Budapest, Hungary

Tibor Nagy

Budapest, Hungary 2

Presentation Contents

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Where is Budapest?

Buda

Danube

Pest

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Facts about Budapest

Capital of Hungary Buda (hill side) + Pest (flat side) The river Danube divides the city 1.6 million people (2.5 million in

Budapest Metropolitan area) One out of four Hungarians lives

in this metropolitan area! Political, cultural, commercial,

industrial hub of the country Language is Hungarian

(surprise!!!) Time difference: 6 hours ahead of

US ET, 9 hours ahead of US PT The currency is Forint (HUF) The city is divided into 23 districts

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History

Before 1 AD - First settlement built by the

Celts

106 AD - Roman settlement ‘Aquincum’

- Pannonia

9th century - Hungarian settlement (Magyars)

1361 - Buda becomes capitol of Kingdom of

Hungary

1873 - Buda, Obuda & Pest merged as

Budapest

Seal of the City:CrownBuda

DanubePest

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Population

1870

1890

1910

1930

1949

1970

1990

2005

-

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

Historical Population of Budapest

Year

Pop

ula

tion

Metropolitan

Area data

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Culture

Budapest is the cultural epicenter of Hungary with enormous range of cultural entertainment & abundance of programs Classical Music Classical & Folk Dance Opera, Operetta &

Theaters Galleries & Exhibitions Libraries & Museums Universities & Colleges Festivals & Events

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Cuisine

Food is hot & spicy (I love it) Breakfast is sizeable, lunch is

the major meal (3-4 courses), dinner is less significant

Examples of dishes Chicken Paprikash (paprika stew) Goulash (Soup or stew) Wiener Schnitzel (becsi szelet) Fisherman’s Soup (Halaszle) Stuffed Pancake (Palacsinta) Dobos cake Stuffed cabbage (toltott

kaposzta) Winter salami (teli szalami)

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Public Transportation Don’t drive, it’s tough to drive & park Public transportation is fast, affordable

– you can get anywhere Subway (Metro) is the fastest , hard to

beat (4 lines, 1.2 million daily rides) Buses are blue (local & regional) Trolleybuses are red and quiet Trams are yellow, very efficient and

popular with tourists (The busiest in the world)

Railway (3 termini) to anywhere Suburban rail (HEV) to nearby towns Cogwheel on a steep slope (try it) Tourist sightseeing bus (open top) Funicular (short ride up to the Castle) Waterway (Side trip to Vienna? Use the

hydrofoil on the Danube)

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Top 10 Must See & Must Do

1. Parliament building2. Fisherman’s bastion3. Buda Castle district4. St. Stephen’s

Basilica5. Heroes' Square6. Chain Bridge7. Gellert Hill Citadel8. Opera House9. Vaci Street10. Synagogue

1. Walk the Castle district2. Cruise on the Danube3. Sample Hungarian food4. Stroll on the Promenade5. Listen to gypsy music6. Enjoy a classical concert7. Experience thermal bath8. View Budapest at night9. Sit and watch people 10. Discover Central Market

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The Parliament BuildingThird largest in the world

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The Danube & The Bridges

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Thermal Baths - Spas Romans ‘discovered’ natural thermal springs, established baths 2k years ago Turkish period (16th century) built baths (medicinal use) – many still in use! 1934 Budapest was chosen as ‘City of Baths’ aka City of Spas More than 100 thermal springs feed about 50 baths (first in the world) Most famous baths: Kiraly, Rudas, Gellert, Szechenyi, Lukacs

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Special Tradition - Nameday

Besides their birthdays, Hungarians have nameday as well! Namedays are commonly known, popular and widely celebrated Each first name is assigned to one or more days of the calendar Tibor is celebrated on April 14 , I do celebrate mine on that day There are ‘official’ first names to choose from – the list is very long Namedays are celebrated in work places, among friends and in the

family. While in general birthdays are more ‘private’ & discreet, namedays

are much more shared with others even at public settings People usually give flowers, desserts, drink or small gifts as presents There are smaller or larger parties to celebrate this day Imagine if YOU had a nameday to celebrate. What would you do? By the way, in Hungary, the first name is the last and the last name

is the first. My name in Hungary is Nagy Tibor The are 14 vowels in Hungarian: a, á, e, é, i, í, o, ó, ö, ő, u,ű

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Good night Budapest

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For the fun of it…

Budapest is where I was born. This is my birthplace

I will be in Budapest August 15 – September 5

See you there?