A country full of aliens

They speak one of the weirdest languages on Earth. They eat chocolate covered cottage cheese. Could it get any stranger? Oh, yes...: Welcome to the world of Hungarians!

Hungary is based in Central Europe and inhabited by ca. 10 million people. The origins of the nation are pretty much a mixture, which is beautifully presented by their language itself. Surprisingly, Hungarian belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group, meaning that its roots are similar to Finnish and Estonian.

But are they able to understand each other? Not at all!

As George Mikes said once, Hungary is „a country full of aliens”. Which is kind of true. Say, what kind of human being would be able to:

• Pronounce the word: „megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért”?
• Eat chocolate covered cottage cheese: „Túró Rudi” (one of the most beloved sweets in the country)? 
• Say „Helló!” for greetings and goodbyes alike?

If you would like have a real Hungarian experience and try a „Túró Rudi”, visit Budapest. The capital city of Hungary is one of the hidden gems of Central Europe. In the past decade, tourism in booming in Budapest, which is based on the interesting history, the beautiful architecture, the relaxing baths and last but not least, the „ruin pubs”.

Ruin pubs are popular in-door or open-air bars of the city (mostly located in the „Jewish Quarter”, the VII. district). Their basic concept is to re-arrange and decorate old furnitures, tools and equipments (called „upcycling”) in order to have a colourful and free hippie atmosphere. Worth a try!

Have you ever had a party on the deck of a Soviet-era stone-carrier ship? If not, you’ll have a chance for that in Budapest, to be more precise, on the Danube. „A38” is a well-known place for rendezvous and party hard alike. The boat was even voted as the „World’s best bar” according to Lonely Planet.com.

But a country does not only consist of its capital city, there are another cities and views worth to visit as well. If you’re in need for chill, escape to the countryside and visit the cities of Pécs, Debrecen, Szeged, Sopron and prepare for approching to the locals, with the help of our survival kit:

• Hi! – Szia! (sounds like „See ya!”) (Such as „Helló”, it is used for greetings
  and goodbyes alike.)
• Köszönöm. – Thank you.
• Igen – Yes
• Nem – No
• Hogy vagy? – How are you?
• Köszönöm, jól. – Fine, thank you.

Ágnes Horváth

(an alien)