Pay Your Parking Fees Via Your Cell Phone
New Mobile phone parking system in Budapest and 20 other cities in Hungary.
You may pay your parking fees via your Hungarian mobile phone (Pannon or T-Mobile) without registration. There is no need for pre-payment, (to have a credit account with a parking company), and you don’t pay by the hour, but only for the time you actually park your car.
How does it work Read more »
Knowledge: Quality of Life
Knowledge means quality of life (the life we can only live once), gives the person a feeling of competence, and carries the hope of future.
Knowledge is highly valued is Hungarian society, but in the young generation, a materialistic value-system is developing due to the social and existential crisis in Central-Eastern Europe.
Knowledge is also seen as a tool for Hungarian society to be able to compete in the world arena. Science is the 4th element of power in the world today (after military power / force, economy / money, and media / information).
Paprika for Flavor
I discovered something that was one of my first personal identifications with the Hungarian cuisine that I still hold today: Csípős Paprika (hot peppers). My greatest discovery was that of the Hegyes Paprika (peaky peppers) which is the only one that matches the flavor and intensity of the Hatch green chiles Read more »
What Makes Hungarians Laugh? Policemen Jokes in Hungary
When one looks into the soul of a nation it is not only important to look at what makes them sad, but also at what makes them laugh. One of the first signs that one is becoming fluent in a language is when one can hear and understand a joke in the new language and know why it is funny. Read more »
Viktor Orbán’s Philosophical Inspiration
- The language of Viktor Orbán’s “political philosophy”
Viktor Orbán’s philosophical inspiration most likely comes from a couple of local sources. I already mentioned his invocation of biblical quotations, undoubtedly supplied by Zoltán Balog, the Hungarian Reformed minister. His “political philosophy” probably owes a lot to András Lánczi, the author of Conservative Manifesto (2002). Lánczi’s ideas are similar to the until recently fashionable neoconservatism but with a Hungarian twist. The basis of Lánczi’s conservatism is “morality.” His favorite words are “order,” “stability,” “laws of nature,” and “hierarchy.”
These words are echoed in Orbán’s speeches and writings, though in their second life they are stripped of any theoretical sophistication.
But here I don’t want to talk about the hodgepodge of pseudo-philosophical ideas that Orbán invokes but about the language that he (or his speechwriter/ghostwriter) uses. His latest opus appeared in today’s Magyar Nemzet entitled “The Age of the Right in Europe.” The article is actually a more detailed version of his speech in Tusnádfürdő.
In brief, the left is dead and the time of the right has arrived.
But the language! Read more »
Pessimistic Hungarians?
One tendency that Latin Americans, and those from the United States almost unanimously mentioned is that Hungarians tend to be very pessimistic.
Students noted that Hungarian literature has a fascination for tragedy and unhappy endings Read more »
Budapest Society
Family Structures: Nuclear family with many families living together in multi-generational homes.
Read more »
Yo Know You’re a Hungarian…
25. When catching a bus, an old lady with lots of heavy bags runs by you and reaches the bus first, then sits down panting and complaining how old she is and how the stuff is heavy and young people are not well educated, etc.
26. When you start counting on your hand, with one being the thumb.
27. When the church bells ring at 12 noon you proudly tell your friends that the bells toll for the Hungarians all around the world at 12 noon by the order of the Pope for when the Hungarians defeated the Turks and saved Rome.
Hungarian Women
One answer that was positive from all foreigners, men and women alike was regarding Hungarian women. One beautiful American woman, who has traveled the world said, “I’ve never seen so many beautiful and stylish women anywhere! Men from every inhabited continent have expressed the same view. Read more »
Realpolitik and the Hungarian political situation
Realpolitik, as the English spelling of the word testifies, means political conduct or analysis that takes into consideration the given political reality. It is a practical way at looking at politics. Instead of wishful thinking the politician or the political commentator analyzes a country’s actual political situation and bases his actions and analyzes solely on the real, tangible political reality. I happen to believe that this is the only viable way of looking at politics. (And I don’t want to hear that I’m an epistemological dunce.)
I find it rather annoying when some Hungarian “political scientists” or politicians say such things as “Gyurcsány and Orbán will have to disappear.” These two men will not disappear; they will be part of Hungarian politics for the foreseeable future. That’s Hungarian political reality. Hungary’s future lies in the hands of these two men, and the voters simply have to choose between them.
Onions and Paprika
Of the various vegetables and spices used in Hungarian dishes, Makó onions and ground red paprika from Kalocsa or Szeged must be listed as genuine hungaricum. Read more »
Roots of Hungarian Character
The Hungarian Character
We shall find it easier to understand the history and civilization of the Hungarians, if we look at first at some interesting traits of their national character.
Read more »
Public Transportation in Budapest
Budapest has an excellent, thorough and efficient system of public transportation, which includes buses, trams, three subway lines called Metro, and electric trains called HÉV, which travel to suburbs such as Szentendre. Read more »
Forint Rises Again
The forint strengthened to a four-month high of 251.46 per euro in intense trading yesterday afternoon, due to closing of stop-loss positions and the successful government bond auction, according to a trader with ING bank. The currency closed at 158.82 per dollar, a new 11-year high. Read more »
Hungarian Culture: Why it is as it is?
Hungarian culture (due to its location and history) has always been at the crossroads between eastern and western cultures, has functioned as a bridge between East and West, integrating characteristic features of both. What is Hungarian culture like? Read more »
Why Should You Be Culturally Aware?
Just because people speak English doesn’t mean that they think English. That’s why!
Cross-cultural awareness is a key life skill in the 21st century – but it is also the world’s best kept secret. We tell you why you should take time to become culturally aware and guarantee you’ll get more out of life. Read more »
You Know You’re a Hungarian…
13. When meeting another Hungarian in a country outside of Hungary is amazing.
14. You know you’re Hungarian when you eat everything off your plate (if you’re female) and your non-Hungarian guy friends look at you as if you are a weirdo, or a cousin of Xena: Warrior Princess or Attila the Hun, ready to do battle. You think, “I’m not letting my tasty food go to waste, especially if I’m paying for it,” or “I love to eat and I’m not afraid of food.”
15. When you love Turó Rudi but cant really explain to foreigners what the heck that is until they try it.
