Back in day, it was fairly typical to see many old Hungarian men and woman hanging out well into the night at a traditional coffee house in Budapest. Ideas were discussed and many pastries were consumed.

Today, it’s hard to narrow in on some of these ancient gems (no, we’re not talking about the old men and women), but they do still exist. And, the best part? An old coffee house or confectionery in Budapest can make for a fantastic cheapo’s night out. For the price of a cup of coffee and a yummy confection, you’ll be stepping back in time, connecting with Hungarian culture and often hanging out in a lavish turn-of-the-century building.

Here are five of our favorites:

1) Angelika                                                                                              

I. Batthyany ter 7

Open: Monday through Wednesday and on Sundays from 9 am to midnight; Thursday to Saturday from 9 am to 2 am

If the stained-glass windows, vaulted cielings and views of the Danube don’t draw you in, then the unique origin of this coffee house surely will. The Angelika, aptly named, sits inside the former crypt of St. Anne’s Church. Be sure to check out all the fabulous Buda ladies, who tend to sit here for hours sipping on the first-rate hot tea and engaging in conversation.

2) Muvesz Café
VI., Andrassy ut 29

Open: Daily from 9 am to midnight

This is a good bet if you’re planning a longer evening out as it’s one of the few old coffee houses that stays open late. They serve lots of yummy cakes and sandwiches. The décor is late 19th-century. Now, we admit, this isn’t one of the cheaper haunts, but if you want to feel like you’re in a legitimate establishment, Muvesz delivers. Look for ladies in fur hats.

3) Lukács ConfectioneryVI., Andrassy ut 70

Open: Monday through Friday from 9 am to 8 pm and weekends from 10 am to 8 pm

For years, this confectionery was a meeting place for the secret Hungarian police and served as a bank too. Today, it maintains that somewhat buttoned-up, underground vibe. You walk in through the old bank entrance and can even order a cake called the “bankar”. Lots of waitresses in fancy uniforms, pretty carpets and a huge dessert display make for fun distractions.

4) Ruszwurm                                                                                                             <I, Szentharomsag ter 7

Open: Daily from 10 am to 8 pm (though we’ve known them to close at 7 pm if they aren’t busy)

Smack dab in the middle of the castle disctrict, this is a true example of a smallish old Baroque coffee house. It opened in 1824. Spend the evening wandering the district’s grounds and then stop in—if you can nab a seat (this place gets packed, especially in summer months). Let yourself eat cake here.

5) Gerbeaud Confectionery
V., Vorosmarty ter 7 (just off Vorosmarty Square)

Founded in 1858, Gerbeaud still has all its charm. Crystal chandeliers hang above the crowds (the Gerbeaud can hold 300 guests at one time) and pastries are of both Hungarian and Viennese origin. Try the cognac cherry cake, a concoction by former owner Emil Gerbeaud. And, if you’re tired of tourists, you can always skip the hubbub at Gerbeaud and head around the corner to Kis Gerbeaud (”Little Gerbaud”) which has cheaper pastries and less flash.

Brits are of course now labouring under a diet of cold turkey. Christmas generates its own extraordinary traditions across Europe, which differ greatly from country to country. There is no such thing as a standard-issue European Christmas. The English certainly like their turkey on the Christmas table, but elsewhere across the continent firm Christmas favourites include baked carp, goose, spicy hams, and roast lamb.

Christmas may have come and gone in western Europe, but we shouldn’t forget that as we move east across the continent, things change. The Orthodox Churches still organise their affairs according to the old Julian calendar, and Christmas is not celebrated in most of eastern Europe until early January. By the time Russians sit down to have their Christmas meal (on the evening of 6 January), most western and central European households have already taken down their Christmas decorations.

The festive season brings its own cast of secular characters. So in Russia and other eastern European countries, Ded Moroz, also known as Father Frost, rewards children with gifts. Ded Moroz lives in northern Russia (click here to read more), an unkempt spot on the Sukhona river that is attempting to cash in on Ded Moroz in much the same way that Rovaniemi in northern Finland has proclaimed its credentials as the unbelievably tacky and ultra-commercial hometown of Santa Claus. While Santa relies on a bunch of elves for assistance, Ded Moroz lucks out in having secured the services of the beautiful Snegurochka to help distribute gifts.

Globalisation may have inflected many aspects of our lives, but Christmas still throws up its own culturally-encoded customs and characters.

This is the last in a series of eight postings by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries, a Berlin-based duo who edit hidden europe magazine. They will return with more contributions to EuroCheapo in Spring 2008.

Cultural assets are things to cherish. Scan the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and it will be clear that Europe bristles with treasures: from the cultural landscapes of the high valleys of Andorra to the wooden churches of northern Romania. Michelangelo paintings and Gothic cathedrals are self-evidently worth hanging onto. Yet some of Europe’s most important cultural assets are utterly intangible.

Take language, an asset we too often take for granted. Most Europeans somehow learn to get by in one or two other languages beyond their mother tongue. And occasionally we run across folk on our travels who have not had the chance to practice, still less to perfect, another language and remain sadly monolingual. Plus of course a fair number of diehards who elect to remain assertively and stubbornly monolingual for one reason or another.

Europe’s rich diversity of languages captures the media spotlight this week with the European Day of Languages (EDL). Officially slated for Wednesday but celebrated earlier in the week in some countries, EDL is an initiative of the Council of Europe and will be marked in the Council’s forty-seven member states.

Language is a wonderful thing. So why not celebrate the European Day of Languages by getting your tongue round a few pharyngeal fricatives and then check out some of Europe’s threatened minority languages? These are cultural assets on the brink. Mirandesa, Kashubian, and Sorbian are just three of the many we’ve come across over the past year—in Portugal, Poland, and Germany respectively.

This is the second in a series of fortnightly blog posts by the editors of hidden europe.

New, nasty, and noteworthy.

1. Polish wonder LCC WizzAir announced this week that they’ll open their 7th base in Poznan in January 2008 by launching new routes connecting the western Polish city to Doncaster, Glasgow Prestwick, Malmö, and Oslo. Hot on the heels of that press release, the Wizzers announced today that they’ll inaugurate a Dortmund-Sofia route on October 29.

2. It looks as though cellphone conversations will soon flavor the air in planes zipping across the European Union. We can’t friggin wait.

3. June 30 sees La Notte Rosa celebration sweeping through various towns along Italy’s Adriatic coast, from Lido di Volano north of Comacchio in the north to Cattolica in the south. “Pink Night” also extends inland to the Republic of San Marino. La Notte Rosa literally turns everything pink. Pink balloons, pink candy, pink cakes, pink flowers, pink flags will all crop up. These towns will be awash in pink. There will also be a massive range of cultural events, concerts, and other public events.

Photo by Salsano

Do something in Budapest that will be unforgettable and likely much cheaper than it would be at home—an organized afternoon at the horse races, through Budapest Tours.

For HUF8000 (€32; $43) your own personal guide will welcome you with drinks, introduce you to the history of horse-racing in Hungary and the rules of betting, and show you all the behind the scenes preparations for the race. You will be given some racing tips and two coupons for betting on the filly of your choice. Then you can cheer on your fancy in the race itself.

All in all a winning day, even if your horse isn’t first past the post.

Photo by TraceyF

One of the chief pleasures of visiting another country is sampling its special food and drink. If you visit Hungary you expect to taste the goulash (gulyás), which you may be surprised to find is a soup, not a stew you should also expect to have a shot of the national drink, unicum.

Unicum is a dark brown bitter sweet liqueur, made from herbs and beloved by Hungarians as a pick-you-up. It is instantly recognizable in its round, jet black bottle, which has not changed for six generations.

As well as tasting unicum, you may also consider paying a visit to the Unicum Heritage Vistitors’ Centre (www.zwackunicum.hu) which charts the colourful history of the drink and of the Zwack family, who invented it. The museum houses one of the largest collections of miniature bottles in the world15,000 of them. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and a tour, including a tasting session at the end, will cost you 1,500 forints.

Photo by argirl

If you are invited to a Hungarian home for dinner—as you very possibly will be during a visit, since Hungarians are famed for their hospitality and cuisine—here are a few tips.

Take the hostess flowers. Roses are a good choice, but always an uneven number of blooms—even numbers are considered unlucky. A bottle of good quality dry red wine will also be appreciated.

You won’t be expected to help out in the kitchen, but when the food does arrive, eat liberally. Refusing seconds, thirds, or even fourths is a sign you are not enjoying the food! The same applies to drink. Your wine glass will continually be refilled, so go easy! If you are vegetarian, tell your hosts in advance. Vegetarianism is still rare in Hungary, but people do recognise and respect it.

Finally, learn how to say a couple of words in Hungarian. Hungarians are proud of their fiercely difficult language and a foreigner’s attempts to pronounce it are really appreciated. Try thank you (köszönöm – sounds like kersernerm) and this is tasty (finom) and delight your host!

Take a look at the roll call of upcoming festivals in France.

Aside from the Cannes Film Festival, this week there is La Fete du Pain, or Bread Festival. On Saturday May 19, La Fete de la Nature will be held. Then, on May 29, there is a festival for neighbors, called Immeubles en Fete. La Fete du Velo, bike festival, is scheduled for the weekend of June 2 and 3. La Fete de la Musique runs all night on June 21. And don’t forget Veggie Pride on May 19 and Beef Festival on July 8.

“Why so many festivals?” asked Le Monde this week. “These celebrations reflect a need to recreate a sense of community and to compensate for the excesses of individualism. In a sense, the presidential campaign—which saw an unprecedented number of people flocking to the meetings and rallies—was itself an illustration of this keen interest in collective rituals.”

The Mercato Trionfale, in the Prati neighborhood, goes often without mention in the guidebooks. While it isn’t particularly charming, it’s one of the largest, cheapest, and most authentic city markets in Rome.

The market stretches up and down both sides of Via Andrea Doria. Clothing, housewares, fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, wine, and even breads are among the market’s offerings.

The best of the bargains are found at the first stand on the the corner of Via Andrea Doria and Largo Trionfale, where fruit is hawked by the kilo. While you’d never ordinarily think that you would need a kilo of celery, or two kilos of oranges, the €1 price tags might just change your perspective on bulk fruit purchase.

Photo by denkrahm

Naschmarkt is a popular market place in Vienna. You can purchase almost everything at the Naschmarkt, from fresh fish and shrimps to Asian soy sauce to Italian cheeses and uncooked ham. Despite and because of the sheer variety—and in no small part as a result of the hoards of tourists streaming through—you can’t help feeling ripped off at the Naschmarkt. Case in point: We’ve seen furniture for sale at prices that exceed those at first-class antique galleries in the First District.

Make no mistake about it, the Naschmarkt is a must-see for natives and tourists alike. It is alive, it breathes, and it reeks of marvelous scents and colors.

May brings a bunch of (cheaper, we hope) alternatives to the Naschmarkt.

On May 11, from 9 a.m. until noon, Vienna’s lost and found department hopes to find sellers who will take home several things—from clothes to books—that their owners have forgotten somewhere and then never fetched from the Zentrale Fundservice, at Bastiengasse 36-38.

Fernwärme Wien, Vienna’s energy company, holds a secondhand extravaganza at their compound, May 12, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m., at Spittelauer Lände 45.

The leading Austrian old-fashioned children’s store Spielzeugschachtel, which specializes in wooden and hand-crafted toys, holds a two-day flea market on May 25 and 26, at Rauhensteingasse 5.

Our advice: Be wise and enjoy.