Latest news & The story of a Hungarian explorer

Covid-19 related news of Hungary

Since our last blog post coronavirus related restrictions in Hungary has not changed. We might have reached the top of the second wave of the pandemic here, and they are going to decide in the next couple of days about changing the restrictions or leaving them as they are now. You can find the short summary of the valid restrictions of Hungary at the following link:

Story of a world-famous Hungarian explorer and writer

We have started sharing stories of internationally known/important Hungarian persons or things, and the following story is going to be about Gábor Molnár (1908-1980), a world-famous Hungarian explorer and writer, who wrote his works blindly after losing his sight in an accident.

Gábor Molnár was born in Óbuda (Old Buda, north from Buda now) and used to visit the Zoo of Budapest a lot already in his childhood and youth. He used to read the works of Hungarian explorers a lot, too (Lajos Bíró, Ármin Vámbéry, Sándor Kőrösi Csoma). In 1929 he read about an expedition to Brazil in the Christmas issue of a Hungarian newspaper. He couldn’t have hoped to go on a research trip on his own once, so he applied to this trip in a letter. To his great surprise and joy, because of his talents, his shooting skills and his determination, he was chosen as the third member of the expedition to increase the animal and insect collection of the Hungarian National Museum. However, after their arrival, his two companions became seriously ill, and in order to finance their healing and return home, they even had to sell the weapons and equipment of Gábor Molnár, who thus continued exploring and collecting alone without any financial support.

In Brazil he took the job of a site manager at one of the Ford Company’s rubber plantations, with the stipulation that he could set out on his own expedition at any time. From the money he received there, he equipped the following voyages of discovery and paid his companions from this wage. During the explorations he met native Indians, collected special animals, including valuable giant snakes, beetles, insects, animal skins, which he sent home to the Budapest Zoo and the National Museum. Molnár was not paid for these, he only got a diploma and other moral recognition.

On March the 7th, 1932, there was an accident that changed his life forever… In a Ford warehouse that was under his supervision a subordinate, a young boy, found an explosive package. Gábor Molnár himself wanted to remove the igniters, but on the way to the nearby river they exploded in his hands, and as a result he lost his eyesight.

Picture of one of the books about Brasil written by world-famous Hungarian explorer and traveler, Gábor Molnár

Gábor Molnár’s first full book – Adventures in the brazilian jungle

Returning from Brasil and starting writing

He came home from Brazil on May the 24th, 1932, under adventurous conditions in the company of two giant snakes. He was treated in Hungary at the state eye hospital, where his doctors confirmed that he would never see again. Here, with the help of one of the nurses, he learned to use Remington’s typewriter, which launched him into the writing career. He put his experiences, travel adventures and discoveries on paper, his first articles appeared in Budapest newspapers, and then he entered the writers’ society. Later, his twenty-six independent volumes and more than a hundred feuilletons (a part of a newspaper or magazine devoted to fiction, criticism, or light literature) and educational works were published, he acquired radio games and took part in hundreds of writer-reader meetings. From the middle of the 20th century, he became one of the most read and popular writers in the country.

In parallel with his work as a writer, he continued his adventures in the world until the end of his life, visiting Asia and South America several times, and his wife was his faithful companion and main support all the way.

(Story idea taken from HUstory’s Facebook page.)

We are looking forward for our adventures on our free tours in Budapest with you, when it will be possible to travel more freely again…!

 

 

 

Happy Holidays!

In this post we would like to wish all of you all over the world HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR! May 2021 be calmer and more organized than 2020 for all of us…

Latest Hungarian Covid-19 related news

Since our last blog post, not much has changed, please read about the latest Covid-19 related restrictions in Hungary in our previous blog article:

Traditional Hungarian Christmas and New Year’s dishes

Let us share a few sentences and pictures of what we eat around Christmas and New Year’s Eve 🙂

  • Halászlé: Fisherman’s soup – it is a hot, spicy paprika spice based fish soup. It is a folk item of Hungarian cuisine, a bright-red hot dish prepared with generous amounts of hot paprika and carp or mixed river fish. It is native to the Pannonian Plain, particularly the river Danube and river Tisza regions. It is also a popular dish among ethnic German “Donauschwaben” and their descendants, for them it is known as “Karpfensuppe”.

A bowl of Halászlé or Fisherman's soup which is a hot, spicy paprika spice based fish soup eaten traditionally at Christmas in Hungary

  • Töltött káposzta: Stuffed cabbage – big cabbage leaves filled with a meatball made of minced meat, rice and spices; cooked with a lot more cabbage (sauerkraut) and of course the Hungarian paprika spice. Add some sour cream to make it even more delicious and even more Hungarian! 🙂

Rolls of Töltött káposzta or Stuffed cabbage in English, which is a cabbage roll filled with a mixture of minced meat, rice and spices

  • Bejgli: Poppy seed/Walnut roll – it is a pastry consisting of a roll of sweet yeast bread with a dense, rich filling of poppy seed, minced walnuts or minced chestnuts. It is popular in Central Europe and parts of Eastern Europe, where it is commonly eaten at Christmas and Easter time.

A picture of our home made bejgli - a Hungarian Christmas delicacy filled with poppy seed or  minced walnuts

Our home made bejgli based on a recipe by one of our grandma’s 🙂

  • At New Year’s Eve traditionally we do not eat poultry because they say good luck flies away with them…
  • But we do eat for example: Lencsefőzelék: Lentil stew or pottage – this is a type of thick Hungarian vegetable stew or soup, similar to pottage. Főzelék is a special category in Hungarian cuisine, not quite like a soup, and thinner than a stew. We eat lentils, because according to Hungarian superstitions it makes you rich in the upcoming year.

Lentil stew or pottage - this is a type of thick Hungarian vegetable stew or soup, similar to pottage

 

Once we are back on track in 2021, you can learn even more about Hungarian cuisine and culture on our free tours! Cannot wait! 🙂

News & The joint story of the Hungarian paprika spice and a chemical engineer

Read the latest Covid-19 related news and a new story in our series about famous Hungarian people and things 🙂

Covid-19 situation in Hungary

We are still in the rising period of the 2nd wave of the pandemic. Since our last post, thins hasn’t changed much, let us summarize shortly what are the latest valid restrictions:

  • The borders of Hungary are closed at least until the 1st of February (there are only a few exceptions)
  • There is a curfew between 8pm and 5 am at least until the 11th of January
  • Restaurants can only serve take-away and home delivery orders
  • Hotels cannot accommodate guests except for business travelers or guests that are here for the purpose of economy or education
  • Gyms, pools, museums, public libraries, cinemas, zoos, ice skating rinks are closed
  • Everyone must keep wearing masks on public transportations, indoors, and outdoors on public areas, too (in cities that have more than 10.000 inhabitants) – in parks, nature and while doing sports masks do not have to be worn
  • We are still not running our daily FREE WALKING TOURS in Budapest until further notice, all gatherings are prohibited

The joint story of chemical engineer Ernő Obermayer and the world-famous Hungarian Paprika spice

Ernő Obermayer (1888-1969) was born in Somlószőlős, Hungary, and graduated in Budapest with a degree in chemical engineering. In the two centers of domestic paprika production, Kalocsa and then in Szeged,  he achieved excellent results in the breeding and development of the world-famous paprika. He managed to introduce several spicy and non-spicy or sweet varieties, 80% of the domestic spicy varieties are the result of his experiments.

The Hungarian paprika powder is well known all over the world and it is available in hot and sweet versions as well

Bust of Ernő Obermayer, a chemical-engineer that experimented with Hungarian paprika

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ernő Obermayer

 

It is interesting to mention that Albert Szent-Györgyi, the scientist who discovered Vitamin C and whose work was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1937, told in an interview what role his wife, chance and the paprika from Szeged played in his world-famous Hungarian success: “An evening my wife gave me peppers for dinner, which I didn’t feel like eating, but I didn’t have the courage to say that. Looking at the peppers it came to mind, thath I had never tried this plant for research and told my wife that I would take this to the lab the next day rather than eat it. I already knew that night that this vegetable was a treasure trove of vitamin C.”
In his laboratory at the University of Szeged, he successfully produced large amounts of vitamin C from freshly picked sweet peppers, and it turned out that peppers are the richest source of vitamins among all vegetables, it has four to five times as much Vitamin C as lemon for example.

Ernő Obermayer, our world-renowned chemical engineer and farmer, achieved internationally recognized results in the breeding of Hungarian sweet peppers, but in addition to paprika, he was also involved in the cultivation of rice, grain, soybeans, cumin, castor and cotton.

Both the Kalocsa and Szeged Spicy Pepper grists have been included in the Collection of Hungarikums. (FYI: Hungarikum is a collective term indicating a value that is worthy of distinction and highlighting within a unified system of qualification and registry. It also represents the high performance of Hungarian people thanks to its typically Hungarian attribute, uniqueness, specialty and quality 🙂 )

To commemorate him and his work, a bust of Ernő Obermayer was unveiled in Szeged (a nice and cozy city on the south of Hungary, next to our 2nd biggest river, the Tisza) and a memorial plaque was unveiled in his hometown, Somlószőlős.

Szeged is one of the biggest and coziest cities on the south of Hungary next to our second biggest river, the Tisza       Photo of the Cathedral of Szeged and inner city lying next to the second biggest river of Hungary, the Tisza

 

Once you can traveler again to Hungary, you can learn more about Hungarian inventions and discoveries on our General free tour of Budapest 🙂

(This story was based on a post of HUstory’s Facebook page)

 

Latest news + A new series of stories on our blog

In this post we would like to share the latest Covid-19 related news of Hungary and we are also starting to make a series of posts in which we always introduce you a Hungarian person/thing that is known all over the world or at least known widely in the world 🙂

Latest Covid-19 related news of Hungary

Since our last post on the 1st of December, there haven’t been many new restrictions, but what we shared in the previous post, too. The borders of Hungary remain closed until the 1st of February 2021 (there are a few exceptions only) and there is a curfew from 8pm till 5am. We are still not running our daily English and Spanish free tours in Budapest. You can read more details about restrictions in Hungary in our previous blog article.

New series of stories about famous Hungarian people and/or things

From now on, we are going to share a few stories that we hope you find interesting.

Our first story is about Louis Madarasz (1859-1910), American calligrapher of Hungarian origin, artist of calligraphy. Also, the secrets of the Coca-Cola logo … 🙂
His grandfather, László Kisfaludi Madarász, was the police minister of Lajos Kossuth, important politican in Hungarian history, in the War of Independence in 1848-49, which was fought by Hungary against the Austrian, Habsburg Empire. We were part of it since the 1680’s when Austria led a Christian army to liberate us from the Ottoman Empire. His grandfather, László Kisfaludi Madarász, initiated the dethronement of the Habsburg house. In 1850, the grandfather fled with his family to America, where he worked as a farmer until his death, living in retreat like as a hermit. He had enormous respect among the American Hungarians living in exile.
Louis Madarasz, the protagonist of our story was already born in Texas in 1859, but he always considered his Hungarian origins important, and towards the end of his life he also visited the land of his ancestors. He was captivated by calligraphy as a teenager and then his whole life was defined by the magical world of it. In the late 1870s, he enrolled at the New York University of Business, where he gained a reputation for selling artistically crafted, handwritten invitation cards and greeting cards.

A picture of Louis Madarasz, famous calligrapher who might have been the one who created the Coca Cola signiture

He is considered one of the most talented and skilled penman of all times. He ran a successful business, made cards, captions and entire albums written with his special letters. He specialized in writing on black paper with white ink. He worked faster and more accurately than anyone else, his style was unique. He taught his art, writing in “Madarász Style”, in many schools.
He was a versatile talent, he excelled in chess, and as an actor he performed in Shakespeare plays. On December 23 1910, after he had been ill for a long time, Louis Madarasz wrote his last beautiful Christmas card to his friends and clients and then rested in peace forever…
Here comes the suspected story of the Coca-Cola logo: the company’s then-accountant, Frank M. Robinson, was officially credited with “drawing” the original version, but some speculated Louis Madarasz dreamed it and put it down on paper first … if so, he took the secret with him to the grave. The following images include Luis Madarasz’s signature and the Coca-Cola logo, everyone can decide for themselves… 🙂

Picture of the signiture of Louis Madarasz, famous calligrapher, who wa probably the one who created the Coca Cola style signiture

Picture of the world famous Coca Cola signiture probably created by a Hungarian calligrapher

Latest news – December 1st 2020

Let us share the latest news with You in this blog post.

Border closure extended

Officially the latest border closure of Hungary was valid until the 30th of November, but the government decided to extend it with a couple of months, until the 1st of February. No foreign citizens can enter the country, there a few exceptions. They are going to see this week and next week if the Covid-19 related restrictions need to be tightened by Christmas. You can read the latest restrictions in our previous blog article:

Vörösmarty square Christmas market moves to the internet

The biggest annual Christmas market of Budapest, which has been chosen to be one of the best Christmas markets of Europe several times, was cancelled a couple of weeks ago due to the still rising number of Covid-19 cases in Hungary. The market has been organized for more than 20 years and annually about 800.000 people visit it. This year, they decided to make a website for craftsman and artisans that usually sell their products on the Vörösmarty square in Novembers and Decembers. This website is a page that collects the circa 50 craftsmen that participate in the program and introduce them and their products with pictures and links, so it is not exactly a web shop where you can buy their products, too. Here is the website, if you would like to have a look: https://budapestikaracsony.hu/

‘Karácsony’ is Christmas in Hungarian 🙂

Hope that You are doing well and safe! We cannot wait to guide you around our beautiful city again!

Here is how nice our Parliament building looks like in autumn from the Margaret island:

This is how beautiful the Hungarian Parliament building looks like in autumn from the nearby Margaret Island

The story of the “American Budapest”

Read the story of Budapest in the US in this blog article! 😊

At the end of the 19th century, the majority of Hungarians emigrating to the United States settled down in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Cleveland in Ohio, and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, a two-hour train ride away, competed for the title of the “Hungarian Capital of the US”. Of course, it was not a very upscale competition: the majority of Hungarian immigrants worked in the mines, steel and tobacco factories of the region for starvation wages. In Pittsburgh, the Hungarians also had a separate quarter: the locals called Hazelwood district “Little Hungary”. In the surrounding mining area of ​​Western Pennsylvania, several smaller settlements were established, which Hungarian miners called “pléz” after the English word place. Their everyday life is described well by Merle Travis’ song “16 Tons” (16 Tonna in Hungarian) so it’s no wonder many have been looking for a way forward.

A new beginning

The opportunity was given them by a southern entrepreneur named Ralph L. Spencer. Spencer dealt with a lot of things from glass production to sports organization, he loved to take risks. In the late 1880s, he remembered that the northern region of the state of Georgia would be suitable for wine production – the only problem was that none of the locals, who were mostly from the gold mining and timber trade, understood grape growing and did not feel like trying it out… Spencer was determined to recruit Hungarians and build another settlement next to a town called Tallapoosa, which he would make the centre of the winery. The Hungarian miners in Pennsylvania he contacted did not particularly understand growing grapes, but they loved wine and wanted to get out of poverty. Perhaps it also seemed convincing that huge diamonds in Spencer’s ring and tie pins proclaimed the hope of quick enrichment. A Hungarian Catholic priest named Ferenc Janisek from Pittsburgh also helped with the recruitment. Eventually, two hundred families decided that they were moving to Georgia with the entrepreneur. They set up a wine farm on two thousand acres without any experience, relying on their home memories mostly. The plan was doomed to total failure by all common sense. However, in the end, it brought unexpected success!

A plaque of the wine making Hungarian colony in Georgia in the 1800s

The local grapes were made into good – or at least drinkable 😊 – wine that could be sold outside of the state for good money. On the site of an occasional settlement created by Hungarian winemakers, a comfortable small town was soon born, with a church, post office, inn, and shops, and it was named ‘Budapest’ by its inhabitants. After a while, a small village grew out of the ground a few miles from the city – this was named Tokaj. After hearing the news of the success of the Hungarians, new settlers also arrived: Slovak immigrants, who founded their own village called Nitra in addition to Budapest. In addition to cultivating common vineyards, they also farmed on their own land, which they received for free. Some of their family names have survived: those of the Fekete, Németh, Radó, Buzády, Polyák and Visnyakszki families. The wine they produced was also shipped to New York by Spencer. The spiritual leader of the three settlements was Father Janisek, who got an imposing parish from the entrepreneur, Spencer. He had a serious job because, according to contemporary news, conflicts soon erupted between the city founders and the ever-arriving new immigrants. In addition, the Hungarians did not really want to learn English, they were speaking Hungarian amongst themselves and Spencer and the priest took care of their everyday and official things instead of them.

A setback starts…

The good world lasted for roughly twenty years: in 1907, the state of Georgia introduced an alcohol prohibition. The wine could not be sold from the area any more. The economies of Budapest, Tokaj and Nitra were doomed to death. Most of the population moved back to Pennsylvania, the rest tried to produce cotton and tobacco instead of grapes. According to a Hungarian newspaper in 1912, 87 Hungarian farmers lived in the town and tried to trade with their crops. They had a struggling life, but they still did much better than those who left and moved back. Those returning to Pennsylvania were forced to try to make a living as a miner again. Not long after this, the victims of the greatest mining misfortune in the United States were amongst them.

On December 19, 1910, 240 people were working in a coal mine near the town of Van Meter, Pennsylvania, when the mine exploded and buried the miners under itself. 239 people died in the blast, including 131 Hungarian miners. Even in the 1980s, human bones emerged from the depths of the earth.

A plaque remembering the victims of the mine disaster in 1910 near the town of Van Meter, Pennsylvania

Without the flourishing vineyards, Budapest would not have remained an attractive settlement. The first settlers, who stayed there, struggled throughout their whole lives, but their children tried their luck elsewhere – probably in Detroit’s auto factories… The last Hungarian of the American Budapest died in 1964. From then on, Hungarian names can only be read on the graves of their small cemetery. The cemetery would also have disappeared, but a Georgian NGO renovated the headstones in 2008 and erected a plaque in memory of the Hungarians who once lived here. The road in front of the cemetery has been called ‘Budapest Cemetery Road’.

A Hungarian cemetery of the immigrants in Georgia, US

Remembrance of the Hungarian immigrants of Georgia in the 1800s

Residents of nearby Tallapoosa sometimes organize Hungarian gastronomic days in memory of their lost neighbours. Their favorite dish is the „silvasgomboc” (original Hungarian spelling: szilvásgombóc) which is a dumpling rolled in breadcrumbs filled with plum, a beloved dessert of Hungarians nowadays as well 😊

Szilvásgombóc is a dumpling rolled in breadcrumbs filled with plum and it is a beloved dessert of Hungarians

(The story was written by Krisztián Nyáry, writer & litterateur, in Hungarian)

Hungary tightens Covid-19 restrictions

As we are still in the rising period of the second wave of the pandemic, the Hungarian government decided to tighten Covid-19 related restrictions in our country. Let’s see the details.

Latest Covid-19 restrictions in Hungary valid from 11th November

These are the new restrictions for the next 30 days until the 11th of December after which they can be extended:

  • there is a curfew between 8 pm – 5 am
  • all gatherings are prohibited
  • restaurants can only serve takeaway orders and deliver food to people’s homes (factory canteens can remain open)
  • shops (except for gas stations and pharmacies) can be open only until 7 pm, since everyone must be home by 8 pm – shops can open at 5 am the earliest, since that is the end of the curfew in the morning
  • hotels and accommodations cannot have guests except for business travelers or guests that are here for the purpose of economy or education
  • all events are banned including cultural events and Christmas markets as well – religious ceremonies can be held, religious communities can decide on their own about these ceremonies, but they have to keep safe health rules
  • sport events must be held without audience “behind closed doors”
  • people can practice individual sports outdoors, especially those sportsmen that compete cannot be limited in practicing
  • gyms, pools, museums, public libraries, cinemas, zoos, ice skating rinks must be closed
  • daycares, kindergartens, primary schools can remain open for now, special safety measures can be determined by the school principals – secondary schools, universities have to apply digital education, dorms must close too (only foreign students or students who are quarantined can stay in the dorms)
  • private and family events (like birthdays etc.) can be held up to 10 people
  • at funerals there can be 50 people max.
  • weddings can be held, but there cannot be a wedding reception with guests
  • workers who are employed in healthcare, schools, kindergartens, daycares, and social workers must be tested for Covid-19 every week
  • people have to keep wearing masks on public transportations, indoors, and now outdoors on public areas, too (in cities that have more than 10.000 inhabitants) – in parks and nature and while doing sports masks do not have to be worn
  • borders are still closed, there are only a few exceptions

About our daily free tours in Budapest

As we shared in our previous posts as well, our daily free walking tours are not running at the moment until further notice. We cannot accommodate group private tours either since any kind of gatherings are prohibited.

Thank you for your understanding and stay safe, Everyone!

 

Latest news – beginning of November 2020

Read about the latest Hungarian Covid-19 related news in this post.

Coronavirus news in Hungary

As we wrote in our previous blog post, in Hungary the number of Covid-19 cases are rising at a fast pace during the second wave of the pandemic, hospitals are getting full, so the government has introduced new measures in these last days:

– they have extended the border closure at least until the 1st of December 2020

– starting from this midnight (3rd November) there will be a curfew between midnight and 5am, ‘everyone must arrive home by midnight’ plus pubs and nightclubs will be closed for good

– starting from now there is special legal order in Hungary again, just like during the first wave of the pandemic. It allows the government to implement a range of emergency measures by decree.

– parking will be free in Budapest again

– it is every third seat that can be occupied at events, sporting events, in cinemas, theatres, and wearing a mask is compulsory in all cases

– they are making public transportation vehicles run more frequently during morning and afternoon rush hours

 

About our free walking tours

Please remember that we are currently still not operating our daily free walking tours in Budapest, but you can send us an inquiry at info@triptobudapest.hu about a paid private tour if you happen to be in our city as a traveler.

Stay safe everyone!

Autumn news – end of October 2020

Dear Travelers, in this post let us share the latest news about our free tours and the Covid-19 situation in Hungary shortly.

Regarding our free tours

Firstly, at the moment we are still not running our daily sightseeing free walking tours, since foreign citizens are not allowed to enter the country, unless they have a special reason. However, if you happen to be a traveler that can enter or is in Hungary, we offer paid private tours. Contact us via our website or at info@triptobudapest.hu if you are interested in more details.

General Covid news

Second, there have been some other news as well lately. The number of Covid-19 cases have been rising in the region and in our country and capital as well, and they have introduced some stricter regulations (in connection with wearing masks and fines if somebody does not wear them and such) and they have also decided to cancel the annual Christmas market on the Vörösmarty square. This christmas market have been organized every year since the 1990s and have been amongst the best christmas markets of Europe these past years. Sadly in 2020 we cannot enjoy it, fingers crossed that in 2021 the situation will be much better.

We are still in the rising period regarding the coronavirus cases, they say that the second wave will be peaking in December/January in Hungary. We hope that most of you and your families are safe and wish you a nice autumn!

Update on the current situation – 25th September 2020

As we wrote in one of our previous posts, due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Hungary, foreign citizens are not allowed to enter our country from the 1st of September for an indefinite time (there are a few exceptions and special cases).

You can read more about the latest here: www.abouthungary.hu

We run no daily free tours now, but join us for a private tour!

Unfortunately, our daily free walking tours are not running at the moment until further notice, but if you happen to be one of the exceptions that can enter the country, we are happy to organize a private tour for you! For more information and prices please send us an email to info@heedesign.hu or call us +36209605295

You can check our Facebook page as well for fresh information: https://www.facebook.com/triptobudapest.hu/

We really hope that the Covid-19 situation gets better and we can see you soon on our daily Budapest walking tours!

 

 

Stay safe!