About Hungary

1. Hungary was once part of the Celts World and the Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, the Huns inhabited the land of Pannonia and gave it a Hungarian name.

2. Hungary is a wanderer and is believed to have moved to the Carpathian river valley from the East, somewhere around the Ural Mountain. Under Arpad's leadership, Hungary took over the land around 895.

3. In 1000, King Stephen I (St. Stephen) founded the state of Hungary and accepted Catholicism as the official religion. Stephen was crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary and blessed by the Pope. The crown is now kept in the Parliament building.

4. The name Hungary comes from Latin mid-Hungarian, which means "land of the Huns." Other sources say the Hungarian name comes from the Turkish language, "Ogurl, which means "ten arrows" or "ten people".

5. Hungary broke the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss followed by more than 6400 couples who were kissing on the outside of the Budapest Parliament building in 2007.

6. The first foreign fast-food restaurant in Hungary is McDonald's, which opened in 1988.

7. The inventions by the Hungarians were soundless matches (Jànos Irinyi), Rubik's Cube (Erno Rubik), krypton (Imre Bródy) electric Bolam, vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Biotin (Paul Gyorgy) discoveries. Some other inventions made by Hungarians before World War 2 were holography (Dennis Gabor), ballpoints (László Bíró), Hydrogen bomb theory (Edward Teller), and the BASIC programming language (John Kemény and Thomas E. Kurtz).

8. The Hungarian Forint is the currency of Hungary.

9. Hungary has a famous dog, namely Hungarian Puli, who is still a descendant of a German herder. This dog was brought by the Magyar around the 11th century. This dog is used to catch animals and herd cattle, especially goats and cattle. The Puli dog then acts as a police aide in identification because of its strong instincts.

About Budapest

10. Budapest is the capital and the largest city of Hungary and is the tenth-largest city in the European Union based on population in the city limits.

11. Budapest is the most beautiful city in Hungary and also recognized as one of the most breathtaking and unforgettable urban landscapes in Europe.

12. Budapest has many hot springs compared to other cities in the world. There are 70 million liters of water coming out to the surface every day. Hot springs bring up many baths for health and additional showers that have been used since Roman times.

13. For backpackers, Hungary might be a destination in Europe that is suitable for traveling. The capital city, Budapest, itself offers relatively inexpensive tours, ranging from food and drinks to tourist attractions, many of which can be enjoyed free of charges, such as Fisherman's Bastion and Hungarian Parliament Building. Traveling outside the capital will even spend a little more.

14. There are several famous bridges in Budapest such as Chain Bridge, Elizabeth Bridge, and Liberty Bridge.

15. The Hungarian parliament building is the third-largest parliament building in the world, after the London Westminster building and the Romanian parliament building. It has 691 rooms, 20 kilometers (12,5 miles) of stairs and at 96 meters (315 feet) it is the same height as the St. Stephen's Basilica.

16. After London, Budapest has the oldest subway system in Europe. This railroad was opened in 1896 in the year when Hungary celebrated its 1000th anniversary and was therefore named the Millennium Underground. This railroad is used as an M1 subway and connects the city center with City Park.

17. Enjoy free concerts:

Sometimes there will be some free concerts in the same year. Even though it is a famous concert, it’s free sometimes. For example. there was Will Smith’s concert on his Birthday which was on the 25th of September 2019 at St. Stephen Basilica, Budapest and not long after that, there was Bryan Adams concert on the 28th of September 2019 at Heroes Square, Budapest.

18. One ticket for all kinds of transportation:

In Budapest, you only need to buy 1 ticket pass, that can be used for all kinds of transportation, including trains, buses (in blue and red color included), tram, and metro. They also provide many options, starts from a single ticket, 24 hours, 72 hours, a ticket for one week, one month, quarterly (4 months), and even for one semester (6 months). The price list is also very diverse, if you buy a ticket for a longer period, the price is cheaper. However, there’s a special Airport transfer Ticket, to take the 100E Bus (blue color).

19. If you want to buy much unique stuff, clothes, souvenirs, or Hungarian traditional food, you may go to the Great Market Hall.

20. You can explore many areas in Budapest with renting a bicycle, segway, and electric scooter.

21. In Budapest Eye, there is a very big and nice Ferris wheel.

22. You can spend your weekend in some famous pubs or night club such as Story Budapest and Szimpla Kert.

23. You can also go to the Margaret Island near Budapest and enjoy the weekend vibes.

24. You might have to go to some exchange places to get the best rate. You better not change your money at the airport, because the rate is very low.

C. ABOUT OTHER CITIES

25. The Kiskunság National Park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve that covers 50,000 hectares. This park has a unique environment, such as lakes and alkaline ponds, sand dunes, and grasslands.

26. Pecs is a multicultural city where different ethnic groups live together side by side and peaceful, so the city is one of the UNESCO Peace Cities. The city is home to the first university in Hungary which was founded in 1367. Famous buildings in the city are the Pecs Cathedral, Szchenyi Ter, the Pecs Synagogue, and the Pasha Gazzi Kassim mosque.

27. The city of Sopron was founded in Roman times which was the city of Hungary and Austria for centuries. In 1921 the city was decided to be part of Hungary, with its nickname "The Most Devout City".

28. Eger is the second-largest city in Hungary. The city was founded by Hungary's first Christian king, Saint Stephen, in the 10th century. Eger is famous for its amazing baroque buildings. King Stephen built the episcopal cathedral, with Eger as an important religious center now. The cathedral was built on Castle Hill, with the city surrounding it. The castle and the basilica are the most attractive sights in the city of Eger, plus the Valley of Beautiful Woman, which produces the best red wine from Hungary known as Bikaver or Bull Blood.

29. Gyor City is famous as an economic and industrial center. The city is much visited for its beautiful baroque architecture (17th-century art decoration), as well as its interesting museums and cafes. The city is located on the banks of the River Raba, Rabca, and the Danube river.

30. In Eger, there is Eger castle, the cathedral of St. Basilica John the Apostle, Magic Tower, Lyceum, County Hall, Kossuth Lajos Utca.

31. Heviz is famous as a spa town located not far from Lake Heviz, the second-largest hot spring lake in the world.

32. Keszthely city is located on the westernmost edge of Lake Balaton. Keszthely is the oldest city in the region. There is a small beach to enjoy the warm sun, shallow water lakes. Next to the lake, there is also the Festetics Castle, which is a baroque-style building consisting of 101 rooms and is the third-largest castle in Hungary.

33. During the first half of the 20th century, an epidemic of tuberculosis occurred that spread throughout the world, which is called the Hungarian Morbus. According to some figures, this disease, also called consumption, has claimed the lives of between 40,000 and 50,000 Hungarians.

34. According to ancient legend, Kaposvar was built on 7 hills. Now, the city is full of peace, a city with interesting historical and cultural performances. Traffic lights have been banned on major roads since the 1980s, and the Kossuth square is a pedestrian's dream. Interesting buildings in the square are the Nagyboldogasszony cathedral, the historic hotel Erzsebet and the Town Hall.

35. The Hungarian capital, Budapest, has existed since the copper and iron age but did not become Budapest until 1873 when the three separate cities, Pest, Buda, and Obuda (ancient Buda) united into one city. The name Budapest is the nickname of the "city of baths".

About People and Culture

36. The Hungarian language is one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world. The Hungarian alphabet contains 44 letters.

37. Hungarian people have a different way in calling your full name People will call your family/last name first, continued with your first name, and with your middle name (if you have one). For example, if your name is Felix Rambert Hedwig, it will be Hedwig Felix Rambert.

38. There are only a few of Hungarian people who can speak English fluently. Some of them may only know some basic words, usually if it’s related to numbers when they want to let you know about how much the stuff/food/objects that they are offering to you (in their store). They also will bring their calculator with them to make sure you can understand them.

39. The staff in the metro/subway/bus will try their best to make sure you have the right ticket, if you do not have the right ticket, you may have to pay for the penalty fee to them.

40. The population of elderly people is bigger than the adults, teenagers, and children. You may find it difficult to see children in many places in Budapest. You may even think that it is easier for you to find dogs with the owner on the road, on the bus, or at the tourist attraction instead of find kids.

41. The weather can not be predicted at all. You have to check for the weather on your phone every day. It might be raining in the morning, then feel so hot because the heat from the sun is strong, and then it will be raining again in the evening or at night. You may also need to bring your umbrella/raincoat with you everywhere.

42. In a private university, you may find lots of students with different nationalities, they may come from European countries like Czech Republic, Austria, Ireland, Germany, France, Brazil, Spain, Russia, Poland, Turkey, also some people from South Africa, Kazakhstan, Egypt, until some of Asian countries such as people from China, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

43. If you want to transfer your money to someone’s bank account, you have to know in which brand they have a bank account, and you have to go to one of them to deposit your money and ask the staff to transfer it to them directly. You can not transfer your money directly if the brand of your bank account is different from them.

44. Hungary Banks have a limited amount of people that can create a new bank account in a day. If you want to make a new bank account, you have to go to the bank in the morning since the office hours start, or you may have to go there again on another day. They might make the schedule first for you to go there again next time.

45. There are numerous Hungarian dishes and food in general which are well-known for tourists, such as Goulash and Langos.

46. Hungarian liquor is Palinka and is considered capable of treating all ailments.

47. There are many elderly Hungarian people who still work as staff in the metro, bus, or in the government.

48. Basic education is taken for eight years which takes place at two levels each for four years. Junior level education is given at the Academic Middle School (gimnázium) or vocational high school (szakközépiskola).

49. High school level education has a dual system with colleges (colleges) and universities. Some academies relate to universities and operate as faculties within the university. A university can also offer academy level courses. The duration of training at the academy level is a minimum of three years and a maximum of four years, while the period of study at the university is at least four years and a maximum of five years (except medical majors which can be up to six years). Főiskolai Oklevél (Academy level degree) paired with Egyetemi Oklevél (university-level degree). The University conducts Ph.D. studies for three years, then more specialized continuing education courses (normally for one to three years) and several subsequent education courses.

50. When there is a wedding ceremony in Hungary, don't be surprised and there's no need to remind when suddenly the bride takes off her shoes in the middle of the room. This is what is known as the “Money Dance”, which is an opportunity for everyone / invited guests who want to dance with him, but on condition that after putting money into her shoes.