From Wikitravel

Could anyone explain to me why the title is changed to Hungry rapist? Or is it simply vandalism?

I put the factbook page on Talk:Hungary/CIA World Factbook 2002 import for reference. -phma 10:42, 1 Mar 2004 (EST)

[edit] Regions

I would like to contribute to this article, having spent some time in Hungary. Some of my favorite places I visited (the Puszta, Koszeg, Sarvar, Fertod, etc.) do not have pages associated with them, though, and the country is not yet broken into regions. I'm not sure the best way to divide, any ideas?

I'm sure you know the country better than most of us, so throw out some of your ideas and we'll start from there! The easiest split would be to ape Wikipedia, but does that make sense for the traveller? Eg. splitting Lake Balaton in three is kinda awkward. Jpatokal 23:58, 13 June 2007 (EDT)

The regions mentioned in the Wikipedia article have only statistical and a very-very few administrative role. Touristic regions can be found on Hungary.com or in the Hungarian Wikitravel article. I find this split quite usable. Strapontin 12:13, 22 June 2007 (EDT)

That looks great. How would you translate the region names used in the Hungarian WT into English? - Todd VerBeek 15:26, 22 June 2007 (EDT)

I would translate them as follows:

• Central Hungary
  • Budapest
  • Pest county (surroundings)
• Northern Hungary
• Great Plain
  • Northern Great Plain
  • Southern Great Plain
  • Lake Tisza
• Transdanubia (or Pannonia)
  • Western Transdanubia
  • Southern Transdanubia
  • Central Transdanubia
• Lake Balaton

Strapontin 16:02, 22 June 2007 (EDT)

Plunge forward! Creating regions is long overdue, but I don't know the country nearly well enough to do it. Jpatokal 09:06, 18 July 2007 (EDT)

[edit] ToDo

• Sleep: describe castle hotels types of accommodation (see Hungary official site as a starting point for research, auto-translated from Russian to English--gives many links to specific castle-based hotels) --DenisYurkin 10:07, 27 January 2007 (EST)
• Do: give some overview of Baths tradition, rituals and typical facilities; probably detail how is it different/unique compared to spas in different parts of the world. --DenisYurkin 04:12, 11 February 2007 (EST)

[edit] Unicum

How is Unicum supposed to be drunk? When I was there, we bought some and it was...well...I don't want to offend anyone, but I think I'd have better luck downing a shot of bleach. Is it just my British taste buds unable to take it 'like a man'? lol. Interested to see what other people say! -Lionfish 15:48, 8 Mar 2005 (GMT)

I believe the correct Hungarian style is to pour a shot for the tourist, watch from the sidelines, and snicker when they try to get it down. They don't drink it themselves. (Seriously!) Now, a bottle of St. Hubertus or a decent barackpalinka, on the other hand... Jpatokal 11:09, 8 Mar 2005 (EST)

Lol. I thought that might be the case. lol. Also I suspect the drink only still gets bought because of its name. Not that I'd be so shallow or childish as to buy a drink just because of that... noo... :P Lionfish 18:03, 8 Mar 2005 (GMT)

Hungarians do indeed consume Unicum. They are, after all, a people who compliment their breakfast with a shot of palinka. While I do not care to drink it socially, my Hungarian family has administered Unicum to me as cold medicine since I was a child.

Man, you did not seriously believe the story of palinka for breakfast, did you? It's rather a funny legend to demonstrate that hungarians tend to drink a lot. However, you're true about Unicum being used as medicine for digestive problems: it consists of several herbs and is really efficient. —The preceding comment was added by 138.195.152.134 (talk • contribs) .

Hm, coming from Hungary, I have to comment, that not drinkers, but people doing heavy jobs (in the fields, mines, etc.) did indeed start their day with a "shot". Grandfathers who never bothered (nor could afford) coffee, but preserved their condition through very moderate, but regular "health preservation" measures. The story of pálinka as a breakfast "escort" is no legend at all. —The preceding comment was added by 80.98.37.84 (talk • contribs) .

I haven't ever seen any pálinka made from corn, although I guess it is possible. It is much more likely to be made from fruit: either from a single fruit such as pear, apricot or plum being the most common types. You will also see "pálinka" made from a mixture of these fruits and this is known as "vegyes". Pálinka is a very social drink: just as the English drink tea, the Hungarians, especially in rural areas, will offer pálinka to guests upon arrival. Home-made "pálinka" is known as "hazipálinka" and is nectar from the Gods. My understanding is that current EU legislation has protected the term "pálinka" in the same way as "camerbert" or "champagne" has been protected. Any drink labelled as "pálinka" must be made from fruit, rather than falvoured from "essence" as is common in the cheaper varieties. To the true Hungarian, "pálinka" is a serious drink worthy of respect and veneration as a cultural tradition.

Unicum has nothing to do with pálinka. It is as stated, a strong digestif, made from a secret recipe and while uniquely Hungarian to confuse it with "pálinka" is a mistake.

[edit] Extlinks

I removed these: More cities and regions, More destinations. --Evan 09:27, 14 December 2006 (EST)

[edit] usual length of stay without additional permit

The usual length of stay is 30 days without any additional permit.

Could anyone clarify this in Get In section? Is it "minimal period for validity of visa" for some countries? Then are we sure that this applies to the whole list "US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand"? --DenisYurkin 02:04, 11 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] opportunities to rent a plane

In Get around:By plane we have now:

However there are many opportunities for people with a valid pilot's licence to rent a plane and explore by air.

Do we have any specifics on this? Rental providers? Contacts? Airports? Anything? Without that it's of too little help, in my opinion. --DenisYurkin 18:32, 11 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] Get around by car: unclear fragments

Could someone please explain / detail, what does each of these fragments in Get around:By car mean?

Usually you can travel by using a map and the road signs.

Highways are not free, but there are no other toll roads or tunnels.

How can we make them more easily understood by readers with non-native English? --DenisYurkin 18:44, 11 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] espresso will buy hours

In Drink:Coffee:

The coffee is strong and espresso-based...

What kind of cafes does this piece applies to? It's not meant to be about absolutely every place, is it?

...and one drink will buy you hours of time at the table.

How was this discovered? Again, to what kinds of cafe this applies? I'm sure not to every, at least not to a really touristy / just crowded place. Can we give any specifics on this?

--DenisYurkin 19:20, 11 January 2007 (EST)

More about Drink:Coffee...

I edited the bit about "long" coffee to give a slightly fuller explanation. The previous version refered to the long, American style coffee. "Long" is a direct translation of what the Hungarians call it, but this is not a typical description at least in American English. Most Americans I know would be mystified by what a "long" coffee might be.

Also, I agree completely with the one drink will buy you hours formulation above. General practice is, once you have the table, you pretty much own it until you decide to leave, and you won't be chased out, whether at a cafe or full restaurant -- not even at touristy/crowded places.

-- MujerMaravilla 06:19, 6 March 2007 (EST)

That's great, thanks for clarification. Could you write about it in more detail in the Coffee section? --DenisYurkin 06:54, 6 March 2007 (EST)

I do know that the term "long black" is used in Australia to describe the Americano-style coffee. I've never heard it in other English speaking countries. 82.113.178.1 05:59, 13 July 2007 (EDT)

[edit] tea with milk

In Drink:Tea we had this piece:

Be aware though that tea is not drunk with milk in Hungary and asking for it will earn you some surprised looks.

This doesn't match my experience in hotels and tourist-oriented cafes, so we need a clarification where this can be really experienced. Before we have some details, I better remove this piece as misleading. --DenisYurkin 19:24, 11 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] the best teas are herbal

The best teas to go for are the herbal and fruit varieties.

What does the best here means? How herbal/fruit teas in Hungary are different from ones in other countries? Are there any special brands, or is it resulted from fresh air (which can certainly affect feelings from the tea), or is there any tradition for home-made herbal/fruit varieties? This or that way, let's specify what do we mean by this. --DenisYurkin 19:27, 11 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] price ranges for accommodation

but the normal rate is 20-22 EURO per person.

What kind of hotels these rates apply to? What regions; high- or low-season? We lived in mid-range hotel in Budapest for ~EUR100, in Eger in apartment for 3..4 persons for ~EUR80. So what is meant by the range 20-22EUR? --DenisYurkin 19:32, 11 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] Don't count on Western European travel times?

The Get Around: By car section writes: Don't count on Western European travel times though: if you travel by normal roads the speed limit is 90 km/h between cities and 50 km/h inside, which slows you to the average around 60km/h. Roads often have high traffic. I think that applies to almost all Western-European countries I've been to. The speed limit on highways is 130km/h, no different than most EU countries either.

I went by bus from Bratislava to Budapest in 2006. As soon as we are in Hungary there's a motorway leading all the way to Budapest. It's quite good, better than the old Prague-Brno motorway. Because the terrein in Hungary is mostly flat, it goes straight 'till the Matra mountains just before Budapest.

I do not know whether there are motorways going farther east and south, but at least, from the western border to Budapest, the communications are quite good.

Joao - Portugal —The preceding comment was added by 89.214.6.167 (talk • contribs) .

[edit] tipping recommendations

As long as service charge is frequently included in a bill in restaurants and cafes, I left the following fragment:

it's unclear how bad service should be reacted on if you can't regulate tips you leave

meaning that if you receive bad service, there's no good way to 'punish' a waiter. Now after edits by Szutyok, this part is gone. Any idea on what we can recommend to a traveller when a service charge is included and (s)he receives a bad service? --DenisYurkin 01:08, 29 January 2007 (EST)

If a service charge is included in the bill, and it is clearly shown on the menu, consider it as part of the price, not a tip. In that case unfortunately you can't do much about it. If it's looks like a decent place and the service was poor, you can try to talk to the manager. If it it not shown on the menu that x% of service charge will be included, than they have no right to charge you with a service charge. If they do, try to contact the National Association for Consumer protection Szutyok 09:24, 29 January 2007 (EST)

In my experience, for most travellers it's most realistic to check it on the bill (typically it's printed as a part of standard footer). I mean, you are right about menu as a formal and bulletproof requirement, but let's also mention something for the rest of us who normally faces service charge as printed in a bill.

Well, if you see it on the bill, then all you can do is check the menu. If they didn't mention there's a service charge, start complaining. They know exactly what they can and cannot do, and they will most likely back off if they see you know your rights. Szutyok 18:01, 29 January 2007 (EST)

As for service charge--so, it should be paid fully regardless of service quality, did I understand you right? --DenisYurkin 13:40, 29 January 2007 (EST)

That's correct, service charge has to be paid regardless of service quality if it is clearly printed on the menu. Szutyok 18:01, 29 January 2007 (EST)

[edit] Talk

I doubt that anybody speaking Russian will be understood in Hungary. Even if they say a simple здравствуйте. Strapontin 10:08, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

We've experienced it just in January in the many places (as listed in Talk section). I clarified that it only applies to Budapest--as we didn't see it elsewhere. --DenisYurkin 14:11, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] knowledge of English and Russian

I disagree with the recent edit and reverted it in the part about English and Russian languages. My original point was--and the edit changes it without providing a reason:

• chances that your Russian will be understood are much fewer than for English
• in Budapest, outside tourist venues only elders (age 45+?) can be expected to understand Russian; younger people typically don't have any knowledge of Russian
• Hungarians are more successful in understanding Russian than in speaking

I invite to discuss the issue first, and then edit the article as we reach consensus. --DenisYurkin 01:04, 19 October 2007 (EDT)

Personally I'm quite satisfied with this later edit. --DenisYurkin 16:27, 27 November 2007 (EST)

---

I restored a bit of my previous edit, since our historical relations with Austria didn't apport much german knowledge to the hungarians. It was nearly 150 years ago, and even then, one must understand that the two nations remained etnically separated, and only a small part, let's say about the "upper" 3% of hungary had diplomatic or trade relations with austrians, and the other people feared (and actually loathed) them, and didn't speak a word of german. So this thing about hungarians speaking german universally is false. I emphasize it because it's a stereotype, and we shouldn't mislead people on Wikitravel. Actually if someone finds a statistics of foreign languages spoken in Hungary to contradict/enforce what I say, I would be quite happy. (26march2008)

[edit] Car headlights requirement

It is no more a requirement to drive with headlights on during day.

--193.77.6.1 06:52, 11 July 2008 (EDT)