Hungary in English: January 2007

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Lake Balaton I. - Siofok

Lake Balaton (sometimes called the Hungarian sea) is the largest lake in Central Europe. The peak season extends from June until the end of August. It's very enjoyable to bath in the lake, since the average water temperature in summer is about 25 °C (77 °F). I collected the most beautiful, most interesting and most exciting towns which should be visited at Lake Balaton.

1. Siofok - For young people and partyfaces

Siofok is the nightlife capital of Lake Balaton. There are bars, pizzerias, pubs, and dozens of discos and nightclubs in the city. You can dance, drink, karaoke, flirt, listen to live music, anything you want. At the same time, I don't recommend anyone to go alone to a disco in Siofok (and generally, in Hungary.)

But Siofok is much more than just discos and bars. It is not only the nightlife capital of Lake Balaton, it is, to my mind, the capital of the lake. In addition, it has the best beach of Lake Balaton with sand, and opportunities to play beach voleyball, water football, badminton, to hire paddle boats, sailboats, kayak, etc. In my opinion, Siofok can't be missed by anyone.

Siofok photos by ArK47 and gerdragon

Lake Balaton photos by rabasz, camelopardalis, Szili, tzunder, mrngr, Pedalofilo

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Budapest - On Andrassy Avenue From Heroes' Square to Oktogon

Andrassy Avenue is part of the World Heritage. It is one of the most representative streets in Hungary and one of Budapest very few avenues. Heroes' Square lies at the end of Andrassy Avenue. The famous square is sorrounded by two pretty buildings, Museum of Fine Arts and Palace of Art. The other end of the avenue is Oktogon. Oktogon derives its name from its shape, which is that of an octagon (a polygon that has eight sides.) It is always a very great pleasure to walk on Andrassy Avenue from Heroes' Square to Oktogon. On this route beautiful buildings can be seen, and the atmosphere of the beautiful city centre of Budapest can be felt.

Andrássy Avenue - Photos by Gryts, gm@2 and jaime.sylva

Heroes' Square - Photos by Paul Mannix, jaime.silva, Paul Russel

New NOX Videoclips

It seems that you like NOX very much. Diane even demanded for more NOX clips. So for the sake of Diane, some new NOX videos.. I still think that NOX is one of the best Hungarian pop bands. Besides NOX is very popular in Hungary, as I experienced, people from abroad who get to know the group, adore them, too.

NOX: Csak jatssz!

NOX: Szeretem

Formerly on Hungary in English blog: Great Hungarian Music - NOX

Means of Transport in Hungary II. - Budapest Metro

The Budapest Metro consists of three lines. Line 4 is under construction. There are also plans for Budapest Metro Line 5.

The line 1 of Budapest Metro is the oldest subway of the continental Europe. It was inagurated in 1896, the year of millennium.

Line 2 was built from 1950 to 1963 and is currently under major reconstructions. Among others, stations are renovated. The renovation will have been finished this year.

The construction of Budapest Metro line 3 was started in 1970 but reached its current length only in 1990. It is the longest metro line in Budapest. It is 17 km-long and consist of 20 stations.

Budapest metro can't be compared to the beauty of Moscow Metro, for example. However, Metro line 1 and 2 are beautifully renovated. The third line of Budapest metro still gives a very strong retro-Communist atmosphere.

Finally, some interesting facts about Budapest Metro from Wikipedia:

- Mobile phones can be used throughout the existing metro lines, although travellers are asked to switch them off (of course, on one switch them off at all).

- There are still the same Soviet vehicles running on Metro line two and three (like in Moscow and some subway services of Prague, as well as the only line in Warsaw). The trains are driven by two people, except for Metro 3, which has a "program carpet" controlling the trains' speed and stopping. This means that controlling the metro mostly consists of opening and closing the door. On the other hand, Metro 4 will be entirely automatic, functioning without human drivers.

- In case of an attack or a catastrophe, the Budapest Metro can provide shelter for 220,000 people, including fresh air (with an air-filter), drinking-water (3 l) and washing-water (27 l per person per day).

- A film with a huge success titled Kontroll was made in Budapest Metro in 2003. It was also screened in Cannes and in the U.S.

Budapest Metro line 1 - Photos by Claudecf, tschaut, Jesus Abizanda, k nt, ingoism

Budapest Metro line 2 - Photos by Antiteilchen, melyviz, loungerie, Zsolt Vajda, Bernat 83

Budapest Metro line 3 - Photos by jaime.silva, loungerie, tillwe

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Speak, The Hungarian Rapper - The Funniest I Have Ever Seen

Speak is the most hilarious rapper I have ever seen. He is really great: his rap techique, the lyrics, the ryhmes all worth for a Grammy.. At the same time, it is important to mention that Speak's clip has never been in any Hungarian TV. Neither I, nor my friends have ever heard of him before this fantastic videoclip.

Speak, The Hungarian Rapper Lyrics

Things To See in Budapest I. - The Buda Castle District

Buda Castle, which is the part of the Budapest World Heritage Site since 1987, was built in the 14th century by Prince Stephen. King Sigismund Luxemburg of Hungary greatly enlarged the palace between 1410 and 1420. Unfortunately, serious damage was caused by Hasburgs, and Turkish. Finally, Buda Castle was destroyed in the great siege of 1686 when Buda was captured by the allied Christian forces. In the heavy artillery bombardment many buildings collapsed and burned out. Buda Castle was rebuilt between 1850 and 1856.

Buda Castle district offers a great amount of joy. There is fantastic view to the city from the Fisherman's Bastion (and maybe it's even more breathtaking at nights). Furthermore, Buda Castle district itself is also a beautiful place with Mathias Church, Hungarian National Gallery, old, beautiful houses which give the atmosphere and memories of a medieval capital. There is even a labyrinth in Buda Castle area.

The Szechenyi Chain Bridge and Buda Palace. Photo by Paul Mannix

View to Budapest from the Fisherman's Bastion in Buda Castle district. Photo by stevec77

Streets in Buda Castle district. Photos by J.C. and Elin B

Hungarian National Gallery in Buda Castle district. Photo by Metadragon

Mathias Church in Buda Castle district. Photo by alias65

Fisherman's Bastion in Buda castle district in winter. Breathtaking view to Budapest from it. Photo by QuintanaRoo

The Worst Hungarian (I think not only Hungarian..) Videoclip Ever

Since I can't make up a better description for this idontknowhat than the uploader of this video wrote, I would quote him.
"The guy is simply unskilled so don't care about him. The essence is Kiszel Tunde who is one of the strangest woman in Hungary. No. SHE IS. She thinks she is the most beautiful woman in the world, she thinks she is smart and clever and good and sexy and everything. She had had the biggest eyebrow in the world but after she done with his g*y (!) boyfriend she went to the cosmetics.
Hungary, 2007, country of tragedics"

Watch this video only for your own risk!

The Hungarian Golden Team

Since Hungary's national football team is currently terrible, it is good to look back to the old times when the Hungarian Golden Team was the best in the world. Hungary was the first European team which defeathed the English national team on home soil. In 1953 they stunned England with a 6-3 win at Wembley Stadium. At their next meeting in 1954 Hungary's national team was even more fantastic: they won 7-1 at England.

A Very Dru** Hungarian Man

Alc****** is a great problem in Hungary. There are thousands of people in Hungary who die because of diseases caused by al********. The amount of deaths caused by this is one of the greatest in Europe. This video showes a citizen on his way home from a pub. According to some people it is a very funny video, but someone says it is very sad and pathetic. In their opinion, this poor man shouldn't be laughed at.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Means of Transport in Hungary I. - Trams

Have you ever wondered what kind of means of transport are used in Hungary? First of all, let's see trams!

- 'UV' type tram, Budapest
Used from 1950s. They are being withdrawn from service.