31_05_2008

saturday chillout in buda side of budapest

memories of Hungaria - part seven and the last

at the end of my stay in Hungary, in Budapest to be precise, we went to Sziget Festival. it is an already very famous event there and abroad. it's been going on since 1993 and it is one of the largest music festivals in Europe. foreigners make up for some fifty percent of a whole party lot. what's even cooler? it's on an island (Óbudai-sziget) in the Danube and it lasts 8 days! there's a proper campsite, 19 stages in 2007 and lots of other activities like bungee jumping, board games, workshops to name a few.

hhmmm, which stage to choose from?? and where actually are we???
the island is 2.5 km long and and its territory spreads out for 108 ha.


august 9th on main stage; chemical bros


100% Hungarian - a fantasztikus and spotty Túró Rudi!!! and here for those who already adore it :)

memories of Hungaria - part six

i'm seriously lagging behind with posting ;P it's lack of time though. the uni has just kicked off and so have other things that i am or will soon be occupied by. for the moment being, let's call the series a post-holiday mélange.

three more places that were a part of our big voyage along a Hungarian soil: Szombathely, Sopron and Szentendre.

small TIP: clicking on a blue placemark will show you an image of a place

Szombathely is located in western Hungary. it is a former Roman Empire, the oldest city in the country and Medve's hometown at the same time. it can definitely show off with a recently renovated and very neat looking town square. it is also a home to the first Hungarian tram line which dissapeared from the city in 70s (if i remember the story well). other positive thoughts of Szombathely are associated strictly with my personal experiences.

boy playing by a fountain in the town's main square


first tram; now only in a museum


Sopron is in north-east of the country and nearby the Austrian border. this picturesque town that used to belong to the Romans is a perfect place to walk around and take some nice shots. its baroque architecture amazes and tell stories. Sopron is reffered to as Civitas Fidelissima - The Most Loyal Town as an impressive 65% of the Hungarian population voted it to remain Hungarian at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

windows of Sopron

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and now arty Szentendre, as this is how people speak of the place. it is located by the Danube, north of Budapest and within 35-40 minutes drive from it. it is a lovely and an absolutely charming town full of narrow flagstone streets, galleries, museums and genuine folk art shops. there is also a number of good restaurants and cafes to choose from. i have already become addicted to Szantendre. or maybe to its marcipan cakes..

stony stairs


mmmm... i'm loving it (all)

memories of Hungaria - part five

i've realised how many photos i took during our journeys in Hungary. it is not easy for me to make a nice selection here without being too boring. i'll try my best and i'll stick to... three more posts devoted to Hungary.

our next trip was a cruise on the Danube River (Duna), departing from Budapest and arriving at Esztergom. the five hours journey by ship was a perfect chillout due to very pleasant weather and nice landscapes. Esztergom is in the North of the country and this is where the Danube forms the borderline between Hungary and Slovakia. despite being small the city is a home to the biggest church in the country, Esztergom Basilica. Esztergom was once the capital of Hungary.

Mária Valéria Bridge joins Hungarian Esztergom with Slovak Štúrovo

i highly recommend crossing the bridge and trying some of the regional cuisines. my and Balint's choice were: Slovak bryndzove halusky (potato dumplings with bryndza - a sheep’s-milk cheese), Czech knedlí (Czech dumpling) combined with a pig roast and steamed cabbage accompanied by a famous Slovak Zlatý Bažant beer.

only a few days later we travelled west stopping by the Balaton Lake . it is a must place to see if you want to tick one more tourist attraction off on your list. however there is also plenty to discover for those who have more intimate expectations and who love (Hungarian) wine. we certainly do :)
there are many guided wine tours in various wine regions of Hungary. our main objectives were to visit both, a wine district and the lake. these pictures were taken in Badacsony, an area famous especially of its delicious whites. ah, just to let you know, it is not everything just about wine there. the view from the top of the Badacsony Mountain is marvelous.

translucent gold, semi dry and straight from a barrel - Olaszrizling (Italian Riesling)


for a Pole, who's been living abroad (United Kingdom of pie 'n' mash;) for a couple of years, ordering a g(rill)ed sausage with a slice of a proper bread evoked nice memories making me superb cheerful. btw, those marinated peppers are a hungarian specialty. mmmm... Jó étvágyat! (enjoy your meal;)


a sightseeing tour in Badacsony could look like this: you walk up the hill, you admire the views, you pop into an informal restaurant with a cellar (they are usually private households), you order a snack and a glass of wine, you have a chat and you enjoy your meal and your drink. afterwards you carry on with walking up the mountain. as you walk you meet strangers who are of different nationalities, all very kind (and sometimes tipsy;) and they greet as you walk pass. when you get tired (or thirsty) you stop by another cellar...
in case of any confussion just ask for borház (wine bar) or borpince (wine cellar).

in this wine cellar where we tried our first wine


another stop; this is a garden shed of a different borház beautifully overgrown with grapes


being silly in Szentbékálla (St. Frog's Chin) 'stone field'; there are natural stone formation located within some 15 min drive from Badacsony; it's a perfect place for watching the sun disappears below the horizon or playing hide and seek ;)

memories of Hungaria - part four

an exeptional experience of swimming in caves; Medve having a splash in Miskolctapolca Cave Bath


the XIV century Castle of Diósgyőr, Diósgyőr being a district of Miskolc, remains one of the most important medieval monuments of Hungary


you can see the same castle on the reverse side of the current 200 Hungarian Forint banknote


almost a romantic journey by an antique small gauge railway through the National Park in Lillafüred; Lillafüred is a part of Miskolc and it is located some 12 km from its city centre


the waterfall in Lillafüred and Medvekoma exploring it


for more detailed descriptions of Miskolctapolca and Lillafüred visit Balint's blog.

memories of Hungaria - part three

after a short stay in Budapest we travelled to north-eastern part of the country again. there we spent one day in Debrecen and two days in Miskolc. in both towns we experienced a very warm welcome and a great hospitality. greetings to Böbi and Miki! :)

a fountain in the main square of Debrecen and The Great Church in the background


a gypsy-jazzy-hungarain-folk gig in the main square and a bunch of random kids who really felt the music!


Miskolc; headquarters of revenue and customs


Miskolc's city centre is full of well renovated, charming buildings; these two were my favourite


for more information on Debrecen and Miskolc visit Medve's blog.

memories of Hungaria - part two

in between our various tours around Hungary, we also found time to hang out in Budapest. Hungary's capital, and Medve's second home, is undoubtedly a beautiful city. i am particularly fascinated by its variety of spectacular and old buildings most of which are apartments as well as by charm of hilly Buda and a well build-up riverside.

here you will find a selection of my favourite shots.

on the right -
a movie shot: Szechenyi lanchid - a chain bridge, the Danube and a basilica in the background

below -
one of the Budapest's apartments as seen through a fence of a Jewish synagogue

being poshy in the Ybl Arts Palace
well spotted in one of the most representative streets of Budapest - a Russian relic Москвич in Vaci Utca

memories of Hungaria - part one

after two very pleasent weeks in Poland, three more happy weeks in Hungary came. it was a perfect combination of relaxation, fun and visiting some exeptional places.
below i present some of those fantastic moments that i spent with My Medve (persze!;) in a number of very charming and inspiring locations. i also have to add that that week, the third week of july, was considered to be the hottest ever in Hungary. this was one of the reasons why we just 'had' to escape Budapest.

these photos were taken during our trip to Tisza-Tó - a village in eastern Hungary situated by a lake which used to be a part of Tisza river. also there we visited two other villages Poroszló and Hortobágy.

bogracs - a Hungarian pot for outdoor cooking, for instance gulyas


an old, and apparently not very common, tradition of having your espresso after getting milk and bread in a local food store


on our way to a vewing tower which is a point of observation of birds' migration; it was located among fish ponds and it was probably one of the quietest and the most peaceful places i've ever been to

Londonban

The time didn't stop and I had to go back to London on Sunday. I had a wonderful time there in Szombathely, with Balintam and his family.
I wasn't playing a big photographer during my little trip. I have only few pictures this time, but loads of fantasztikus moments captured in my mind. yes, i'm your barátnő now;) or rather, it is a sincere expression of my love to Magyarország, and even more to One Magyar:)

US in Graz, Austria
brief sightseeing of the city with "rose-tinted spectacles" on:)


Graz's "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centers in Central Europe, and in 1999 was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003. (Wikipedia, 2007)


traditional meets modern

three photos above were taken by Balint:)

unused water reserve in the small park in Szombathely


'antena' on the roof. i found it very interesting that time, but realised later that it is also a common view in Poland. yeah, haven't lived there for a while..


this one wasn't supposed to appear on my blog, but i think that it's just worth showing the way the dish is served! delicious Hungarian lunch - spenót főzelék (spinach creme-soup, mmmmmm:) prepared by Mrs.Horvát and the additives served by Bálint:)


the view from Medve's cave in Szombathely:)
the sky and the sun always look beautiful from there