Best of Budapest

I first heard of Jenő Kajdócsi’s home when I visited his daughter Eszter, who furnished a super apartment for herself in Pest in Barát Street, which is quite a magical part of the city: a slice of Buda in the otherwise fairly run-down vicinity of Blaha Lujza Square.

Eszter’s apartment is quite thoughtful and pleasant, so it’s no wonder that my attention was piqued when she said her parents’, planned by her Dad, was just as interesting. We began to look at photos on her laptop, and I was unable to imagine that such a cool place could be built in Budapest.

Next to Moszkva (Széll Kálmán) Square.

When I went to the apartment showing last week, I went through roughly the same tsunami of wonder as when I visited Eszter last fall: I had initial misgivings due to the neighborhood, mainly because we know what state it is in these days. Therefore it came as a surprise as I walked there to take a turn into a side street and immediately find myself in a different world: you can reach Jenő’s home through the Városmajor Park, and if you rarely come about this way, you would never believe that one of Budapest’s loudest and busiest intersections is only a street away.

Then you take a step into the stairwell, which has an elevator that only stops on the ground and top floors, where Jenő Kajdocsi converted an attic that previously housed pigeons into his new home. Your jaw will drop in awe.

The roof was raised, but only a little. Even this way, it starts quite high and is steep considering that it begins to lean in at head height at its lowest point, while its middle is roughly eight meters from the ground. The space is huge, and you rarely see anything like this, which is further enhanced by the skylights placed in the middle, through which the light pours inside.

The lower level is one large area containing a living room, dining room, kitchen and terrace, but it is such an impressive space, that once again, your jaw will drop, since the place is so cool when experienced in its entirety. But focus on the details too: the high-quality decorations placed into the recesses in the wall, the perfectly selected furniture, the fireplace-ceramic stove combo, the enormous wooden beams, the small reading nook, or the kitchen’s circular stone counter that covers the supporting iron framework.

And the best part, of course, is the terrace, the flooring of which has been brought into the living room to optically increase the feeling of open space, so that even sitting around the flat you feel as if you’re outside. Which means we must now mention the view:

And then as we explore the apartment, we realize that even though it seems immense at first glance, there’s still more to see, such as the bedroom, the two children’s rooms – one of which was Eszter’s – and an additional floor with a guest room and work room, along with an even larger terrace. As you walk around the central area, you can take in everything that makes this home so awesome. Because it really is awesome.

If you also have a cool apartment, let us know so we can include it in our series. Send us a note to this email address and we’ll get in touch.

All of the pictures in the gallery:

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

You may find the original article here.

So which one am I thinking of when I say Budapest’s most exciting square? Here it is:

And why is this Budapest’s most exciting square? Because when they filled in the giant hole they dug for the Metro 4 station construction works and removed the graffiti-covered plywood sheets that surrounded it, a lively park was revealed complete with an artificial lake. Now every vibration and change currently underway in District VIII can be felt in this once notorious location.

“The girls of Rákoczi Square.” Once upon a time, this was the polite euphemism referring to the prostitutes that worked the location, but you won’t find hookers here anymore. If we look closely, we just might spot a girl or two whose clothes suggest that they might be ladies of the night, but even if they are, they are here to relax not work.

The people hanging out in the square perfectly reveal why District VIII (Józsefváros or “Josephtown”) is so preferred by artists: it has an unbelievably diverse assortment of characters. Here you’ll find the faces you wouldn’t anywhere else. A college student, an elderly retired couple, some vicious-looking but otherwise harmless introverts, as well as the 150 kilo guy who can barely fit into his tiny flat along with his buddy. Chinese residents walk right past the more adventurous Chinese tourists, seeing as they have little in common. You’ll also find a tattoo-covered and waxed body builder and a mother with a baby buggy, or a fortysomething woman with breasts bouncing out of a low-cut top and whose perfume comes around the corner before she does.

But you won’t find beggars – this isn’t a good hunting ground for them.

The square is quite varied from an architectural perspective. Among the typical District VIII apartment houses, the market hall has finally received the emphasis it deserves. In front of it, the metro exit’s crooked tin line and the artificial lake insert themselves into the scenery, a slice of modernity placed before the market’s turn-of-the-century façade.

If you sit here for an hour, I guarantee you’ll find yourself fully preoccupied watching people and the scenery.

This is the square we will explore in four parts, so we can reveal what’s in this neighborhood, the places worth trying, or what you can do around here. For this first post, we picked a restaurant that shows the district’s traditional face, but also does something quite unique: I can’t say I know of any other restaurant that was created explicitly for lunch. But that’s how this place is; it’s not nearly as good by the evening. The prepared meals are gone, leaving the tripe stew, the rabbit paprikash, the less exciting roasts and pizzas. I’ll quickly add that the pizzas are actually quite good, with the dough halfway between thin and thick crust, and they aren’t shy with the cheese on the four cheese pizzas either:

A schnitzel on a blue tablecloth is a true classic:

But let’s stick with lunch. Here’s some pork lung stew:

Or a photo with real composition: pork lung with District VIII’s old and modern facades, and the metro station in the background:

It contains everything: the past, present and future, along with lung soaking in juice.

The restaurant could easily be part of the old Karcsikám television series, were it not only ten years old. The food is as if a neighborhood grandmother had cooked it: well-spiced and without cutting corners on anything. The vegetable stew with Béchamel sauce is nice and thick with ample green spices, the soup was large and thick, and nearly every plate contained what sets small restaurants apart: overly generous use of garlic.

Service was friendly and relaxed. The waitress was not at all ashamed to discuss her private life if a regular asked her, even going so far as to give them a kiss on their sweaty forehead if she received some praise from them. At the terrace’s middle table, three friends always seem to be there, arriving at four and staying until the evening. One drinks tea as they sit and watch the square.

There is also a house beer, a korsó of which costs 320 forints, which is pretty good and quite refreshing when it’s warm outside. You can drink four or five before realizing what you’ve done. You can also order a “chaser combo”. Combo 2 consists of 4cl of Unicum and a korsó of house beer, which is a true classic. You can order all sorts of fröccs (wine spritzer), with the menu including the háziúr (landlord) and sóher (cheapskate) options (the latter being 1dl of wine to 9dl of soda). The wine’s not bad, lacking a little in the acid department, but with a flowery nose and taste. I can recommend it for the ladies.

Let me tell you something even better: you can order Nesquick chocolate milk for 100 forint per deciliter. Where else can you do that?

And to make our bewilderment complete, while flipping through the menu, we also found a totally unexpected option: honey-mustard shark steak. It’s completely authentic.

In other words, sitting around here is a nice way to pass some time. The kitchen prepares the old favorites, the service is relaxed and in tune with the district’s vibe. The faces you see here are far more varied than anywhere else in the city. From the first floor, we saw a gentleman surveying the scene, waiting for a familiar face to greet. He listens to the murmur, while a few people spy the tables from the bench next to the street, waiting for a table on the terrace to empty. Between noon and 2pm, they could be there for a while.

Rákóczi Restaurant Taverna

Address: 1084. Budapest, Rákóczi tér 9
Opening hours:
Mo-Fr: 10am – 9pm
Sa: 10am – 4pm
Su: 11am – 5pm

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

You may find the original article here.

Judit told me that a new restaurant opened downtown, which in reality was actually only new in terms of location, and that she was in charge of their PR. She assured me that it’s a great place, told me I should trust her and that she knows I rarely accept invitations, but that I had to see this, since no one had discovered it yet, and that these things only happen once in a lifetime, etc. So I went.

Baraka is located in Dorottya utca, in the center of downtown Budapest near Vörösmarty Square, although it’s not as if its earlier location on Andrássy Avenue left much to desire. Apparently, the interior of this new location was under development for three years, which is easy to see, for, after you pass through a pleasant bar, there is a romantic and round lounge with candlelight glowing from the fireplace, which then leads into the restaurant that serves as a perfect contrast by greeting guests with its dark colors and straight lines. The kitchen reminded me of the Apple cube. You don’t see something like this every day:

The menu is appropriately short and exciting, the cocoa ravioli and Indonesian rice embrace each other so tightly that the Atlantic cod cooked in miso and the ginger mangalica can only look on in astonishment at the impassioned romance.

The kitchen has no shortage of ideas or seafood options, which is usually quite promising.

Let’s begin with such details as the bread rolls! The restaurant is operated by a husband and wife team, who were brought together by a cake that the man prepared (so you can say that the way to a woman’s heart is also through her stomach). And despite their success, the husband continues to love baking so much that all of the baked goods available in Baraka were prepared by him, such as these fantastic rolls:

And there was the “greeting bite” that had a sensational Asian essence, despite structurally resembling a mini burger on a stick:

After this came the foie gras bonbon, vanilla-Tokaj meringue, beetroot and raspberry:

A lot of imagination went into this dish, where the cream-like liver bonbon’s perfect suppleness is balanced by the crumbled meringue into which it was rolled. The sweet wafers add to this, and once you think no more can be done with the food, the beet juice adds sweet and sour notes, just in case anyone was missing them.

My taste buds more or less felt like this as I ate:

The second appetizer I tried was the scallop, yuzu-buttermilk, tomato confit and candied egg yolk. Increasingly these days, the seafood on my plate is not prepared in a way where the spicing and preparation is the goal, but so that it would appear nothing has been done with the ingredients. The oysters and squid that arrive on my plate these days appear to be perfectly fresh, the best example of which was this dish, which seemed as if someone had just taken an oyster from the sea and placed it directly into my mouth. The garnishes only contribute to this sensation, and if you like seafood, you will love this appetizer:

This was followed by white shrimp, savoy cabbage, ginger chili and carrot. Somehow, they managed to make the shrimp taste fresher than anything I have tried in my life. This was some of the best shrimp I have ever had the pleasure to find on my plate. The garnishes added a flourish to the experience, for the carrot and the other ingredients provided such an exciting impact, that you can only eat the meal slowly, carefully and with each bite considered. This is what haute cuisine is all about.

And finally, the wonderful dessert arrived straight from the owner’s hands, which gave the evening a passion fruit-infused end. I won’t write any more about it, because I usually don’t write all that much about desserts to begin with, but do try this should you drop in:

Baraka is not cheap, and you should plan to spend 12,000 forints for a three course meal without drinks. But you would also pay the same in a simpler restaurant in Western Europe, and despite Baraka being in Budapest, that does not mean the technology or ingredients are any cheaper. The restaurant will naturally not be most people’s primary go-to restaurant when they open the refrigerator at eight in the evening and find it empty. But for special occasions, I highly recommend it.

Baraka
Dorottya utca 6
Mo-Sa: 11:30 am – 3 pm, 6 pm – 11 pm
+36-1-200-0817

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

You may find the original article here.

Two musical groups joined forces to launch an experiment that promises to be quite a night of fun for all involved. The idea behind the project was to see what would happen if an ordinary person was suddenly thrust into the role of conductor and, without any prior training, had to direct two orchestras.

More precisely: conducting two orchestras who don’t even have sheet music.

This would, as you can imagine, be awesome, cringe-inducing, or perhaps a combination of both, as guests got to see at Trafó last week. Anyone in the audience could come forward (or as a team of two) and stand on a pallet, where they would gesticulate, dance, jump around or stand still: the orchestras played in reaction to their movements.

Of course “orchestra” is not the appropriate word, for these are unusual formations: the Bélaműhely ensemble do not even possess instruments. What they do have are bicycle wheels, spokes, a garden hose, cardboard boxes and an old computer keyboard – the clacking type, which I learned can be used as a shaker. There was also a bicycle drum, a “soundburger” and a “fakutya” – something akin to a sled. These are the “instruments” with which they create a pleasant atmosphere as they follow the conductor.

The other group, Soharóza, is not comprised of professional musicians, and, as a result their performances are not something you’ll find every day either: they perform in power plants, caves or, as I myself was witness, in the Király baths.

In other words, two fairly nutty groups, but in the word’s best possible meaning.

Imagine standing before them as 40 pairs of eyes fix their attention on you to see what you would like; what’s in your mind.

The rules are simple: the conductor chooses instruments and a choir, as well as its size and composition. The conductor then indicates who is to begin singing, and they hum to them what they should do, or through gestures convey what the style should be. And then you hear it, with the roles performed frequently becoming changeable. Bélaműhely usually employs percussion instruments, but the trumpet made from a garden hose can also play melodies. The Soharóza choir can not only sing, but they can speak, shout, whisper, cluck and clap.

But there is one rule more important than the others, which the first conductor forgot to uphold. The whole evening is about not showing off. If the conductor becomes too involved with themselves, then their performance becomes all about them. If they stand in front of a lot of people and show humorous movement without any meaning, it quickly becomes forced and uncomfortable.

The second rule: there are no mistakes. You cannot express to the musicians that you are impatient or that they’re not understanding what you’re trying to get across. You need to be clear yourself, and, if for some reason, you still can’t get your message across, just accept what you’ve created.

The third rule I’ll mention myself, although they didn’t mention it during the performance: you should arrive with some sort of concept already in mind. Before you get there, you should have worked out a rhythm, melody or something, otherwise you’ll just create noise, and although the forty people concentrating before you will do their best to make something of it, it will still end up fairly primitive and unexciting.

There were many great moments during the performances, as well as some when there was not much all that spectacular. But there’s no problem with that, for the evening is about everyone (or at least ten people, due to time constraints) having a go. As for what the audience finds entertaining, that’s secondary. Communication without words is what’s going on here, without composition or a plan to make it exciting. Either you find the whole thing entertaining, or you don’t.

It’s an interesting experiment, and it’s great because it brings people closer to music, and when someone without the faintest idea of what to do stands up before them, Soharóza and Bélaműhely still manage to create something entertaining with it.

 The concert’s page on the Trafó website can be found here.

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

You may find the original article here.

We’ve already written about downtown Budapest’s newfound vibrance, as crumbling and worn firewalls are revitalized with huge murals appearing on busy squares, thereby providing a much-needed dash of color to the otherwise dirty brick walls that fill central Budapest (which some tourists actually like due to the post-apocalyptic ambiance they create).

Murals have been cropping up across the city, which is excellent news since we Hungarians have a predilection for pessimism, and a large painting can go a long way to improve our moods. The story began nearly ten years ago, but it only became popular much more recently in 2008, when the Színes Város Projekt (“Colorful City Project”) was launched, complimented in 2010 when the Neopaint Works launched its TűzfalRehab (“Firewall Rehab”) initiative, through which the firewalls in downtown Budapest were decorated. Ever since, there are more and more of these fantastic works of art to be found throughout Budapest.

The artists do their work legally, in cooperation with local governments and residents alike. This allows us Hungarians to learn the meaning of street art, and what it’s like when art goes out onto the streets, where it belongs.

The Színes Város Csoport (“Colorful City Group”) intends to follow in Victor Vasarely’s footsteps and take art to the streets, so that it becomes available to everyone. They not only create art themselves, but also launch competitions for young groups who are just starting out, allowing for more and more surfaces to be beautified via this transformation, as well as making sure that the genre will continue in the future. Színes Város decorates not only firewalls, but also erects public statues from recycled materials to make the city more livable. They installed a living wall next to their painting in Újlipótváros last fall, so that before long wild grapevines will cover the work, allowing nature to fuse with it. Színes Város enjoy making interactive works that invite passers-by to add their ideas and further develop the work, such as their interactive panel at Erzsébet Square.

You can find a collection of Színes Varos’s works here:

The name Neopaint Works has also become associated with firewalls. Their firewall rehab project, which they have undertaken in tandem with Trilak since 2010, was awarded a Summa Artium prize this year. Their main base of operations is District VII, where you’ll find most of their work, but the suburban train painting at Szentlélek Square is also theirs. The members of Neopaint prefer simple images for decorating deteriorated walls, presenting Budapest’s former face, or perhaps painting a landscape to provide a backdrop for a playground. It’s no wonder that most people adore their murals. So much so, in fact, that they’re received international orders as well, working in Germany most recently, and collaborating with the American photographer Terry Richardson at his Paris exhibition.

A gallery of Neopaint’s works can be seen here:

In other words, it’s totally worth walking around the city with open eyes to enjoy the fact that dilapidated firewalls have now been transformed into massive works of art.

And let me close with a little tip on where to find them: we’ve collected the more noteworthy works from both groups on one map to give you a hand in finding them when you go out in search of art.

(Rebeka Tamási wrote this guest article)

Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu

You may find the original article here.