A Must-See: Memento Park

We toured the Memento Park today, an amazing exhibition “in the shadow of Stalin’s boots”.

All the Communist monuments of Budapest were taken from our streets after the political changes as they reminded our people of the dictatorship, of the despotism of the Communist leaders. Instead of destroying them all – which idea was by the way supported by many of the Budapesters – some of these statues were installed in a thematical statue park in the 22nd district of Budapest. According to the conceptual designer, the “park is not about the statues or the sculptors but a critique of the ideology that used these statues as symbols of authority”.

I remember very well many of these statues standing on our streets, most of them had special nicknames and funny stories were also created about them. I’m happy to share these stories with you and tell you about the monumentality of the arts during the Communist era where the main objective was to create new idols to be adored by the proletariat. I’ll also tell you why you can see only the boots of Stalin, and I’ll introduce you to the ideology of the era which ended recently, some 28 years ago.

Tour with the TRABANT

Yes, the Trabant is noisy and it smells. Every time I get in the Trabi I feel like a child again. It was our family car, our holiday car, I can’t count how many times our precious little car took us to the lake Balaton or to the Mátra mountains. It was the only treasure we had as the communist leaders didn’t really allow people possessing much.

There are some parts of Budapest where the time stopped 30 years ago when the last few Trabants rolled down the assembly line. I’d like to show them to you during the Trabant tour, I’ll tell you about the not that glorious decades of socialism, I’ll share with you funny and poignant stories from behind the Iron Curtain. I’m sure you’ll shortly realize that freedom is one of the most valuable gifts and we have to learn to appreciate it.

 

 

We love our coffee and we love our cafés, too

The Budapest coffeehouse culture is over 150 years old. Cafés have always been the center of socializing and getting together, the place where idealism and dreaming overcame reality.

The most important Hungarian war of independence against the Austrians started with young enthusiastic guys enjoying a cup of coffee in one of the coffeehouses of Pest.

Some 100 years ago a Hungarian writer stole the keys of a coffeehouse and dropped them inti the Danube river to make sure the place is open 24 hours a day.

Enjoy our coffee, enjoy the special atmosphere of the Budapest cafés! Book a Foodie Tour with me, so that you can discover the best places of the city!

 

 

 

A walk around the Jewish Quarter

The Jewish quarter, the 7th district of Budapest is the most fun and creative neighborhood of Budapest. It’s hip and always busy, full of cafés, clubs and restaurants, charming little streets and monuments.

After visiting the world’s second largest synagogue in Dohány street we take a walk around the synagogue triangle. I’ll take you to the famous ruin pubs and will also show you around local pastry shops and cafés. I’ll show you the monuments commemorating the victims of WW2 when the Jewish quarter was the ghetto of Budapest. I’ll show you a piece of the ghetto wall, will tell you about the time when the neighborhood witnessed so many dark memories and will also tell you about the well-known and lesser known heroes who had saved the life of tens of thousands.

We finish the tour by the moving Shoe memorial at the Danube river.

The Jewish quarter is the center of the Jewish community and walking around it is fantastic cultural experience too, we’ll see great design ateliers and the most amazing examples of Budapest Street Art. Come and join me for a walk in the Jewish quarter, so that I can show you and tell you more!

 

Pre-Cruise Post-Cruise Budapest Experience

Many of my guests participate in a rivercruise starting or ending in Budapest. The rivercruise companies offer a general sightseeing tour in Budapest. My guests contact me very often whether I can show them more without duplicating what they see duiring their tour.

You have to believe me when I say that there is so much more to see. I know excatly what is included in a local tour as I guide those tours, too. I can recommend one of my thematic tours, a trip to the countryside or I can send you a plan fully customized according to your needs. Don’t hesitate to contact me for further details.

Cake of the country: Green Gold of Őrség

The 20th of August is always very special for Hungarians, not only because we celebrate St. Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian Christian state but also because our country’s “birthday cake” is introduced. The cake is selected every year by the panel of reputable master confectioners, the applicants are to create innovative and creative cakes reflecting traditional Hungarian tastes and the cake should also have to be connected to the 20th of August holiday.

And now, please meet the “Green Gold of Őrség”, this year’s winner. It comes from a small Salgótarján cake shop and has the colours of the Hungarian flag (red-white-green). The layers of the cake are: pumpkin seed oil and almond flour sponge cake, white chocolate ganache, crunchy pumpkin seed praline, raspberry jelly and pumpkin seed jelly.

What can I say? We’we just tasted this beautiful cake with my guests today in the Ruszwurm cake shop near the Matthias Church and it was delicious. Enjoy!

 

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Eating Hungarian

Probably your first impression is that all Hungarian dishes are red and hot. It’s somehow true but I’m sure I can change your perception if you decide to book a Foodie tour with me. Paprika is of course is the most important ingredient of our cuisine, it’s actually something we should be grateful for being dominated by the Turks for 150 years.

When you visit Hungary, you have to try all our different specialties. You need to taste fresh sausage and hot dog at a butcher’s, our delicious cakes in the 100-year-old cafés, fresh pastry at the bakeries, goulash soup prepared in a cauldron over open fire, artisan ice cream and chocolate, lángos, our delicious deep-fried fritter and all the pickled vegetables.

The old Hungarian proverb says that those who are eating must drink, too, so don’t forget to taste some of the best Hungarian wines.