Alternative ways of getting around in Budapest

Okay, so you know all about Budapest's public transport system, but you might want to look for alternative ways to travel for a number of reasons. Saving time, flexibility, exercise, and mobility are just a couple of the possible reasons, but it's also true that a couple of these is just plain fun. The collection here features ways to change your everyday commute, and also a few interesting options for sightseeing. Check out our guide to see if there is something that works for you!

MOL Bubi

Most big cities have some sort of a rent-a-bike system, and Budapest is no exception. Bubi is a joint operation MOL oil and gas company and BKK, the city's public transport system. You can recognize these bikes easily as they have a distinct light green color. You can find Bubi points all through the city, which are always stacked with available bikes. You don't need to return the bike to the place you've picked up, simply deposit it at the nearest Bubi point.

This service is great both for everyday use and for exploring the city. To support both uses, the system has two payment plans.

If you'd like to use the bikes to explore the city, Bubi offers 24-hour, 72-hour, and weekly tickets. You can buy these tickets from the touchscreen terminals at docking stations, on the molbubi.bkk.hu website and via the mobile application. The system blocks a safety deposit on your card (25,000 HUF), which is returned to you minus the fee after you finished using the bike. This is a great way to explore the city without having to worry about transport, since it lets you go wherever you'd like, whenever you want.

If you'd like to use Bubi regularly to get to the university or to run daily errands, you can choose a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual pass. With these passes, you can use Bubi for free for the first 30 minutes for your journey. If you'd like to bike further, you can simply dock and get a new bike, or pay a small fee. You can buy a pass at the BKK Customer Service Centres. Having a pass is great if you need a bike to get aroun, but you don't want to worry about storing it.

You can find more information about the fees here.

Donkey Republic

Another great rent-a-bike system is the Danish startup Donkey Republic. Operating in more and more cities around Europe, this is the Uber of cycling. Unlike Bubi which has its own bikes, this company lets people rent out their spare bikes for money, and simply provides the platform and mechanism to make it easier.

These bikes have a special lock, which you can unlock with your smartphone by downloading the Donkey Republic app. You can rent up to five bikes at a time, which makes this ideal if you are with a group of people. After you used your bike, you simply return it to it's original place and lock it with the app. The minimal time of rent is 2 hours.

The rates of renting a bike are different for each city. To get more info about Budapest, click here.

Greengo

Greengo is an e-carsharing system, which lets you rent electronic cars without having to pay the sometimes exorbitant fees that usually comes with renting a regular car. You can find the cars all over the city by using the application. The cars are parked in selected zones, since in these places, e-cars park for free.

In order to use this service, you have to register on the Greengo website. For this, you'll need a valid driving licence, your personal data, and a credit card. You card is charged 1000 HUF, for which you receive 30 minutes bonus driving time. After this, you'll have to go to their office to present your documents and sign a contract. After this, the system bills you by the minute. You can unlock and lock the car with the Greengo app. And when you don't need the car anymore, you only have to park it in an e-car zone for the next person to use.

Hungarian Palacsinta

Staurdays simply call for pancakes. The whole weekend is still stretching ahead of you, full os possibilities and sweet summer lazíness. In an ideal world, you've just woke up after a long night of restful sleep, and have no inclination to leave the bed just yet, so you need a recipe which is simple and does not include going to the shops.

You need palacsinta.

Everybody knows the thick American pancakes, stacked on each other, forming a tower of deliciousness.

And of course, a lot of people also know the light and airy French pancake, crepes.

The first thing, however, that you need to learn how to make in the kitchen, is the Hungarian version: palacsinta! This is somewhat similar to crepes, except for the fact that instead of being served in triangles, Hungarians usually roll it up.

You might be dazzled by the fact that the batter is very thin. Making palacsinta requires a bit of practice, but it's very easy once you've got the hang of it. And of course, you can eat all your failed attempts while you're learning the method. Just sayin'.

So here's what you'll need to make wonderfully tasty pancakes for a perfect Saturday:

This is not too difficult, right? And the greatest thing about it is that these all ingredients you usually have in your kitchen. So, in theory, you could make pancakes every day!

You'll also need something to put on your pancakes. Toppings can vary from sweet to savory, so you can think up as many combinations as you'd like. The traditional favorites are, however: sweet cottage cheese, known as túró, jam, and chocolate. These provide a good start for any beginner, and later you can experiment with spinach and mushroom, onion and bacon, or basically anything you can dream of. but first of all, let's see what you need to do with the batter.

Note: a pancake pan is basically a thin pan that makes it easier to flip pancakes. If you think you'll be a palacsinta connoisseur, you can get one in most stores, otherwise, a regular pan will do just fine.

  1. Combine all ingredients, except for sparkling water.
  2. Pour in sparkling water, do not let it go still.
  3. Preheat pancake pan, and heat some oil on it. Take the smallest ladle you have, and pour batter into the pan.
  4. Move the pan quickly in circles so the batter covers it evely in a thin layer.
  5. Once the batter is not sticking to the pan, flip it. You can either do this by tossing it in the air, or by using a spatula.

And voilá, you've got palacsinta! Roll up those bad boys with your favorite filling and enjoy!

Music Festivals

If you are already in the country, or you’ll be arriving early enough for the autumn semester, you'll have plenty of things to do in the summer. When the heat is soaring, most Hungarians pack up, d chill near lakes and rivers, so you’ll soon realize that everybody is either going to, or coming from Balaton or Velencei tó. Other people, however, seem to be immune to the heat and spend their time rocking out at music festivals. Hungary has a shocking number of music festivals relative to its size, each with its own theme and special atmosphere. It’s tempting to go to all of them! Here’s a list of the festivals sorted according to date to make choosing one easier:

June 7 - 11. Harley-Davidson Open Road Fest - Alsóörs

Alsóörs is one of the most popular holiday destinations on the northern shore of Lake Balaton, and you can’t find a better place to kick off the festival season. Join the ranks of thousands of riders and take part int the biggest biker event of the year! The Open Road Fest features a colorful palette of Hungarian rock and an unforgettable parade. Freedom, bikes, parties, rock music, beer… this is the Harley experience!

http://www.openroadfest.hu/en/

June 20 - 25. Fishing On Orfű

Fishing on Orfű id the biggest alter/indie music festival in Hungary, bringing together everybody that counts. This year, it lasts five days, with a special 50th birthday party for famous Hungarian musician András Lovasi. A fun fact about the festival: although they do a lot of street food like most festivals, they also bring in more than 20 local restaurants, so you can experience regional food without leaving the festival area!

http://fishingonorfu.hu/index.php/program/zenei

June 21 - 25. Ukk&Roll Rock and Biker Weekend

This is Megyer Camp festival, which had to move a bit since the last time. It’s near Ukk, a small village, and is a relative newcomer on the Hungarian rock scene. If you enjoy very low prices for your pass and beer, rock music, and bikers, this is the place for you.

http://www.ukkandroll.hu/

June 27 - July 01. VOLT Festival - Sopron

VOLT festival is 25 years old this year! Besides Sziget, this the most popular festival hosted in the country, since it features pop, rock, electronic, blues, jazz, and world music. It’s impossible to get bored here! The festival opens with Linkin Park this year, and will deliver the usual exceptional organization and very friendly locals.

http://voltfestival.com/

July 11 - 16. AlteRába Festival - Körmend

AlteRába is a very wallet and family friendly festival, which celebrates its 8th birthday in 2017. Since its more on the smallish side, it mostly has Hungarian visitors and bands – it’s not called the Country’s Biggest Garden Party for nothing!

http://www.alterabafesztival.hu/alteraba/dear

July 11 - 16. Rockmaraton Festival - Dunaújváros, Szalki island

Sepultura, Obituary, Moonspell, TYR, Xandria, a lot of Hungarian rock and the best the metal scene has to offer: this Rockmaraton, the longest rock festival! The festival area is on Szalki island, next to Dunaújváros. Rockmaraton is a real love affair with the genre – and a surprisingly cheap one.

http://www.rockmaraton.hu/en

July 11 - 17. EFOTT, Velence

So are you looking for a water festival which is a bit nearer than Lake Balaton? Try EFOTT by Lake Velencei, a mere 20 minutes from Budapest. EFOTT feels like a summer break rather than a festival. During the day, you can enjoy the beach, and have the best parties of your life at night!

http://efott.hu/en/

July 19 - 23. Campus Festival - Debrecen, Nagyerdő

In case you’ve never visited Eastern Hungary before, Campus Festival is a great reason to do so. The festival takes place near the university grounds, and has everything you need for a fun few days, including great music, a gastro and wine village, and lots of theater! Deebrecen has a rich history and a unique atmosphere – a must see!

http://www.campusfesztival.hu/?lang=en

July 25 - július 30. East Fest, Mezőtúr

And is you are in Debrecen, you might as well hop over to Mezőtúr and try East Fest. This is a pretty new festival, which pairs affordable entertainment with beautiful scenery. You’ll never forget your five days here!

http://eastfest.hu/

August 2 - 5. FEZEN - Székesfehérvár, MÁV-pálya

So, American football is not really big in Hungary. Not yet, anyway. But we do have a pretty cool football field in Székesfehérvár, next to the train station. Since the city is only 38 minutes away from Budapest by train, this is one of the most accessible festivals in the country. Fezen grew out of a small alt-rock concert venue, and become one of the biggest festivals, delivering a pretty serious lineup this year. 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the festival, so this is gonna be a big one – we’ll definitely be there, along with Alice Cooper, Saxon, Blind Guardian, The Offspring, Ignite, and Therion!

http://www.fezen.hu/index.php?lang=en

August 3 - 6. Körös-toroki Days - Csongrád

This a bit different from the other music festivals, because it’s not only aimed at young people, rather, it tries to please the whole family. Körös-toroki Days has art workshops, cultural programs, and lectures on health care, so you can learn a lot besides going to concerts and relaxing on the beach.

http://www.ktncsongrad.hu/

August 9 - 16. Sziget Festival - Budapest

The now the 25 years old Sziget Festival is probably the most well-known festival in Hungary. It usually lasts a whole week, and brings together the youth of Europe with the most famous musicians to live together for a blissful few days on the Island of Freedom. Anyone who is living or has once lived in Hungary has a Sziget story, and you’ll soon know why if you go out to Hajógyári sziget. The huge festival area and the international community will make sure that you’ll never have two similar days on Sziget! One of the big advantages of this festival is that despite being a bit pricey compared to other festivals, you have top-of-the-line organization, the best performers, and music for all tastes. What is more, because of the great location, you don’t have to camp out is you don’t like tents. You can simply go home to your own bed in the morning!

http://en.szigetfestival.com/

Augusztus 23 - 27. Zorall Sörolimpia - Alsóörs

Beer Olympics? Yes, 2017 sees  Zorall Sörolimpia in a new location. This time, the festival moves to Alsóörs, on the Northern shore of Lake Balaton – the perfect place to enjoy the water and chill with a cold beer. Attracting mostly rock enthusiasts, Zorall has been well-known for offering a lot of active programs during the 4 days, like motorcycle tours, cycling, football, and a ton of concerts. This year, you can see Zorall, Ossian, Lord, Kárpátia, Depresszió, Road, Aurora, Rómeó Vérzik, Junkies, Sing Sing, Moby Dick, Pokolgép, Leander Kills, Ganxsta Zolee és a Kartel, Cool Head Clan and many others! This is truly the perfect place to get to know Hungarian rock.

https://www.facebook.com/ZorallSorolimpia/

August 23 - 26. Strandfesztivál - Zamárdi

Strand Festival is another favorite with people who like Balaton. Zamárdi is located only a few kilometers away from Siófok, the party town of the lake. Strand is Hungarian for ’beach’,  and refers to the fact that the festival uses the long stretch of Zamárdi shoreline to create the ultima beach party. The stages are only a few meter away from the water, so you can rock out on an inflatable mattress!

http://www.strandfesztival.com/

August 23 - 26. SZIN Festival - Szeged, Újszegedi Partfürdő

SZIN, or Szeged Youth Days is one of the oldest and most prestigious summer music festivals in Hungary. If you’ve never been to Szeged, this is the best time to visit – the festival takes place along the shores of Tisza, and you can visit the beautiful city during the day. Since it is in the southern part of the country, Szeged is always sunny and warm – it’s like a small Mediterranian holiday!

http://szin.org/