Photo by pnoid00

On June 23, 2007, Budapest will hold its third Night of Museums to celebrate St John’s Midsummer Night. Traditionally, this is the night when fires are kept burning for unmarried girls to jump over and so guarantee themselves a husband, and fruit is thrown into the fire to guarantee a good harvest.

Torches and candles will be lit and fire-blowers will perform outside the National Museum—one of 29 museums and public collections taking part in this year’s Night of Museums. All 29 places will stay open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will host special programs, concerts, and dance performances in addition to their usual exhibitions. In previous years, some venues have been known to offer a snack and a glass of wine—or a hot chocolate. But the highlight of the night has to be the special show of erotic Roman artifacts at the Aquincum Museum!

The night is marvellous fun and a paradise for Cheapos. Free buses transport culture hounds to museums, departing from Erzsébet Tér every 30 minutes. Tickets for all events can be bought from the Budapest Transport Company (BKV) for HUF500 (€1.95; $2.65). For details of exhibitions and programs, check out the night’s schedule.

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Photo courtesy of Kari Hoerchler

Where would you go if you wanted to sport crazy tights and ride Critical Mass? Or don a wool blanket while dining out at the latest ‘It’ restaurant? A place where ‘sör’ means ‘beer’ and ‘bor’ means wine?

Budapest, babája (baby)!

During a recent to trip to the Hun capital, we noticed the city under siege thanks to a few fun trends. One of the easiest places to spot the latest fashions is the Liszt tér. An artery of the Andrassy út, the tér is made up of a long strip of parkland featuring a bronze statue of Liszt, looking windblown and surrounded by airy cafés.

The ideal locale for people watching? We like to hunker down in a wicker chair in front of one of the square’s cafés. With a wool blanket, of course. That’s right Cheapos. Local women take to wrapping themselves in the colorful blankets on chilly nights, but not only that: they’re also fans of covering their gams with eccentric tights. Patterns of every stripe are represented, it seems, adding frivolity to otherwise conservative dress.

The Liszt tér eateries are optimal for observing the local peacock procession, and the food is delicious. We returned several times to Café Vian for their HUF1350 ($7) Hawaiian salad. The cappuccinos are HUF380 ($2) each and mojitos run HUF1500 ($8). The highly publicized Menza was also a treat. One Friday night we dined on veal paprika with a side order of white asparagus. The whole spread was HUF3060 ($16) including drinks.

Finally, we read in several guide books Budapest is not a bike friendly town. A confusing claim since we saw bikes everywhere and the local chapter of Critical Mass is quite active. The group, which begun officially in 2004, fights for the right to ride a bike in the congested city while calling attention to automobile induced pollution. The latest demonstration on wheels was held on Earth Day, April 22, 2007.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Photo by antausento (Villő)

Visitors to Hungary should consider buying a copy of the novel The Hungarian Girl Trap, written by English ex-pat Ray Dexter, who lives in Miskolc (a still life of which can seen above) in the east of the country.

The title is a reference to the scores of foreign men who are drawn to settle in Hungary by a beautiful Hungarian girlfriend. Dexter’s observations on living and working in his adopted country are always witty and sometimes laugh-aloud funny. Alongside the humor, he makes intelligent reflections on the socio-political quirks of a country that since 1989 has been continually in transition.

The novel also functions as an effective travelogue for those planning to travel beyond Budapest.

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Photo courtesy of SpirosK

After perusing the Kárpátia Restaurant Web site, we were halfway expecting a tourist trap. Between the beautifully decorated vaulted ceilings and the shameless plugs for Sarközi and his Gipsy Band (the in-house band) the restaurant appeared to be a traditional Hungarian cliché. Thankfully, it was all that and more.

Our meal took off with a small glass of brandy, followed by a creamy appetizer platter and the Kárpátia salad with duck breast and wild mushrooms. It began to dawn on us that our best meal in Budapest was unfolding.

My main course consisted of a Mangalica filet mignon with clove-quince apple compote. My travel companion enjoyed wild duck with balsamic vinegar and wild grapes. We savored a dry, red Hungarian house wine between bites. The meal came to a bittersweet close with poppy seed cake and Somlói galuska, a rum-scented vanilla cream cake with chocolate sauce.

At HUF16,400 (€66; $90), the final bill for two certainly worth the splurge.

We were sold on the band as well, happily shelling out HUF5,000 (€20; $27) for their CD. Sarközi and band played up for each and every table, posing in perfect time for cameras and pulling out local favorites for impromptu tableside celebrations.

Wandering Cheapo Kari Hoerchler is a blogger, budget traveler, and science fiction novelist stationed on Planet Earth. She has recently been spotted on small stages of New York coffeehouses telling tall tales of a tropical island—and future vacation hot spot—in the Bermuda Triangle. Book ahead.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Photo by Aknay Tibor

For the third year running, the town of Szilvásvárad (translation: plum castle!) is hosting its outdoor festival on May 26. The festival features all manner of extreme sports: rodeo riding, bungee jumping, speed, hot-air ballooning, hang-gliding, and motor sports among others. Great news for Cheapos: the outdoor festival is free of charge.

Best of all, the setting of the festival is idyllic. Szilvásvárad is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Hungary, at the foot of the Bükk Hills. The area is surrounded by forests and blessed with trout pools, an old wooden train that passes through forests, and even a prehistoric cave.

To get to Szilvásvárad from Budapest, take the train from Keleti Station. The journey takes just over three hours and costs HUF3570 (€14.40; $19.60.)

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by little_petal

We don’t mean to sound like mommy, kiddos, but, if we’ve told you once, we’ve told you a thousand times. Plan ahead.

Every guide book to Budapest mentions May Day, usually around page six.

Today, inside the Yellow Zebra Bike Tours and Rental shop near Déak Tér, tourists the world over who failed to heed the page six warnings are facing their worst bedtime nightmares. Without a reservation, it seems to be impossible to book a bed for tonight. As we type in this alert to you, expletives fill the air.

Another anecdote: While checking out of the Mellow Mood youth hostel in central Belvéros yesterday morning, we overheard a French school teacher—one of two in charge of 60 kids—arguing with a surprisingly calm hostel staff.

Apparently, she forgot to request breakfast for les enfants. First, she could not understand why May Day meant a four-day weekend, then she was incensed that the hostel was unable to provide 62 croissants when 90% of the businesses in town are closed. And, oh, she needed them the next morning at 6 a.m. Actual quote, en français: “We are leaving the hotel.”

And going where, madame? With 62 children? On May Day weekend? Best of luck.

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Photo by Sean Kirkham

Our personality of the week is none other than Nemo, a Hungarian-born French Bulldog puppy. You can often find Nemo strolling along the Danube or catching forty winks in Millenaris Park. His owner, Csaba Faludi, assures us that he has a bright future: “He’s a lady’s man. We can’t walk more then five minutes before someone comes up to us and comments on how adorable he is.”

Budapest is a very dog-friendly city. Some critics find fault with dog owner’s blasé attitudes concerning cleaning up after their dogs. Indeed, Lát-Kép, a Budapest beautification association, has even produced a movie—which can be found on youtube—promoting canine feces-free streets.

For those easily influence by the cuteness of Nemo, the puppy of your dreams can be found (for a hefty price) through europuppy.com, an online pet store with head offices located in Budapest. Also of note: the non-profit organization rex.hu is a non-kill shelter providing adoption services for Budapest’s abandoned or stray dogs.

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Photo by Nóri

Hungary is a dream destination for all budget-conscious fans of horse riding. You can find elegant steeds, beautiful rolling countryside for trail riding, and accommodation on-site with hearty Hungarian meals for very reasonable rates.

One such excellent deal can be found at the Tiborcz Equestrian Club, a mere 40 kilometres from Budapest. Once the estate of Count József Pálffy-Daun, it is now a 75-acre horse paradise with indoor and outdoor riding grounds and corrals.

Accommodation is in tastefully-decorated rooms and includes use of sauna, swimming pool, and fitness room. Meals are all home cooked. One week’s half-board accommodation with twelve hours of trail riding costs €380. A range of other special offers is also available. We noted that a double room, including dinner, and one-hour trail of trail riding comes to €100 for two.

Other stables with similar facilities can be checked out on www.utikonyv.hu.

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Photo by Gabó

Bored of pounding the pavement visiting museum after museum staring at priceless works of art? Looking for a novel hands-on experience during your stay in Budapest?

Szív Studios in Budapest offers affordable six-week courses for children and adults. Instructors Paula Brett, Leah Kohlenberg, and Krisztina Rozanich offers classes in basic drawing as well as figure drawing, watercolor, pastels, and oil.

On Friday open studio, students can choose their medium. Keep an eye on their Web site for more details.

And if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body and yet want to experience something new, Szív Studios is always looking for nude models. On open studio night, they require a model to sit for the two and a half hour class. Payment for naked service is HUF4000 (€16; $22). An added benefit: you’ll be plied with red wine and great conversation.

Also noteworthy: Szív’s three artists will exhibit their works at the studios on April 26.

Call Paula more more information at +36 (30) 904-6043

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Photo by maurice_flower

The Open Society Archives, on Arany János street 32 in Budapest, is hosting a moving exhibition on Raoul Wallenberg, a humanitarian champion and perhaps the first true world citizen.

Born into an aristocratic Swedish family, Wallenberg deliberately risked his life in wartime Budapest to rescue thousands of Jews from deportation, providing them with Swedish passports. The most moving exhibit is the video of one woman narrating how Wallenberg saved her as she was being marched to the Danube to be shot.

On the very last night of the war, he disappeared. His final fate has never been proven, although there is some evidence that he died in Lubyanka prison in Moscow in 1947.

The exhibition is open daily except Monday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. through April 29, 2007, and is free of charge. The Archives can be reached by telephone at +36 (1) 327-3250.

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