Official Data in a Nutshell Telephone Geography Climate Language Public Holidays and Other Significant Holidays Food OFFICIAL DATA IN A NUTSHELL Official name: Republic of Hungary Area: 93,030 km2 Population: 10,043,000 Population density: 108 inhabitants/km2 Capital: Budapest Area: 525 km2 Population: 1,863,000 Time: Central European Time (GMT+1). Summer time from early March to late October (GMT + 2 hours). Official language: Hungarian Public administration: 19 counties, 23 cities with county status Money exchange, cheques, credit cards: The official means of payment in Hungary is the Forint (Ft, HUF). Coins: 1,2,5,10,20,50,100 Ft. Banknotes: 200,500,1000,2000,5000,10000,20000. All the major credit cards are accepted in Hungary in places displaying the emblem at the entrance. Medical care: Emergency treatment is free of charge for foreigners. Hungarian doctors are highly qualified and helpful. Several drugs are available over the counter in pharmacies. Pharmacists will certainly help you to find the Hungarian counterpart of your usual medication. Newspapers: Almost all well-known foreign daily, weekly and monthly papers are sold in large hotels and newstands. TELEPHONE Public phones operate with 10,20,50 and 100 coins or phone cards. Phone cards are available et hotels, post offices, filling stations and newsagents. To make a local call, dial the number required. International call: 00-Dial tone-Country access code, area code, subscriber's number. International country code of Hungary: +36 Area code of Budapest: 1 Inland long-distance code: 06 International long-distance code from Hungary: 00 Emergency calls: Ambulance 104 Fire alarm 105 Police 107 Inland telephone inquiries 198 International telephone inquiries 199 GEOGRAPHY Hungary is located in Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin. It is situated at approximately an equal distance from the Equator and the North Pole, extending 528 km from East to West, and 268 km from North to South. Hungary is divided into three large regions: Transdanubia, the Great Plain and Northern Hungary. Budapest and the Danube Bend is situated at the point where the three large regions of Hungary meet, forming a harmonious unity. Largest rivers: The River Danube, Europe's second longest river, stretches 417 km long in the territory of Hungary, cutting the country and the capital into two parts. The River Tisza is the river of the Great Plain, its Hungarian section is 598 km long. Lakes: Situated in the middle of Transdanubia, Lake Balaton is Central Europe's largest warm lake. Lake Velence is the seccond largest lake of Hungary with its 27 km2 area. This lake lies between Budapest and the Lake Balaton. Lake Tisza is a new, man-made lake where nature took over the artificial beginning. Nowadays, Lake Tisza is one of the most protected natural sights of Hungary with its bird and fish population. Mountains: A range of medium-height mountains stretches across the country. The Transdanubian Mountain Range is 400-700 metres high, while the Northern Mountain Range rises to heights of 500-1000 metres. The highest point of Hungary can be found in this latter range, and it is the Kékes (with its 1,014 m height) in the Mátra Mountains. Puszta: The Hungarian "puszta" (the word meaning plain, deserted, empty) is a favourite tourist destination on the Great Plain where the characteristic animals and ethnographic traditions can still be seen in the Hortobágy National Park and in the Kiskunság National Park. CLIMATE The climate of Hungary is temperate continental. The coldest month is January with an average of -1°C, while the warmest month is August with +21,3°C. Hungary has a rather low amount of rainfall, which exceeds an annual average of 600 mm only in Transdanubia. Nevertheless, sudden storms are frequent during late spring and the summer. The number of sunny hours is high, exceeding 2,000 hours annually in some regions of the country. LANGUAGE The Hungarian language belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of languages, which includes Finnish, Estonian and some languages spoken in northern areas of Russia. However, Hungarians cannot understand the speech of their closest "relatives", the Finns or the Estonians. Services providers generally speak German and/or English, hotel staff members understand several languages. Even on the streets do not hesitate to ask for help, Hungarians are eager to help as hospitality is in their veins. Some characteristics of the Hungarian language: - Unlike any other European languages, the family name precedes Christian name(s). - Hungarian is quite different from the Indo-European languages. It uses suffixes added to the end of the words, which makes some words confusingly long. - Interestingly, Hungarian is a 'non-sexist' language in that words have no grammatical gender, and in that there is no distinction in the terms of 'he' and 'she'. Some useful phrases and words: Greetings These greetings are used continuously on meeting and parting, even in shops, at ticket offices, or even with strangers in a lift. Good day./Hello. Jó napot! Good morning. Jó reggelt! Good evening. Jó estét! Good night! Jó éjszakát! Goodbye. Viszontlátásra! / Viszlát! Hi. / Hello. (and even) Bye. Szia! (informal; single) Sziasztok! (informal; plural) Yes Igen No Nem Thank you. Köszönöm. Thanks. Köszi. (informal) Thank you very much. Nagyon szépen köszönöm. Please. Kérem. Excuse me. Bocsánat. Sorry. Bocsánat. Do you speak English? Beszél angolul? Do you speak German? Beszél németül? Sorry, I don't understand. Elnézést, nem értem. Numbers ? one egy two kett (két) three három four négy five öt six hat seven hét eight nyolc nine kilenc ten tíz eleven tizenegy twelve tizenkett thirteen tizenhárom twenty húsz twenty-one huszonegy thirty harminc forty negyven fifty ötven sixty hatvan seventy hetven eighty nyolcvan ninety kilencven one hundred száz one hundred and twenty-one százhuszonegy two hundred kétszáz (kett?száz) one thousand ezer two thousand two hundred kett?ezerkett?száz Basic words: állomás station angolul in English ár price balra to the left bejárat entrance bocsánat Excuse me and sorry bolt shop busz bus cím address drága expensive emelet floor fagylalt ice cream falu village fürd? bath hajó boat, ship ház house híd bridge id?járás weather jegyiroda ticket office jobbra to the right kastély palace or mansion kijárat exit kórház hospital kulcs key magyar Hungarian magyarul in Hungarian Magyarország Hungary ment? ambulance mosdó/WC toilet mozi cinema nagykövetség embassy név name nincs ... there is no ... orvos doctor pénz money pénztár cashier; booking office pénzváltás money exchange rend?rség police repül?tér airport ruhatár cloakroom segítség help szálloda hotel szoba room templom church tér square trolibusz trolley bus újság newspaper út road utca street útlevél passport vám customs villamos tram víz water vonat train PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AND OTHER SIGNIFICANT HOLIDAYS 01 January : New Year's Day; public holiday February : "Farsang" is the name of the season traditionally marking the end of winter. There are many events throughout the country around this celebration: carnival and street parade in Budapest, the traditional Busójárás (man in strange, frightening costumes are dancing to send away the winter) in Mohács in southern Hungary, fancy evening balls, fancy dress parties. 15 March : Public holiday marking the anniversary of the Revolution and War of Independence against the Habsburg occupation in 1848-49. The revolution started on 15 March 1848, when the youth of Pest began to rebel against feudalism and cried for liberty and liberal reforms. The revolution unfortunately turned into war for the independence of Hungary. After a few months of success of the young republic, the fortune has turned: the Habsburg rulers turned for help to the Russian Tsar, and in 1849 the war was beaten down. However, ever since 15 March is considered as the day of the youth, and also, it is usually marked by rather serious political content. Besides, there are many parades, memorial celebrations take place throughout the country. Most people wear little rosettes of the Hungarian tricolour. Budapest Spring Festival : An annual cultural event involving top-class Hungarian foreign artists in all fields of art: ballet, music, opera, theatre, folk dance performances, various exhibitions take place not only in Budapest but also in some other towns parallelly like in Debrecen, Sopron and Kecskemét. 22 April : Earth Day Though not a public holiday, it is slowly getting more and more importance. Healthy and 'green' activities are held throughout the country in parks and public places. Easter : Traditional Christian holiday, Easter Monday is a public holiday. Many of the traditional village Easter activities survive even in the cities: egg painting, dances, and tree decorations. A special tradition is the 'watering': in the villages young men used to take the girls on Easter Monday to the garden well and water them with cold, fresh water. The idea is that the girls will bloom that way throughout the whole year. Today the tradition has changed a bit: men and boys sprinkle the head of women and girls with perfume, muttering a funny verse in return for a kiss, a painted egg and/or a glass of pálinka. 01 May : Public holiday, the former huge-scale parades and carnivals (compulsory during the Communist time) survive in family events, smaller events. Children's Day : The last Sunday in May, with special events held for children. Whit-Monday Public Holiday. : Some of the former village traditions still survive or gaining re-birth. One of these are choosing the King and Queen of the Whitsun Kingdom, usually the most beautiful girl and the most handsome boy of the village. 20 August : A public holiday, called St Stephen's Day (Stephen was the first king of Hungary), marking the foundation of the Hungarian state in 1000. Also, this day is traditionally the 'Day of the New Bread'. A main attraction among the number of activities held, is the traditional big fireworks in Budapest over the River Danube. 06 October : The Day of the Martyrs of Arad. Though not a public holiday, there are some memorial events taking place to pay respect to the 13+1 martyrs who were executed in Arad (and one of them, Lajos Batthyány, the first prime minister of Hungary in Budapest) on 06 October 1849, after the fall of the war of independence. 23 October : Public holiday, the anniversary of the revolution against the Soviet Communist system in 1956, and the proclamation in 1989 the new constitutional state of the Hungarian Republic. 25 and 26 December : Public holidays, though the most important day of Christmas is Christmas Eve: it then when the traditional family Christmas dinner takes place. Christmas time is traditionally a family celebration, when only the closest relatives meet, and almost everyone disappears from the roads. 31 December : New Year's Eve, all the city centres in Budapest and the countryside towns take on a carnival atmosphere, saying farewell to the Old Year and welcoming the New Year. FOOD The characteristic features of Hungarian cuisine are harmonious, substantial dishes flavoured with red paprika, onion, tomatoes, green paprika and sour cream. Meals usually begin with some rich soup, followed by the main course eaten together with the salad, the finally comes the dessert. A list of typical national meals: Hungarian Goulash Soup : The traditional goulash soup (not stew!) is made of beef and pork, vegetables, potatoes and small home-made noodles. The name of the soup is originating from the word 'gulyás' meaning 'cowboy'. After a long day of work, the Hungarian cowboys made this authentic soup in a kettle over an open fire. (One has to be careful with the amount of the goulash soup. If it is served in cups, then a normal main dish can follow. In case it is served in a small kettle, however, it is advisable to ask for the dessert directly. Usually 'túróscsusza' is the best fit for the goulash soup.) Chicken paprikás (stew) with gnocchi : A chicken stew with the flavour of the Hungarian red paprika spice, served with home-made gnocchi. Stuffed Cabbage : Rice and minced meat (usually pork, nowadays turkey) wrapped in sour cabbage leaves and cooked in a superb sauce, again flavoured with red paprika and with smoked ham. Fish Soup : This meal has many a variation throughout the country, the most important thing again is the basis of red, mostly hot paprika spice. Pancake in Hortobágy Style : Pancake filled with stew made of minced pork, flavoured with red paprika again. A nice starter before a lighter main dish. Desserts : Hungarians eat rich creamy gateaux, tortes, tarts, pancakes and pies in patisseries. And it is a gastronomic adventure to taste all the richness of the desserts. Here are some examples: Túróscsusza : Made of hot pasta, cold cottage cheese and sour cream on the top, finally flavoured with fried pieces of bacon. It might sound strange, but is really worth a try! Somlói galuska : A wonderful dessert consisting of crumbled sponge cake, vanilla cream, walnuts, raisins, whipped cream and rummy chocolate sauce. Vargabéles : A baked pudding made of vermicelli cooked in milk, cottage cheese, sour cream and strudel pastry. Dobos Cake : This cake bears the name of József Dobos, a famous Hungarian confectioner, who invented these thin layers of buttery cake, sandwiched between chocolate cream, decorated with chopped hazelnuts and covered with a hard caramel glaze. Drinks: Wine : The wine producing and consumption has many old traditions in Hungary. For hundreds of years, the wine was the main drink consumed. There are altogether more than 20 wine regions in the country, each with their traditions, specialities and famous wine types. The most famous wine region is Tokaj and its vicinity. Its speciality is the Tokaj Aszú that has been known as "The king of the wines, the wine of the kings" (In Latin: Vino Regnum, Rex Vinorum). The other famous wine region is Eger, a histrical town closely connected to the wine producing. It is worth tasting the specialty of the are, the Eger Bull's Blood (red wine) in its wine cellars in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman. Hungarian beer : There are a number of Hungarian beer brands namely Dreher, Arany Ászok, K?bányai, Soproni, Bak, Borsodi, Szalon. Spirits : The typical spirit of Hungary is called pálinka, a strong , clear brandy made from apricot, cherries, plum or other fruits. William Pear Pálinka is one of the best types. Another typical spirit is the Zwack Unicum, a very distinctive, black digestive bitter. It is sold in a characteristic, round "anarchist bomb" bottle. Its name originates from Emperor Franz Joseph who told the producer: "Doctor Zwack, that is a Unicum!" It is common that people either hate or love it.