the one between 1985 and 1995 and the one between 1983 and 2003. The first era’s photos are Newton’s best fashion, portrait and act works, the second’s the more provocative ones, and the third’s, which include several times, photos are from Newton’s own journal.

Helmut Newton was born in 1920 and died in 2004. He was one of the most provocative and talented photographers of the world. The Helmut Newton Stiftung cares about his lifetime work in Berlin. The museum and this foundation works together on this exhibition.

Do not miss Helmut Newton’s photo exhibition between 4 April 2013 and 14 July 2013 in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest! Let the art to whirl you itself, and spend a lovely afternoon with the fantastic pictures! Have a nice time!

Helmut Newton exhibition
April 4th – July 14th
Museum of Fine Arts

Il Terzo Cerchio Budapest review

Posted on by Budablogger

The seventh district in Budapest is getting more and more popular, and in the area where Il Terzo Cerchio is located you can find popular bars and clubs such as Szimpla Kert and Kuplong and some very nice hotels, for example Continental Hotel Zara which is the nearest neighbour of the restaurant.

Il Terzo Cerchio is thus not located by the shopping street, but a bit outside the main center of Budapest, but still in a popular area where lots of people walk around, for example looking for a restaurant after visiting the second largest synagogue in the world, also located in Dohány Utca. Sitting in the restaurant eating on a Wednesday evening it was obvious that quite a lot of people end up in this restaurant in this way, simply walking around and then they bump into this Italian restaurant. And as the restaurant looks good, many people make this their dinner place for the evening.

If you visit this Italian restaurant during lunch time you can get a three course meal deal for a great price. When coming for dinner the restaurant has quite a lot of dishes on their menu, so everyone should be able to find something pleased their tongue and stomach. They write about themselves that “It’s a bit more sophisticated than your typical Italian eatery, but the atmosphere is still homey and inviting.” Concerning the interior they describe Il Terzo Cerchio as a restaurant with “Large windows, plenty of space and a brick-covered, vaulted ceiling all contribute to a warm, rustic ambience.” I totally agree, and both descriptions suite the restaurant very well.

As a sophisticated Italian restaurant you will of course find lots of pizzas on the menu, lasagne, carbonara and other Italian dishes. There are also quite a lot of fish dishes on the menu at Il Terzo Cerchio and the price level is not to bad, though for sure not the cheapest in the area. When coming to the desserts they have some really good ones, and my personal favorite is the Chocolate Souffle (see picture).

Some price examples:

Dessert in Il Terzo Cerchio

Selection of bruschetta: 2150 HUF
Grilled chicken breast: 2450 HUF
Capricciosa pizza: 2550 HUF
Lasage: 2550 HUF
Chocolate Souflfe: 1200 HUF

Il Terzo Cerchio information

1074 Budapest, Dohány utca 40
+36 1 354-0788

Hungary and the Eurovision Song Contest – The big problem

Posted on by Budablogger

The Eurovision Song Contest is approaching and only a few days ago the Hungarian people voted for ByeAlex to represent Hungary in the Song Contest of 2013. I considered naming this article Bye Bye Alex, but the problem is much bigger than ByeAlex…

I remembered the first time I listened to the song with which ByeAlex won the hearts of the Hungarians. I thought that it fits perfectly into the Eurovision Song Contest, because it is so boring and strange. The problem is that it is nothing more than boring and strange. Last year the amazing Russian grandmothers sang about partying and it was a terrible song, but because it was cool and gave people a reason to smile, it ended up on second place. Well, ByeErik gives us a good reason to sleep, at least he gives me a reason to sleep.

The real Hungarian problem

But, the real Hungarian problem is not ByeAlex. Strange songs have won the Eurovision Song Contest before, so since miracles still do happen, ByeAlex might somehow qualify for the final, and if he first gets there, who knows. Maybe he will even get some points?!

The challenge is that it is real people voting for the winners in the Eurovision Song Contest. The voters vote for two things:

  • Great songs
  • Friends and nations they sympathize with

It is strange to notice how often a nation gets lots of points from the neighboring nations. If you start paying attention you can notice how Spain always get points from Portugal and France and there are lots of similar cases. This is where the problem starts. Hungary does not get points from their neighbors. The nations surrounding Hungary doesn’t really sympathize with the Hungarians, so when the points are given from Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Ukraine, Austria and Serbia there are very few points sent in the direction of Hungary. The nearest one can come to a Hungarian neighbor when it comes to giving points is Finalnd… and that is it.

Eurovision 2011 example

In 2011 Kati Wolf performed for Hungary. I remember she was among the favorites for winning the entire competition… and yes, it was a great song that I still enjoy hearing when it is played on the radio. Hungary then received a total of 53 points (giving it an amazing 22nd place). They received points from the following nations: Finland (12 points), Sweden (5 points), France (2 points), Romania (7 points), Austria (2 points), Azerbadjan (2 points), Iceland (5 points), Spain (6 points), Ukraine (4 points) and Serbia (8 points). They received some points from their neighbors, but it could have been so many more points to gather.

Did you know that there is something called OGAE, which is the General Organisation of Eurovision Fans. Since 2007 they vote for a winner of the Eurovision Song Contest and here are the statistics.

  • OGAE winner 2007: Serbia (also won the Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2008: Sweden (ended up as number 18 in Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2009: Norway (also won the Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2010: Denmark (ended up 4th in the Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2011: Hungary (ended up as number 22 in Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2012: Sweden (also won the Song Contest)

There is one exception with Sweden in 2008, but normally the songs selected by OGAE does very well in the main competition. Not so for Hungary in 2011. That is why it doesn’t really matter if we send ByeAlex or Gigi Radics or anyone else to the Eurovision Song Contest, Hungary wan’t win anyway.

Back in 2007 Hungary got a ninth place in the Eurovision Song Contest when Magdolna Ruzsa performed her Unsubstantial Blues. This was the best performance in the Hungarian history of Eurovision Song Contest since 1994 when they got a fourth place as Friderika sang “Whom can I tell my sins?” That was also the first year Hungary took part in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Will Hungary ever win the Eurovision Song Contest?

If Hungary stay in the same relationship with their neighboring nations as now, they will not. They might get some points from here and there, but if a great song like the one in 2011 only grabs a few points from the neighboring nations it will never be enough to win the entire competition.

In 2013 ByeAlex will represent Hungary… if he qualifies for the final I will be very surprised. If he qualifies for the final and gets more than 50 points I will be greatly surprised. If he gets more than hundred points I will find my guitar, clear my voice and get ready for recording, because then I will publish the Budablogger version of the song of ByeAlex…

Art Hall of Budapest: Sigalit Landau / Margin

Art Hall of Budapest: Sigalit Landau / Margin

Posted on by Budapest Guide
Sigalit Landau / Margin
Sigalit Landau / Margin

The Art Hall in Budapest has big importance. It was made in 1895-1896, for the 1000 year anniversary of the Hungarian Conquest, on the Heroes Square in the capital of Hungary. The Art Hall has several permanent and temporary exhibitions and a perfect program for the weekend could be a visit to the Art Hall, especially during the spring of 2013, because then you can check out the interesting exhibition named “Margin”.

The exhibition will open from 14 March to 2 June 2013. Its creator is Sigalit Landau was born in Jerusalem and now he lives in Tel-Aviv. He makes videos, statues and installations with different techniques, and he uses traditional symbols with his works, like water, sand, melon or salt.

His exhibition in the Art Gallery is his premier in Hungary. Visitors can see the artist’s last video installations and video works too. It’s a little bit underground, a little bit thinkable, but it’s real art. Check out the artist’s thoughts about the exploitation of nature by humans, the continuous spin of a washing machine or a melon taker worker’s everyday life. Let Landau to whirl you to another world!

The exhibition’s opening time is 14 March 2013. Do not miss this occasion, because not anyone, but the ambassador of Israel, Ilan Mor will speechify. Moreover Palya Bea singer and Kántor Péter poet will participate too.

It could be a perfect weekend program. Spring is almost here, take an enjoyable walk in the Városliget, take some picture in the Heroes Square and after that, go into the Art Hall, and let the art to whirls you. Have a great time!

Sigalit Landau / Margin
March 14th – June 2nd
Art Hall of Budapest

Budapest museums

Budapest in March

Posted on by Budablogger

After a long winter March comes with hope and normally temperatures that make Scandinavians think it is summer. So, what has Budapest got to offer tourists dropping by in March?

It is useful to know that March is still pre-season in Budapest, meaning that you should be able to find cheap hotels and lots of half-full restaurants eager to have you visit them. If you are lucky you can experience temperatures above 15 degrees, but if you are unlucky it can be between 0 and 5 Celsius. In the best years the average temperature in Budapest is 10 Celsius in March, while in less tourist friendly years the average temperature can be around 2 Celsius.

Spring Festival and Spring Fair

The most important festival in Budapest in March is the Budapest Spring Festival. The dates differ from year to year, but the festival normally last for two weeks and it is packed with national and international stars performing in several different venues in Budapest. If you like ballett, classical music, jazz and similar expressions, this is the festival for you.

Budapest Spring Festival 2013: March 22nd – April 7th

Another popular activity that comes together with the Spring Festival is the Spring fair at the Vörösmarty square. This is very similar to the Christmas market at the same square, except from the fact that the weather is better and it stays bright for much longer. If you come in this period, make sure you visit the Spring Fair and have some Hungarian sausage, eat some Chimney cake and buy some hand-made souvenir.

If you are lucky with the weather you should also enjoy the best cakes in Budapest at the Gerbeaud confectionary sitting outside enjoy the first rays of the sun at the Vörösmarty square.

More cultural events in March

Since tourists start coming to town in March some of the typical programs start showing up again. In March you can for example take a look at a traditional Hungarian folklore program several times in the beautiful Danube Palace. Another popular program is the traditional Puszta programs arranged at several spots around in the nation of Hungary. At such programs you will normally enjoy a spectacular horse-show combined with lots of food and lots of drinks on the table.

If you like organ music there are concerts availabe in the St. Stephens Basilica a couple of days a week during this period, so that could be an option for some of you.

If you want to know more about Hungarian gastronomy and handicraft, why not visit the Handicraft Fair of Hungarian Flavours from March 8th to 10th in 2013.

Other March activities

If you are really lucky with the weather a great place to go is the Romai part. It is located north of Budapest, not far from the Aquincum museum. Here you can stroll along the Danube and eat and drink in an area that reminds you more of a traditional seaside than Hungary. Do not forget to visit the museum while in the area, as it will give you great insight in the history of the area.

Visit the Franz Liszt square and enjoy a lunch outside in open air together with both locals and tourists. At the square you will be able to eat traditional Hungarian courses and a whole lot of other stuff, of course depending on what restaurant you choose. We can warmly recommend Menza and Fresco Cafe.

In addition to these advises, here comes some general advises valid for Budapest throughout the entire year!

River Cruise in March in Budapest

All year round Budapest advises

  • Take a swim in Szechenyi Furdo, the hot springs are delicious
  • Go taste some wine on a Hungarian wine tasting
  • Enjoy the night view of Budapest on a Danube Cruise
  • Visit the Grand Market Hall and feel like a local
  • Taste the Goulash soup in 2-3 restaurants, just to get to know the national soup of Hungary

We wish you a pleasant stay in Budapest in March. If anyone have further advices or experiences, please write a comment. We would love to hear from you!

Colombus Budapest review

Posted on by Budablogger

There are some restaurants in Budapest located on great places, and there are those with absolutely perfect locations if you want to enjoy good food accompanied by a beautiful panorama. Colombus is such a place.

Colombus is the name of a boat restaurant located on the Pest side of Budapest on the Danube. The boat doesn’t move, so it is lying still, but with windows looking towards the Buda side and with a terrace giving you a great view towards the Gellert Hill, the Castle of Buda, the Chain Bridge and lots of other Budapest attractions. The location and the view is perfect, but what about the food?

The wiener schnitzel, a traditional main course in Budapest

Colomus Budapest review

At the menu in Colombus you will find quite a lot of fish dishes and some traditional Hungarian dishes. We ordered a fajita with chicken and a traditional Hungarian wiener schnitzel, followed by two desserts. Service was good and the fajita and the wiener schnitzel tasted just the way they are meant to. For dessert we ate a chocolate mousse and a chocolate brownie (we do like chocolate). The brownie with ice cream was great, while the chocolate mousse was average.

Colombus is not only known for great panorama and good food, but they have live music available regularly, salsa evenings and other musical events. Many know the boat as a jazz boat, so if you want to combine good food with live music and wonderful panorama, why not choose Colombus. Next to Colombus you will find Spoon Cafe & Lounge, another restaurant boat. If I had to choose which place to visit of the two I would without hesitation choose Colombus, because based on my own experience I enjoyed my visit to Colombus much more than I enjoyed my two visits to Spoon.

The brownie was a good choice for dessert

The price for the one starter (the fajitas was only a starter), the wiener schnitzel with mashed potatoes and cucumber salad, the two desserts and two drinks was totally around 8500 HUF. I must admit that some people would pay that price for the panorama alone!

Colombus information

1051 Budapest, Vigadó tér, Peer 4

Panorama from the Colombus terrace

Have you been to Colombus yourself? Share your experience and write a comment/review. If you want to make a table reservation in Colombus, use the forms further down

La Perle Budapest review

Posted on by Budablogger

Hidden away in a cute little street in the fifth district of Budapest you will find Brasserie La Perle. The restaurant has some French inspiration to it, but it is just as much an Hungarian restaurant as a French. Should you consider La Perle as a restaurant to visit in Budapest?

La Perle is located just across the street from the far more famous restaurant Borsso Bistro. While the latter has been around for many years, La Perle has only existed for about a year and it is still fighting to get some regular guests coming by. A few days ago I went to the restaurant with my family and we had a great time and I can warmly recommend this place to others, just keep on reading.

The interior of Brasserie La Perle in Budapest

La Perle review

Entering La Perle the first impression was very good. I liked the interior and the atmosphere of the restaurant, and I even enjoyed the background music. There were no other guests in the restaurant as we entered, so we got all the attention of the waiter present. We ordered four different starters, two main courses and three desserts.

You can feel the touch of Hungary in the restaurant as you look to the starters. Here you can find for example traditional Hungarian Goulash soup in addition to smoked salmon, goose liver and some other snacks. All the starters we ate were great, so do not forget to order a starter if you visit La Perle.

Tasty starter in La Perle

We were not really that hungry, so as we entered the restaurant we hadn’t planned ordering any main course at all. Out of pure curiosity we still ordered two main courses, just to check the quality and to see what a main course looks like in La Perle. We ordered a traditional Hungarian Beef Stew (marha pörkölt) and a sirloin steak with green pepper sauce and some more snack. I tasted both and I enjoyed them both and if I had more space for food I would have loved to taste more main courses (they have goose liver available as a main course and lots of other interesting dishes).

Highlight of the meal

If you have read a lot of my blogs posts you know that I love chocolate and I love pizza. In La Perle I did not eat pizza, but they had some awesome desserts. The number one dessert was their chocolate souffle (it has another name, but still very similar to a chocolate souffle). It was simply fantastic, and I still long to eat it again. Besides the chocolate souffle we ate a kind of cottage cheese cake/ice cream and a Creme Brulee. Both tasted great and I would love to eat that Creme Brulee once more in addition to the chocolate dessert.

The chocolate dessert tasted 100 times better than it looks on this pictures

Short wrap-up

I think about my stay in La Perle with great joy. We had a great evening together, and that is not only because I spent time with some of the people I love the most in the world, but because the food and the atmosphere was great. I can warmly recommend a dinner in La Perle if you visit Budapest, both to taste some traditional Hungarian courses, and also if you want to eat some French cuisine. The price of our four starters, two main courses, three desserts and five drinks were totally about 16,000 HUF.

La Perle information

Kepiro utca 2. -1053 Budapest
Tlf: +36-1-266-6808

Budapest tour on foot all alone

Posted on by Budablogger

The reason that I came up with the idea to write this article is as follows.  Once a month I get visitors from the Netherlands (they are really curious about the city I fell in love with and of course they are also happy to see me) and my ‘’duty’’ is to show them around the city. When the first person came to visit me, I made a ‘’ Budapest Tour’’ and now I use this route for all my visitors. I would like to share this route with you, because it can be useful for you too maybe!  The route shows all the great sightseeing attractions in Budapest and nice places to lunch or have a coffee along the way!

The starting point is Déak Ferenc Tér. If you come by subway take the exit that says Erszébet Tér and the first thing you will see is Starbucks. If you are still a little bit sleepy have a cup of coffee here. Otherwise, skip this place and go to the left to Fashion Street. At the end of this street is Vörösmarty tér (This weekend there is an Easter Fair!). If you go to the left you are in Váci Utca, the main shopping street. I do not recommend buying souvenirs here since they are quite expensive. If your visitors want to buy souvenirs I would like to recommend buying these in the Central Market Hall at the end of Váci Utca.

After visiting the Market Hall cross over the Liberty Bridge, enjoy the amazing view and make yourself ready to climb the Gellért Hill. If you have reached the top of the hill go down and walk along the river till you see the train, Sikló, that brings you to the Castle District. Halfway (when you pass the Palace), have lunch at the first café you see (on the corner of the street). They have nice sandwiches and Latte Macchiatto (or other coffees).  After the lunch bring a visit to the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Matthias Church and walk through the narrow and cozy streets.

As you leave the Castle Hill walk down Ostrom street you will soon see Mammut shopping Mall (it’s up to you if you want to stop here to do some shopping or to go to Starbucks for example).  You can walk to Elizabeth Bridge or you can take the tram 4 or 6 to Jászai Mari Tér. If you get off the tram go to the left (you will see the Parliament already). It’s nice to walk along the Danube to the Parliament. After visiting the Parliament show them  the statue of Imre on the bridge and walk hand in hand with Ronald Reagan. Then walk further to the Basilica. After visiting the Basilica you are just only a few minutes away from Andrassy Út and that means time for a tea break in one of the cozy tea houses in Andrassy Út, the Book café in Alexandra Bookstore or you can go to for example La Delizia, the Chocobar or SUGAR. These are all close to Andrassy Út !

If you still have energy after an extensive walking day you can walk to City Park at the end of the street. My visitors and I do this always the next day (combining City Park with relaxing in Szechenyi Spa).

You can go for dinner in Nagymezö Utca (this street has many nice restaurants, for example Két Szerecsen) and have some drinks in the ruïn pub Instant (also in this street).

Have fun!

 

 

 

Pastabar – Eat the Street

Posted on by Budablogger

A few days ago we wrote an article about the soupbar between Kalvin square and Fovam square in Budapest. The soupbar turned so popular and therefore the owners expanded and has now opened a pastabar only a few hundred metres from the original soupbar. This time pasta is being served!

I first noticed the soupbar because of the crowd standing outside the place during its opening time. How did I notice the pastabar? In the same way! The pastabar has only been open for 6 weeks, but it has already turned into a success, at least based on what I have seen and on what the girl selling me the pasta told me. The concept is the same as with the soupbar, except from the fact that the Pastabar has 4 quite large tables located outside the bar making it easier for their visitors to sit down and eat their pasta in quietness and peace. If they get bored they are allowed to write greetings and make drawings on the tables which are covered with paper, so maybe this is the place where you can show the world the Da Vinci or Michelangelo hiding on your inside.

Pasta of the Day examples

I guess the answer is quite obvious, pasta! As I visited the Pastabar and ate there they had the following four pastas on the menu:

  • Mustar ezredes (chicken, cream, mustard, honey, peas)
  • O.G. (chicken, tomato, garlic, wine, basil)
  • Momofuku (chicken, carrot, leek, sesame seed, soya sauce, chili)
  • Bolognai (turkey, tomato, carrot, wine, oregano, basil)

The prices are easy to remember, because all pastas cost 990 Hungarian Forint. You can buy drinks to accompany the pasta if you are thirsty and ½ liter of Coca Cola cost 280 Forint.

If you want to eat the food right away you will find forks on the spot, but if you want to take the food away they have this special handle making it extremely easy to care the box with pasta with you.

In the vicinity of Kalvin ter today? Why not have some pasta for lunch?

Pastabar Budapest information

Opening times: 11.00-19.00
Address: Kalvin tér
Payment: Cash only

Bruno Mars Budapest 2013

Bruno Mars Budapest 2013

Posted on by Budapest Guide

One of the most popular pop singers of this year will concert on 7 November 2013 in Budapest. The young singer was born in 1985 in the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu. His mother was a child when she moved to Honolulu from the Philippines, and his father moved to the Pacific island from Brooklyn.

Bruno-MarsHis father played on Latino drum instruments, and his mother was a hula dancer, so it might guess from where he inherits his talent. He was quite young, when he started to deal with music, soon after he became the world’s youngest Elvis-imitator, and after he played in the film, Honeymoon in Las Vegas, he formed the young Elvis Presley. After he finished the secondary school he moved to Los Angeles, where he firstly became a recognized music producer and song writer and he worked with stars, like Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy and Sean Kingston, but he worked on Flo Rida’s worldwide famous song, the Right Round. But the real success occurred after his work with B.o.B. on the song “Nothin’ on You” and with Travie McCoy on the song “Billionaire”. Both hits reached top ten places on several point of the world.

However he released only two albums, he got several awards, for example Grammy in the “Best Man Pop Singer” category, the ASCAP’s “Song of the Year” award, the Billboard, BRIT Award, the American Music Award, the MTV Music Award and the People’s Choice Award too.

Don’t miss your chance, come to Budapest, spend a wonderful day in the city and see Bruno Mars, how he shakes up the audience of Papp László Sport arena on this cold November night!

Bruno Mars concert in Budapest

Budapest Sportarena
November 7th

Tickets: WorldTicketShop – Viagogo