I'm caressing the idea of traveling the hungarian countryside for a week, starting and ending in Budapes to meet some fellas.I'm getting some idea of potential bits of itinarery (gyor-sopron, Székesfehérvár-lake balaton-pecs, Kecskemét-Szeged, Visegrad-esztergom, Hajdúszoboszló-Debrecen), but I'm wondering:-How well connected are hungarians cities with bus and trains?-How cyclable is the Hungarian countryside? Would a week of cycling from city to city be possible? Best direction to take from Budapest?-Is it easy to come back to budapest in a train with the bike at the end, since I'd probably end up quite far?-Any place that's both cool to see and reachable with either public transport or bicycle?
Oh, and also>How safe is a bike with a basic lock in Hungary?
Hungary is Budapest heavy. There is enough for many days in Budapest, and the others are kind of one off sights.I think you might be disappointed if you bike all the way for a couple of buildings.Check the cities you really want, that list is too long imo.I don't remember bike trains.
>>2893382The idea is to use a week alone before joining up with people in Budapest.There must be areas of Hungary that are just nice and pleasant to travel through, with the satisfaction, after a few hours, of reaching someplace nice, and repeat the process 5-6 times?
>>2893061bruh u think ur in dc?
>>2893055>How well connected are hungarians cities with bus and trains?there is a direct train and bus service between all major towns and cities in the country, while smaller settlements can be reached via connectionscheck the below link for specifics: https://jegy.mav.hu/?lang=en>How cyclable is the Hungarian countryside? Would a week of cycling from city to city be possible? Best direction to take from Budapest?the Hungarian countryside is generally bike-friendly. major cycling hubs are the area around Lake Balaton, Lake Tisza and the Danube Bend. you can also take the Eurovelo 6 cycling route running along the Danube straight down to Croatia if that's something that tickles your fancy>Is it easy to come back to budapest in a train with the bike at the end, since I'd probably end up quite far?it shouldn't be a problem - just make sure to buy an additional bicycle ticket>Any place that's both cool to see and reachable with either public transport or bicycleI'd say Lake Tisza is one of those hidden gems that you should definitely check out - there's a bike-friendly train service running between Budapest-Keleti and Debrecen all throughout the summer. my advice is to get off at Tiszafüred, enjoy the world-class bike infrastructure around the lake, have a dip here and there (with a nice lángos and a wine spritzer thrown in, preferably), and either go back to Budapest or continue on your journey the Danube Bend is another good biking spot, Vác, Nagymaros, Zebegény are some of the more scenic stops along the route - and it's so close to Budapest you really can't go wrong with this one.
>>2897164Thanks, I'm heading for>Day 1:Budapest-Szentendre-Visegrad>Day 2:Visegrad-Esztergom>Day 3Esztergom-Komárom/Komárno>Day 4 Komárom-GyorAnd then on day 5 I enjoy Gyor before taking a train to Budapest.Going to Pecs was attractive, but I've been under the impression that the waypoints are less interesting, and the heat may be harsh for biking.
>>2893055Bring a bathing suit, the thermal baths are the best part of Budapest
I'd cancel that whole itinerary and do Poland or Czech instead.
>>2898227Very solid plan, the Danube Bend area is very cultured and beautiful.>Going to Pecs was attractive, but I've been under the impression that the waypoints are less interesting, and the heat may be harsh for biking.Definitely go for Pécs next time if you like the country, it's in the top 3 cities along with Budapest and Szeged.
>>2898537Flip flops also mandatory in the baths, so bring those too.
>>2898227I'd recommend cycling on the Slovak side of the Danube from Esztergom to Komarom, or all the way to Gyor even. The Hungarian side is more densily populated and the bike trail almost exclusively follows the busy main road along the river. The Slovak side is a lot more chill and comfy and significant stretches of the bike trail there avoid vehicular traffic altogether. Make sure to try Kofola.
>>2900489>Pécs Are the baths outside of the city more like public pools and not 100% mineral spring water like in some of the Budapest baths???And more importantly, are they filled with hot babes ?
>>2900577I'm going to follow the eurovelo 6, so I was already going to be on the north bank up to Esztergom. Is there some way to cross the Danube shortly before Gyor?>>2900525So, uh, how stringent are they on the flip flops? Can it be a pair I use outside as well, or should it be dedicated to the bath?
>>2900605>Is there some way to cross the Danube shortly before Gyor?Nope. You gotta cross at Komarom or Medvedov. Medvedov is like a 15km detour compared to entering Hungary at Komarom but you'll get to stick to the Slovak side of the Danube that way, which is worth it in my opinion. It's way more scenic and relaxed. Make sure to try Kofola when you're in Slovakia.
>>2900630Ah fuck, I finally settled on making 3 big biking days (Budapest-Esztergom, Esztergom-Gyor, Gyor-Bratislava) with a day of rest between each, adding 10km to a nearly 100km ride is going to be painful.But hey, for the kofola, i'll do it
>>2900587>Are the baths outside of the city more like public pools and not 100% mineral spring water like in some of the Budapest baths???Almost all baths in Hungary are 100% mineral spring water, we have more than we know what to do with. Harkány is the most famous near Pécs, I'd check that out, although you will probably find more grannies there than hot babes. If you want to find chicks, Pécs itself is one of the best places to look. It's an university town, so full of hot, young babes, and there's actual nightlife there, unlike most other cities of comparable size. Be warned, it is very much an "alternative" scene, so expect to see a lot of altgirls and weirdos all over the place.
>>2900630>Make sure to try Kofola when you're in Slovakia.Kofola sucks fucking ass, if you want to get the actual best commie Coca-Cola substitute, try some Cockta in one of the ex-Yugoslav countries.
>>2893055>(gyor-sopron, Székesfehérvár-lake balaton-pecs, Kecskemét-Szeged, Visegrad-esztergom, Hajdúszoboszló-Debrecen)very good, include Veszprém on the way Székesfehérvár-Balaton round, the old inner city beautiful. also include Eger on the north. im not sure Hajdúszoboszló worths a visit.>How well connected are hungarians cities with bus and trains?excellently, but dont expect modern vehiches and sharp schedules.>How cyclable is the Hungarian countryside?we have great cycling routes but you have to find some specific maps for them. i surely know the lakes Balaton and Velencei can be cycled around.
>>2901407>try some Cockta in one of the ex-Yugoslav countries.I have, and it's an interesting flavor profile. But it's not even remotely close to being as good as Kofola. To be fair, you'd have to be a huge faggot to enjoy a drink called COCKta.
Partial report from the middle of my trip: Fuck the királydinnye. 5 minutes after landing in Budapest a single, 2 meter long ride in a patch of herbs leaves me with 40+ punctures in my tires. What the fuck, Hungary ?The road to Vac was alright, but often lackluster in signaling (but not the worst offending part).Vac is fucking dead after 20h00. No way to find anything to eat.The road to nagymaros was nice. The café in nagymaros too, and the waitress was cute.Visegrad was alright, but set a precedent that keeps getting confirmed: Hungarian museums are lackluster. They're usually nice, but there often isn't a lot to them. Fuck climbing to the castle.The road from nagymaros to esztegrom was alright/good in Hungary (but starting to have long strides without shade), but as soon as it cross into Slovakia, it turns to dogshit: riding on a dangerous road, then on concrete slabs that dont fit tightly to one another. The 3 km of good track at the end, toward sturovo, don't redeem the rest. Esztergom is really comfy and steep, but again, museums are meh. The Christian one is only interesting for it's limited modern collection (and jew you 50% of the price for the right to take pictures), the basilica is cool (and jew you fees for every parts you can visit, and don't even allow photos in the most interesting one), the castle is almost empty.The road komarno starts really fucking bad, because of course Slovakia has to punch you in the dick, but then becomes very good for a very long time (but is probably burning hot if not done at 7 in the morning). The road from komarom to gyor has some shade , but not nearly enough during the day.So far, gyor seems less comfy than esztergom, but with more food options.One very disappointing thing has been prices, tho. I expected something much cheaper than western Europe, but it's barely a bit below, and sometimes even more expensive. Good for Hungarians, I guess, because it hints at a fast rise in income, bad for my cheap ass.
>>2903220Sounds like you're having a bad time, kek.>Good for Hungarians, I guess, because it hints at a fast rise in income, bad for my cheap ass.Nah. Purchasing power in Hungary is really poor. Orban's reign was a period of poor governance. Wages have been stagnant for years. Rural Hungary is in a state of decay. Fucking Romania has a higher GPD per capita than Hungary now, there's a lot more development going on everywhere and even the roads are way better these days. Would have been unthinkable twenty years ago.
>>2900605Flip flops at the main bath in budapest are mandatory, although you can rent them there for 5€.
>>2903226>Sounds like you're having a bad time, kek.I'm just focusing on the negative because I'm a whiny bitch. It's still nice to ride through the countryside, even the seemingly middle class houses I see look nice, peoples are overall rather nice (drivers especially. What the fuck is wrong with them, there is a white line and a stop sign for me, they have priority, and they still stop to let me pass. It's unnerving), and the places to visit, even if the collection and exhibitions are nothing exceptional, are still nice. >Purchasing power in Hungary is really poor. Orban's reign was a period of poor governance. Wages have been stagnant for years. Rural Hungary is in a state of decay.Damn, you're right, I just checked GDP growth and inflation, and my guide dates back to 2021. It explains why every restaurant where I believe I can get a meal for 2000-4000 turns out to be 4000-8000.
>>2903220>Good for Hungarians, I guess, because it hints at a fast rise in incomeoh you sweet summer childI've been visiting Hungary for the past 10 years (Budapest mostly) and the supermarket prices have always been the same if not higher than in Germany. Cafes used to be cheap, then the hipster coffee culture hit and now you're basically paying the same as in the rest of europe for a cup of coffee. Salaries are not really catching up at all, sadly. According to Numbeo:>Local Purchasing Power in Berlin is 39.0% higher than in Budapest
>>2903226>Romania has a higher GPD per capita than Hungary now, there's a lot more development going on everywhere and even the roads are way better these days. Would have been unthinkable twenty years ago.This is a common myth that get repeated but it is not true. Latest average salary in Hungary is 2100 Euro pre-tax and 1470 Euro net, in Romania it is 1800 Euro pre-tax and 1080 Euro net. And even the massive increases there were pushed by the public sector, as a result they are running giant deficits and inflation was still two digit in June while in Hungary it was 1.7%. Romania also has the second worst labor participation rate in the Union, just above Italy with 63% last year while in Hungary it is 75%, they have hundreds of thousands of people missing. No matter what macro data you look it is lagging behind the typical V4 countries.The worst part is that the giant deficits did not really move the infrastructure forward. The rail system is a disaster there, not even Bucharest has commuter rail service, they run less trains a day than Hungary (3000 vs 1400-1500 daily average) with less than half the passenger numbers despite having twice the population. And the quality of service is so bad there they run those vehicles with broken windows. There are a lot of used rolling stock there from Western countries, typically Germany and they don't even bother to remove the German rail map from the trains or repaint the thing, you can see the Deutsche Bahn logo crossed out on the front of the trains after years in service, its almost comical how bad the whole thing is. The highway network is very incomplete and the constructions keep getting delayed forever, probably a mixture of incompetence and corruption. Overall the country still looks a lot more rough and infrastructure is definitely in a worse state. The roads in the cities are in better shape in many cases, I give you that. Hungary probably has the worst roads in cities at this point, genuinely war-zone tier.
>>2903400As for economic development, the new government hopefully will have less corruption and work in a more technocratic fashion but in my opinion the sad reality is that Hungary misses like 200 years of protestant culture to ever become a developed country. I just dont see it happening, hopefully at least the country will chug along without large scandals and third world corruption like under the previous administration.
>>2903400Pretty sure Romania is slightly ahead in terms of GDP per capita by PPP.I don't know about the railway network or the highways but the road network in rural areas has massively improved over the last ten years, while the roads in rural Hungary have been in a state of decay since forever. I'm sure not everything is all fine and dandy in Romania but I've been to the country a few times since 2014, and the progress is staggering and immediately obvious IMO, particularly compared to stagnating Hungary or neighboring Bulgaria. Transylvania looks nicer and wealthier than a lot of places in Hungary. There's also way fewer strays now lol, which is probably also a good indicator of development. I travel the region a lot and I see clear improvements in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania. Hungary feels pretty much the same compared to ten years ago.>the sad reality is that Hungary misses like 200 years of protestant cultureThe other V4 countries don't have much of a Protestant heritage (you could argue Czechia I guess) and they're doing pretty well. The Polish century is just around the corner.
Man, fuck inflation >2021 guide mark the gyor museum at 800 forint>It's 5000 when I'm there Maybe I'm just jaded because French museums are goated.Also, I'm sorry Hungary, but you're doing shawarma/doner/kebab wrong. It should not be two cute girls preparing the food, but a bulky black man calling you "boss".Also why do you like grilled camembert so much? it's good, sure, but it's pungent, I feel like a swede going abroad and finding locals eating surstromong.Your lemonades are great tho.I'm a bit annoyed by restaurants nickel -and-diming me, charging 100 ft for the water of my tea or some shit like that.Also, would you recommend gypsy Steak? None of the waiters could explain what it was, and, y'know, I don't like these stealing fucks, but that seems a bit excessive.
>>2903414Honestly Im generally skeptical with these purchasing parity calculations as at most they can convert local prices to the local purchasing power but cannot measure the quality of service and goods provided. So it is somewhat dishonest to say for example, trains in Romania are much cheaper than in Switzerland even after PPP conversation because the difference between the quality of service provided is so large that the comparison loses its meaning. It is a bit of an exaggerated example but you get the point. I also do not really like when Hungary gets bumped up because of the PP adjustments as there is a massive gap in overall infrastructure quality between Hungary and the Western countries on average.>road network in rural areas has massively improved over the last ten years, while the roads in rural Hungary have been in a state of decay since forever. Yeah there is no excuse for the rural and city roads in Hungary, I agree that is unacceptable. But we mostly focused on building highways and the network is relatively close to being complete. M200 should definitely be bult, that is missing, also M4 extension to the border. M0 North would be extremely important if not for the environmental concerns and later adding extra lanes on the busiest ones but other than these the network is largely done. Romania is extremely far still, they are around 50% complete at most to having an acceptable highway network. And the highways finally get maintained here so unlike 10 years ago, pavement quality is great in my experience unlike on other types of roads. As far as how developed a country is generally, one aspect is the salaries and the labor markets, other than there are roads, railways, housing conditions, healthcare, education and general tidiness of places for the lack of better world. I dont think Romania is doing better at any of these on a country scale at the moment.
>>2894836Hungary (esp. the countryside) is ground zero for gypsies in Yuropistan. Investing in a decent bike lock is prudent there
>>2903414>The other V4 countries don't have much of a Protestant heritage (you could argue Czechia I guess) and they're doing pretty well.The last time Hungary was at peer or in a better state than modern day Czechia was during the Hussite wars that ravaged Bohemia at the time when Hungary had its Renaissance under Matthias Corvinus. We got crushed by the Ottomans and never really recovered up after that. There was a massive top-down urbanization process with Budapest during the Dual monarchy but the country has collapsed and lost WW1 before this could have been extended to the countryside cities in a similar fashion. There were partial success stories like Pécs and Győr but urbanization rate lagged behind severely still. Meanwhile, Bohemia became one of the most industrialized parts of the continent, it was basically a Germany with a different name.WW2 was a convenient excuse for the German expulsion thus modern day Czechia was born. There is a common myth on the internet that in the early 90s Hungary was as developed as Czechia but this was never true, by the early 90s Hungary has not been as developed as Czechia for hundreds of years. Slovakia has not been doing well ever since they adapted the Euro. Im not exactly sure how connected the stagnation is to that, PPP even puts it a bit below us a tiny bit but overall they are similar in terms of development.Poland has developed a lot, arguably the most since the early 90s but the Polish success story narrative is just the result of a massive internet spam imo. They are able to do much more grand infrastructure projects as they are by far the largest East Euro country, they are also less corrupt. But average latest salary there seems to be 2200 Euro which is like 100 Euro more than here. Maybe higher in real life but it is nothing like a East-West divide. There is just a massive propaganda about how Poland is going to overtake x Western country on the internet but it is laughable imo.
>>2903422I've seen the progress Poland has made, clean cities, decent infrastructure, fancy upscale shops. I've met a bunch of Poles who work in the UK and they're all planning on moving back to Poland because the sacrifice of living in the UK away from family and all that is just not worth it anymore. I don't think any other easter euro country is able to lure back its emigrated population.Hungary doesn't seem to be moving as fast as Poland or Czechia. I see a lot of work done around the Castle District in Budapest and it does look great, but I'm afraid the rest of the city hasn't changed much.
>>2903416>It should not be two cute girls preparing the food, but a bulky black man calling you "boss".The "boss man" kebab stereotype does not really apply to Hungary as there are very few Turks here. Even the Turkish restaurants if not run by locals are usually run by people from Afghanistan or other Middle Eastern countries. >Also why do you like grilled camembert You mean the fried Cheese? From what I've heard it is mostly a Czech thing in a sense that they really love that thing there. Here it is popular still but not something that would be associated with local food at all. But it is rarely made out of camembert so maybe Im not sure what you are talking about.>gypsy Steakkek, I had no idea this translation exists. Google "Cigánypecsenye" It is thick-ish sliced pork usually marinated in spices before grilling topped with bacon and fries as a side dish. Cant really go wrong with it
>>2903425>I've seen the progress Poland has madeYes I agree they have made a lot of improvement and I would not want to take that away from them. But the general average cityscape in Poland is still very much East-European and very far from the tidies places like Holland or Denmark, which is hard to change since urban development generally takes several decades and many cities in Poland got bombed and had to get rebuilt after the war. But I agree that they made a lot of improvements, the streets seem clean and also a lot of improvement with the renovation of facades, something Hungary really lags behind with. But if you look at average square meter for example, they are still lagging behind and with the recent trends this gap might even shrink or stagnate as they have never caught up but the real estate market is already milking people with the tiny studios and the prices are absolutely brutal. This is not something that is unique to Poland but shows that this region often adapts the negative aspects of the West without the positives. Then you have things like average age of people moving out, which is generally in the early 20s in the West while Poland is among the highest nearing 30. Household saving rate is also among the lowest in Poland last time I checked on Eurostat, even went negative while in Czechia (and also, Hungary and Germany) it is among the highest. The thing is there are countless of these macro stats so it is good to be cautious without getting on a hype wagon imo. I think so many things that define how developed a country is take a really long time and the Western countries are on a very different level still>moving backYes but because they have a giant diaspora in a lot of countries. Even in the UK alone there are around 700k Polish people. They had giant emigration waves that is why they can move back in the first place. Czechia had very little in comparison so they dont need to move back
>>2903429Another thing with immigration is that 20-50% of the people who immigrate to a foreign country return within 5 years. This is a general trend that applies to all "developed" countries. Many people hit a severe integration wall, dont want to learn the language, cannot find a long term relationship or its very difficult, initial excitement wears off, etc. etc. People moving back is not something that is unique to Poland, there are always people returning from abroad at any given year. Return migration outweighing emigration might be unique to Poland now but that does not mean there are no people leaving. And the thing with the emigration is not just Eastern European countries closing the gap somewhat in terms of salaries but real estate becoming really expensive too. 20-30 years ago an Eastern European could go abroad and save enough in 5-10 years to build a large house. It is a lot harder to do that now so might as well live at home anyway
>>2903427>The "boss man" kebab stereotype does not really apply to Hungary as there are very few Turks here.No, no, you need a BIG NIGGER. They make better kebabs.>You mean the fried Cheese?Nope, a camembert that is grilled. It's a somewhat popular antipasti in France, but I didn't expect to see it in multiple restaurants here.>Cant really go wrong with itYeah I'll try that next time.
Kofola was nice, but out of 5 people tasting it, nobody could agree on what it tasted like.The gypsy Steak I tried was a bit dry and chewy, I'm a bit disappointed.Got farted on by an old insane woman in the Budapest tram, 2/10 didn't tip.
Thanks for all the advices. I regret not having another kremes before leaving Hungary, that shit was dope.Hope you niggas manage to keep renovating Budapest facades, these are cool.You really need to improve your museum game, or lower the prices. They're all disapointing, and some are way too expensive for what they offer.Would be nice to not be nickel & dimed everywhere. Service fees, tipping requests, bottle/can return fee that isn't included in the listed price, I even had a pizza restaurant charge me ~1€ for the cardboard box (and I'm sure that they'd have charged me about the same if I sat on a table for service). In fact you also should move to the Euro, but looking at opinion polls, you already agree.Anyway, hope your country gets better, sad I didn't get to see more of it.
>>2905574>improve your museum gameI thought the Hungarian National Gallery (the art museum up on the Castle District) was pretty good, lots of good art, but yes, it costs the same as a ticket to the Prado in Madrid, which is a completely unfair comparison.
>>2893055I’m Hungarian.Have you ever been to North Dakota or Kansas?Imagine somewhere like that, but with a cool Harry Potter, hogwartz style downtown capital city.And everything outside that downtown looks like a poor, Soviet nightmare .
>>2903421Everyone in Poland had their bikes locked up with a freaking iron bar too. High trust society my ass. Yeah the violent crime is very low in Eastern Europe, but you can't trust people not to steal even in the small rural towns.
>>2908269>Everyone in Poland had their bikes locked up with a freaking iron bar tooDenmark is about as high-trust as you can get imho, and they still lock up their bikes like crazy. Most of the bike thieves are poles and romanians and other newly-arrived, so yeah, I guess you can have high-trust societies that are slowly being invaded by criminal foreigners. Huh.
