Coronavirus news of Hungary

Since our last blog article about the Covid-19 situation in Hungary ( see it on the following link: https://www.triptobudapest.hu/latest-covid-19-related-news/

there has been a couple of things happening.

• We reached a “special” number again: there are about 3.25 million Hungarian people that got at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccination
• The government said, when there are 3,5 million people vaccinated in Hungary, there can be slight changes to our Covid-19 restrictions, like open air terraces of restaurants and cafés can reopen after a long closure. This will probably happen next week.
• On the 19th of April 2021 kindergartens and schools will be reopened, but only for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders; 5th, 6th and 7th graders and high school students stay with digital/online education at home (the plan is that they will return to school only on the 10th of May)
• Border closure, 10pm-5am curfew remains, we still have to wear masks everywhere and are required to keep distance from others.

We still do not run our daily Free Budapest Walking Tours in the capital, unfortunately. We will keep you updated about the Covid-19 situation here on our blog, website and Facebook page as well: Free Budapest Walking Tours Facebook Page

The 2nd spring of the pandemic is here…

2021 marks the 2nd year of the Covid-19 pandemic… However, life is going on, nature is getting awake and another spring has arrived to Budapest, and to the Buda Castle District, to the Árpád Tóth Promenade: its cherry trees are beautiful just like every spring! Wish we could be showing them to you live on our daily free walking tours in Budapest that also visit one of the most popular (tourist) spots in the whole city, the Buda Castle Area which is also part of the UNESCO world heritage sights, built in the 12 hundreds.

Here is a digital teaser:

 

 

 

 

 

The Easter Holidays

Easter (or also called Pascha in Aramaic, Greek and Latin) is a Christian festival and holiday which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is described in the New Testament of the holy Bible, it occurred on the third day after Christ’s burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary. It is the highest point, the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, and it is preceded by Lent which is a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penitence.

Hungary took the Roman Catholic religion around the year 1000 and it is still the main religion in our country. About two thirds of the 10 million Hungarian people are Roman Catholic officially, so Easter is one of the  biggest (religious) holidays here.

Easter Traditions and dishes in Hungary

Two of the most important traditions are the following:

1. Girls and women make gorgeous hand-painted, colorful Easter eggs that they give to boys and men
2. On Easter Monday boys and men water or besprinkle women with buckets of fresh water, or nowadays especially in bigger cities with perfume, so that girls and women do not wilt

Picture from atempo. sk

Now, let’s see what Hungarians eat during the Easter Holidays!

• Cooked Easter Ham with boiled Eggs and Horseradish cream

Picture from mindmegette. hu

• Kalács: is a sweet kind of bread (very similar to brioche) which is usually baked in a braided form, and we eat it at other times of the year, too, but traditionally it is considered an Easter food. Nowadays kalács is made from dough and is enriched with milk and eggs.

Picture from streetkitchen. hu

Covid-19 related news of Hungary

As we have shared in our previous blog posts, Hungary is still bearing the weight of the third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. Many restrictions are still on (read more about them here: https://www.triptobudapest.hu/latest-news-info-about-freetourcommunity-com/ )

At the moment there are about 2.3 million Hungarian people that are vaccinated with the first dose and about 900 thousand who got the second dose, too. You can also browse more news about Hungary here: http://abouthungary.hu/

Due to the pandemic, at the moment we are still not operating our daily free walking tours in Budapest until further notice.

The Trip to Budapest Free Walking Tours Team wishes you health and Happy Easter Holidays!

Covid-19 related news of Hungary

As we have shared in our previous blog articles, Hungary is fighting against the 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic at the moment. Sadly, today is the second day when the number of the victims is around 250 people ( all together since the outbreak of the epidemic it is about 19 000 Hungarians that passed away because of Covid-19 ).

There are about 1.7 million Hungarian people who got vaccinated with the first dose of the 5 vaccines that we are using and there are about 495 000 people who got the second jab as well. Read the latest official news here:

http://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/coronavirus-heres-the-latest/

Since there are still a lot of restrictions in power, we do not run our daily free tours in Budapest until further notice. Thank you for your understanding.

News of Budapest – closure & renovation of the Chain bridge

As we have mentioned in one of our previous blog posts, the first and most iconic bridge of the Hungarian capital on the river Danube, the Chain bridge is being renovated starting from this month. They closed the pedestrian part already on the 17th of March; cars and buses can still run on it, but it is going to be shut down completely in a little while. The renovation works will last until about the end of the year 2023. This is the reason why we will have to divide our General Budapest Walk into two parts: we will have a General Pest Walk and a General Buda walk in the selection of our free walking tours in Budapest. More details later when the reopening of the country comes close enough…

In the foreground: The Chain bridge spanning between Buda (left) and Pest (right)

Now, let’s see a couple of details about our beloved Chain bridge!

It is literally a ‘chain bridge’, which is a historic form of suspension bridges: they used chains or eye bars instead of wire ropes to hold the bridge deck.

The Chain bridge sits on the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of the Hungarian capital. It was designed by the English engineer called William Tierney Clark and built by the Scottish engineer Adam Clark. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in our country, opened in 1849. It is a 172 years old this year!

The bridge’s full name is Széchenyi Chain bridge. It also has the name of István Széchenyi, the Hungarian politician and nobleman who initiated and supported its construction. At the time of its construction, the bridge was regarded part of the modern world’s engineering wonders.

It meant an enormous significance in the country’s economic, social and cultural life, just like the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the US. The Chain bridge became a symbol of national awakening, advancement, and the linkage between East and West.

You will be able to hear more about and see this wonder on our free tours later on when we are back on track again… 🙂

www.triptobudapest.hu/tours/

Latest Covid-19 related news of Hungary

Today is the day when the latest restrictions and another lockdown start in our country. You can read about these in more details in our last blog post on the following link:

https://www.triptobudapest.hu/tightening-covid-19-restrictions/

Unfortunately we, the Trip to Budapest Team, are still not running our daily free walking tours in Budapest until further notice. 

We are still far from reaching herd immunity, but the good news is that in Hungary about 1 million people has got their first dose of the vaccination and about 307 000 got the second dose, too. These are not bad numbers in the European Union compared to the fact that the population is about 10 million. However, the number of new cases are still rising in our country during the 3rd wave of the pandemic now, and the number of people in hospitals and in emergency care units are quite high. Hopefully the new restrictions and the lockdown will be effective in the next 2 weeks or so. We will keep you updated with the news.

International Women’s Day

Every year the world celebrates International Women’s Day on the 8th of March. For many decades this day has been a moment to celebrate the economic, cultural, political and social achievements of women. 

This day serves an important purpose: it forces conversations about women’s achievements and global gender inequality into the mainstream – and it invites people of all backgrounds, ages and genders to consider what they can do to make the world a more equal place for everyone.

The Trip to Budapest –  Free Walking Tours Budapest Team wishes all women in the world a happy and content International Women’s Day and a successful life! Hug your grandma, mom, girl siblings, friends, colleges and other women in your life today for us, too (in a mask, or in mind of course)! 

Coronavirus related news of Hungary on the 26th February 2021

As we wrote in our previous blog post, the 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic has hit Hungary as well, there have been more and more new cases and they have extended the Covid-19 related restrictions and border closure until at least the 15th of March. Probably they will be extended even until after this date. Our daily free tours in Budapest are still not running until further notice.

As said in our previous articles, vaccination started in Hungary, with 5 different vaccines. Right now there are about 522 000 people that got the first round and about 240 000 individuals that got the second round of the vaccination. Official news say that there could be about 2.5 million Hungarians vaccinated until this Easter out of the 10 million people living in our country.

Pic taken from : koronavirus.budapest. hu

Remembering the Victims of Communist Dictatorships on the 25th of February

The commemoration of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Communist Dictatorships (or the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Communism) was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Hungary on 13 June 2000. According to this, Memorial Day for the Victims of Communism is held on February 25 every year in secondary education institutions.

Béla Kovács, Secretary General of the Independent Smallholders’ Party (FKGP), was arrested by the Soviet authorities on this day in 1947 for his opposition to the Communists and taken to the Soviet Union, where he spent eight years in captivity, first in the Gulag and then from September 25, 1951 in the State Security Ministry’s Central Prison, in Moscow.

The arrest and detention of the politician was the first step on the path by which the Communist Party eliminated its opponents and thus moved towards the establishment of a total one-party dictatorship. The case thus became a symbol of the disregard for democracy and freedoms that characterized the nearly 50-year rule of communism. Béla Kovács became a role model for people who were considered victims of the party state regime.

Photo of statue of Béla Kovács taken from: wikipedia

The Black Book of Communism puts the number of victims of communism worldwide at about 100 million, according to estimates and archival research. In Central and Eastern Europe, the number of victims of famine, forced labor camps or executions reaches one million, but the victims of the system are also those imprisoned, interrogated, tortured, stigmatized, persecuted for their group or religious affiliation, ie everyone deprived of the opportunity for free action and choice, mutilated physically and spiritually. You can learn more about the Communist Dictatorship in Hungary (~1948-1989) on our free Communism walking tour in Budapest, when we can be back doing tours and showing you our city & culture.