10 Reasons Why I Love Hungary

Medical student and blogger Dedun O. has written an article about the reasons why she loves Hungary.

Hungary is a central european country with a population over 9 million. The capital city is Budapest (pronounced Budape-sht) but I live in a city called Debrecen, second largest city in the country. I moved to Hungary seven years ago and I can say the growth the country has experienced in those years is commendable and that is why I have made a list of 10 Reasons Why I Love Hungary:

Hungary is beautiful

The capital city, Budapest should be on the list of top 5 European cities to visit. I can’t describe it really but there’s just something serene and at the same time lively about Budapest. The view of Budapest at night is truly magnificent especially if viewed from the Buda side of the Danube river. You get to really appreciate the panoramic view of the city. You can also safely walk along the river or go on a night river cruise. The cave towns (e.g Aggtelek) are also worth mentioning, and the wine towns (eg. Eger) with beautiful vineyards. Not forgetting, Lake Balaton! Since Hungary is a land locked country, the lake Balaton is like a major vacation place for locals and tourists too.

Good transport system

You can connect to reconnect and connect again. If you get lost, you probably are just bad with direction. Whether you are in Budapest or a less populated city like Debrecen, you can easily find your way around. Thankfully, google maps won’t disappoint incase you are unsure. Peradventure google maps can’t help you, just use google translate and show a local (Disclaimer here: Magyar is so difficult even google translate can’t help you sometimes). The transport passes are students and locals friendly and a bit pricey for tourists in Budapest but if you compare with other countries that spend Euro, it’s actually the same.

It’s affordable

Whether you are a tourist or moving here for studies, it’s relatively affordable compared to it’s counterparts in the EU. This is mostly because they have their currency (The Hungarian Forint HUF) instead of the Euro. You can easily be a millionaire with 3500 Euros, how cool is that? Apartments are also affordable to rent except for obvious times prospective landlords up their prices with nothing to show for it.

The spa and bath country

It’s not news that Hungary has the best spas and baths in Europe. Look no further if you want a relaxing holiday. You are allowed to stay in a bath with loads of people all day. They won’t report you to Rendörség unless you are still there past their closing time (They take their break time and closing time serious to the ‘T’)

They make the best local wine

Oh my dear Tokaj (pronounced Tok-ai). From red to white wines and the likes, they taste awesome and are finely produced. I usually opt for the sweet ones though for obvious reasons. You can also visit the wine towns (Eger, Alföld and many others) to tour the vineyards and see how it is made from scratch.

The festivals are well planned and fun

Most especially the Flower festival in Debrecen that happens once in a year in August. You will be amazed at what little flowers can become. The crown below was made out of flowers!!!!! Wow

The Sziget festival is also a popular music themed festival that happens at Balaton every summer with performances from major international acts and local acts and attracts people from different countries.

They make nice cream based torte cakes

Dobos Torta is the most popular one and international pastry chefs are familiar with it. It’s a plain cake layered with chocolate cream and finished with hardened caramel on top. For me, I like the caramel candy most.

The Sunflower fields

One of Hungary’s export is Sunflower oil so it’s no surprise that there are numerous fields growing Sunflower. It’s a beautiful scenery starting spring till end of summer, no matter the mode of transportation. I pay attention to them most when I’m traveling by train.

Very passionate about football

The way they love football reminds me of my home country, Nigeria. The only thing differentiating Hungary’s passion from Nigeria’s is picking Asoebi (Matching fabrics with people in a way to celebrate an occasion. Something like a uniform but not the football jerseys) when they win a game. During the UEFA EURO match on Tuesday, I could hear screams from my apartment. People shouting at the top of their lungs just gave me that nostalgic feeling of home.

The University system is impressive

For a country whose official language is not English, I’m quite impressed they decided to open their universities to international students and teach them in English too. Between 2009 and now, the quality of teaching in English has improved greatly and I applaud them for also keeping the integrity of the system. (DOTE Ole!)

https://drdedun.blogspot.hu/2016/06/10-reasons-why-i-love-hungary.html

Dedun’s blog: drdedun.blogspot.hu