WELCOME TO BUDAPEST - Nord Anglia Education

THE BRITISH 

INTERNATIONAL 

SCHOOL 

Budapest, Hungary 

WELCOME 

TO BUDAPEST

Dear Reader 

Welcome to Budapest! 

We are delighted to welcome you to the 

British International School, Budapest. 

We hope that once your family is feeling 

settled at school and you have unpacked 

your bags that you can begin to enjoy the 

jewel of a city that is Budapest. 

This practical book is packed with useful 

information and handy hints. It has 

been compiled by parents at the British 

International School, Budapest who are 

all too well-acquainted with the immediate 

needs of families newly arrived in town. 

We make no claims to Welcome to 

Budapest being the defi nitive guide to all 

you need to know about Budapest, but it 

is an excellent starting point. It contains 

all the information deemed by our parents 

to be most useful, covering all manner of 

things from how to make a phone call and 

pay a parking fi ne to where to eat with 

children and buy your Hungarian goose 

down duvet. 

We hope you enjoy reading this as much 

as we have enjoyed compiling it and that 

it helps you start to get to know and love 

Budapest. Put your feet up, make yourself 

a coffee and enjoy! 

Becky Wilcox 

THE BRITISH 

INTERNATIONAL 

SCHOOL 

Budapest, Hungary

Colours in the book 

Babies, Kids and Teens in Budapest 

Medical, Health & Fitness 

Banking 

Entertainment, Websites 

Learning Hungarian 

Pets in Budapest 

Lawyers 

Shopping 

Expats 

Getiing around 

Security 

Bills, post and fines 

At a loose end 

Being Green 

Tips & Hints 

Photographers 

Once your new little addition has safely 

arrived, you will no doubt want to get out 

and about again. People in Budapest are 

very child-friendly and you should not feel 

limited in any way. 

Travelling on public transport 

Travelling on public transport is quite tricky 

in Hungary with prams and buggies. Try to 

bring a small buggy and to have someone 

to help you to lift and carry it for you. 

Baby-changing 

This clearly isn’t done in Hungary!! There 

are very few areas where a changing table 

or area is provided, Ikea and Náncsi Néni 

being two. My advice is to pack a travel 

change mat or towel and fi nd a quiet 

corner/park bench/car boot to do the 

necessary. 

Breastfeeding 

Hungarians do breastfeed. As long as 

you are happy to feed whilst out, discreet 

feeding is not frowned upon. 

Formula Milk 

There is quite a wide selection 

available here. There is a Cow 

and Gate equivalent called 

Nutrilon. The packaging is very 

similar, although blue rather 

than purple. This formula mixes 

very well, unlike Aptamil, which 

separates if not used immediately. 

Nutrilon is widely available 

from hypermarkets and pharmacies. 

Some brands of formula 

are only available in pharmacies. 

Restaurants with high chairs 

A few child-friendly ones include 

Náncsi Néni 

1026 Budapest, 

Ördögárok út 80. 

Tel: +36 1 397 2742 

Tratorria Toscana 


Belgrád rakpart 13. 

Tel: +36 1 327 0045 

Vapiano 


Bécsi út 33-35. 

Tel: +36 1 336 0610 

Baby-Sitters 

Word of mouth is probably the best 

suggestion. The going rate (March 2009) 

seems to be 1500 Ft per hour if they have 

their own transport. 

Other options: 

IB Students from school – a list is posted 

on the Community Notice Board 

Babysitters with language skills – 

www.sitters.hu 

Activities/Entertainment 

Action Tots – 1.5 to 2 years old, dancing, 

singing and nursery rhymes etc. Thursday 

10 – 11 am. 

Contact: Sandra Knibbs, 

Dance Craze Academy 

Tel: +36 30 919 8417 

Birthday Entertainer – ZoZo the Clown, 

Tel: +36 30 236 6120 

Mother & Baby Group – through the BWA 

(British Women’s Association) a Monday 

pre-school group meets. 

Monkey Business – Movement, Art & 

Craft, Music and Baby Sign classes from 

4 months. 

www.monkeybusiness.hu 

Café Provence 


Hidegkúti út 81. 

Tel: +36 1 274 7733, 

Mobile: +36 30 865 9773 

www.cafeprovence.hu 

E-mail: cafeprovence@aroma.com 

Ikea 

1148 Örs vezér tere 

Tel: +36 1 460 3160 

2040 Budaörs, 

Sport utca 2-4. 

Tel: +36 1 460 3160 

Author 

 

 

Pre-Nurseries and Nurseries 

BISB parents use the following nurseries 

and others: 

Rainbow Art & Creativity School for 

Children 

Contact: Dragana 

1037 Budapest, Perényi út 19/b. 

Tel: +36 30 676 6467 / +36 20 377 0866 

E-mail: rainbow.kidsart@yahoo.com 

PlumPudding 

1026 Budapest, Gyergyó utca 6. 

Tel: +36 1 356 6553 / +36 30 991 5481 

www.plumpudding.hu 

Happy Kids 

1124 Budapest, Fodor utca 36. 

Tel: +36 1 356 2440 / + 36 30 948 4436 

www.happykids.hu 

Kids’ Kiosk 

Contact: Branca 

1023 Budapest, Bogár utca 26B. 

Tel: +36 30 563 5528 

www.kidskiosk.eu 

Babies in Budapest

Kids in Budapest 

Fun things to do 

Bowling 

Best bowling places are in Mammut, Duna 

Plaza and Campona. 

Petneházy riding club 

Great for pony riding, walking and buffet 

lunch. (Feketefej utca 2. on the way out to 

Nagykovácsi) 

Tel: +36 20 9873057 

Aqua World 

One of the biggest indoor water theme 

parks in Europe offers unforgettable entertainment 

to visitors of every age throughout 

the year. 

www.aqua-world.hu 

Tropicarium Oceanárium 

Campona Mall 


Nagytétényi út 37-45. 

Tel: +36 1 424 3050 

Tel/Fax: +36 1 424 3053 

E-mail: info@tropicarium.hu 

www.tropicarium.hu 

(in English & Hungarian) 

Open: Daily 10:00-20:00 

Gellért Hill Slide Park 

Just up the hill from Hotel Gellért, a bit 

hidden in the woods. Great slides and a 

cave chapel. 

Budakeszi Wild animal park (Vadaspark) 

It is a big, forested area with many wild 

animals. Just before Budakeszi from Budapest, 

on the right hand side. 

www.vadaspark-budakeszi.hu 

Hungarian only 

Buda Castle area 

1. Funicular (“sikló”) 

It leads down from the Buda castle to the 

Danube, to Chain bridge 

Get close to all sorts of 

interesting sea life (including sharks!) 

at this lovely aquarium. Don’t miss the 

tropical rainforest area complete with 

monsoon rains, where you can see crocodiles, 

monkeys, tropical birds, snakes and 

insects. There’s a “touch pool” for the 

brave. It’s an extraordinary experience for 

both children and adults 

2. Labyrinth of the Buda Castle 

Labyrinth in the cave system under the 

Buda Castle, 

Tel: +36 1 212-0207, +36 1 212-0287, 

+36 1 489-3281, 

Budapest,Úri utca 9. or Lovas utca 4., 

http://www.labirintus.com/en 

3. Wax museum 

War hospital museum 

in the cave system under 

the Buda castle. 

Lovas utca 4/C, 

Tel: +36 30 6898775, 

+36 1 225 7668, 

+36 1 225 7669, 

www.sziklakorhaz.hu 

City Park (“Városliget”) 

A lot to see! 

Margitsziget (Margaret Island) 

This largely traffi c-free island park in the middle of the 

Danube makes you feel as if you’ve left the city behind. 

With large grassy areas, woods, rose gardens, an animal 

petting zoo, Palatinus lido with swimming pools, the ruins 

of a Dominican church and nunnery, well-maintained 

playgrounds and a thousand perfect picnic spots, this 

is a great place to take children of all ages. One nice 

option is to take your bikes or inline skates, or to hire 

pedal cars or electric cars and ride around the 

island. Its southern tip is accessible 

on foot or by bus or tram running 

over Margit híd (Margaret Bridge). 

The northern tip is accessible by 

car from Árpád híd (Árpád Bridge), 

where there is parking available. It’s open 

24 hours a day (although it is advisable to 

leave the park when the sun sets) and it 

costs nothing to go there. 

1. Fôvárosi Állat -és Növénykert 

(Budapest Zoo) 


Állatkerti körút 6-12. 

Tel: +36 1 363 3710, +36 1 363 3790 , +36 1 363 3794 

www.zoobudapest.com (in Hungarian) 

Open: Daily 09:00-16:00 (winter), 09:00-19:00 (summer) 

Located on the outskirts of the Városliget, this is a popular zoo with wonderful 

Art Nouveau buildings including a fabulous Elephant House. The newly built 

Palm House is home to an array of tropical animals, birds and insect life. This is 

a big zoo, so expect to need at least a morning to get around. It has plenty of 

Hungarian-style food and drink facilities and a good playground too. 

2. Circus 

An unforgettable 

experience, not for the 

faint-hearted, excellent 

acrobatics, questionable 

animal acts, you decide... 

Tel: +36 1 344 39630 

www.fnc.hu 

3. Amusement park 

All the new rides as well as old-style 

merry-go-round and ghost train. 

Tel: +36 1 363 8310, 

+36 1 363 4460, 

+36 1 363 7140, 

www.vidampark.hu 

(Not available for children under 3s!) 

4. Széchenyi Bath 

Indoor and outdoor pools and thermal 

baths. 

www.szechenyibath.com 

5. In winter time there is ice skating on one 

of the park’s lakes. 

6. The famous Gundel Restaurant is here 

as well. 

Tel: +36 1 468 4040 

www.gundel.hu 

Kids in Budapest

Kids in Budapest 

Normafa hills 

A great place for walks, there is a playground, 

a challenge park and a children’s 

steam train and a chairlift. 

1. Libegô (Chairlift) 

1121 Budapest, Csiga út 

(just off Zugligeti út) 

Tel: +36 1 394 3764 (no English spoken) 

Open: Daily 09:00-17:00 (summer) & 

09:30-16:00 (winter) 

The chairlift runs up and down Jánoshegy, 

the highest of the Buda hills. Take the 

chairlift to the Erzsébet lookout tower that 

stands on the 527-meter-high summit. 

Climb the tower for spectacular views: on 

a clear day you can see for more than 75 

km. The chairlift starts from Csiga út. 

2. Gyermekvasút (Children’s Railway) 

www.gyermekvasut.hu (in English & 

Hungarian) 

A short walk from the Erzsébet lookout 

tower is Jánoshegy station, where you can 

join one of the open-sided trains on the 

Children’s Railway. The railway is staffed 

by enthusiastic children in uniform, who 

salute the trains as they pass and clip your 

tickets with great pride (but they don’t 

drive the trains!) The railway runs through 

attractive woodland as far as Széchenyi- 

hegy station (Hegyhát út district XII) to the 

south and Hûvösvölgy station (district II) 

to the north. Check the timetables posted 

at stations or online. 

3. Challengeland 

An outdoor climbing park with rope 

courses in the trees. 

www.kalandpalya.hu 

Parks close to school 

Vérhalom Tér – A lovely shady, well 

equipped park in District II Close to Rózsa 

Kert and only a few minutes drive from 

school. 

Margitsziget – Excellent Park for all ages 

very close to the Margit Bridge side of the 

Island. Alternatively, park on the island at 

the Árpád híd end (5 minute drive from 

school) and walk/ cycle/ catch the bus to 

the other end. 

Csodák Palotája (Palace of Miracles) 

Millenáris 


Kis Rókus utca 16-20. 

Tel/Fax: +36 1 336 4000 / 4012 

E-mail: millenaries@millenaris.hu 

www.millenaris.hu (in English & 

Hungarian) 

Open: Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00, Sat & Sun 

10:00-18:00 

This interactive science museum is great 

fun for children aged from around four 

to ten years. There are lots of interactive 

activities, from uni-cycling on a high wire 

to push-button scientifi c mysteries 

Boat rides on the Danube 

Trips run from Vigadó tér to Visegrád, 

Esztergom or even to Vienna. 

www.mahartpassnave.hu 

Shopaholic 

Check this out! 

So here they are, the pages that every girl is 

waiting for…. I mean, O.K. public transport, 

cinemas and night life are all very important, 

but what has the power to make a girl feel 

extraordinary, enthusiastic and beautiful at 

the same time?? SHOPPING, of course! 

Now, I don’t want you to think that shopping 

here is the same as walking down Regent 

Street in London or 5th Avenue in New York 

or in the centre of Milan. However, thanks 

to our tips, which we hope you are going 

to fi nd helpful, you’ll fi nd your way around 

Budapest and all the variety of shops that it 

offers. So, off we go with our shopping tour 

around the city…. We are going to visit: 

• Mammut and WestEnd 

• Váci utca 

• Arena Plaza 

• Premier 

• Mom Park 

• Coin 

• Allee 

Váci utca: 

If you love shopping in the 

fresh air, Váci utca is the place 

for you. It is one of the busiest 

central shopping streets in 

Budapest and an attractive 

place for tourists from all over Europe. It is easy to 

get there especially with public transport as it is near 

to three different metro stations. There are plenty of 

particular shops, from the designer brands like HUGO 

BOSS to the amazing gift shop ’Philanthia’. In the 

main square huge new shops like H&M have opened 

to help us take a wider look at their wares. Along 

Váci utca you can fi nd Zara, Promod, C&A, Mango, 

Salamander, Humanic, Marks and Spencer and other 

shops. In Vörösmarty tér the famous Gerbeaud Café 

and Confectioner is waiting for you to taste its delights. 

There are plenty of fi ne as well as fast food restaurants 

like McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King where you can 

drop in for a quick meal. 

 

 

 

Mammut and WestEnd 

Mammut and WestEnd…What do they have 

in common?? They have some of the same 

shops, they are the most frequented shopping 

centres by teenagers. I think the name of the 

fi rst one might give it away (Mammut), and 

WestEnd - well it’s basically a very humid place 

with waterfalls on the walls which make you 

feel as if you are about to drown each time you take the escalator. 

You’ve probably already guessed that I prefer Mammut. Well, 

Westend is absolutely huge - which might be good because you 

can have a wider variety of shops- but it also means that if you 

are going with a friend, you should carry around a walkie-talkie to 

keep in touch. On the other side, (literally, because Mammut is in 

Buda and WestEnd is in Pest) Mammut is divided into two buildings 

connected by two bridges and has smaller but nicer shops such as 

Berska, Mango, Premier and Benetton. So, which one to choose 

between Mammut and WestEnd?? It’s up to you, but I would 

recommend Mammut. 

Authors 

Teens in Budapest

Teens in Budapest 

Arena Plaza 

Sick of walking around big malls 

and getting tired after a few 

seconds? We found a solution: 

Arena Plaza! All the best branded 

shops are packed into two long 

corridors where you can enjoy 

your shopping moments strolling 

from one shop to the other with no 

wasting time! Here are the best companies ever: Terranova, Zara, 

H&M, Mango, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfi ger, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, 

Bershka, and many others. If you are the kind of person who loves 

to shop alone with no parents “advising” you, then you can just 

send them to the huge Tesco or Electro World inside the massive 

mall and shop till you drop. 

Mom Park 

The essence of Mom Park? 

Peaceful, relaxing, quiet and 

calm. It’s the best place if your 

parents want to go shopping with 

you for two main reasons: you 

would never be seen in public 

with them because your mates 

wouldn’t hang out there and 

there are shops for adults too, so 

they will be distracted by ancient clothing. Mom Park is also perfect if you want 

to eat sushi or go to the movies that are all in English, or almost all of them… 

but I’m sure that the “Cinema People” will tell you more about it. 

Tired after this intensive Shopping Tour?? If you are real Shopaholics your 

energy level will be at its apex and your credit card account will almost be in 

debt! We hope that this section about Shopping will help you to feel more like 

you are at home, and at the same time won’t cause your family to go bankrupt. 

Enjoy your shopping in Budapest, and maybe we’ll meet in a café with bags full 

of clothing as happy as we can be! 

Premier Outlet 

Imagine a chilly cold and rainy day, what 

would you do? Walk round and round the 

same mall? Run from shop to shop along 

Váci utca? Premier Outlet has been created 

just for you: fantastic and packed full of 

popular branded outlets, it is reachable in 

10 minutes by car from the city centre. You 

just drive off the M7 (make sure you have 

a vignette, see Getting around section) and 

leave at exit 14, pass a roundabout and 

there you are!! It is huge and extraordinarily 

cheap with at least a hundred shops with all 

different articles for every kind of costumer. 

You can leave your car there and be sure to 

fi nd it afterwards, without paying anything 

for the parking and without carrying heavy 

bags around the place, as you can simply 

leave them in the car. It is still developing 

so more branded shops will be included, 

which means: more opportunities for you 

to spend your precious money!! Negative 

aspects? You might get addicted to the 

cheap shopping and fabulous facilities. 

Coin 

After the “great” appe 

arance of Paris 

Hilton at the opening of the department 

store, Coin brings to Hungary a fl avour of 

Italian shopping. Found in the renovated 

Dorottya Palace, behind Vörösmarty tér, 

the atmosphere in Coin makes you want 

to demolish the shelves and extinguish 

your credit card. As soon as you enter 

the palace, you are overwhelmed by 

small corners displaying expensive items 

from Paris Hilton’s designs to Armani 

clothing. Continuing on the left, you will 

enter a garden of cheaper clothes from 

the Italian brand “Oviesse”. However, if 

you want to get rid of your parents before 

your shopping tour, lead them to the 

right side of the department store, where 

they will get lost in a world of household 

accessories. The only negative thing about 

Coin is the fact that there aren’t any cafés 

where you can purchase some caffeine to 

keep you going during your exhausting 

shopping session. Despite the meaning 

of the department store’s name, you will 

defi nitely need more than a coin after 

entering the golden entrance. 

Allee Shopping Centre 

Location: 

1119 Budapest Október 23 u./ 

Körösy J. u. 

The new shopping centre, Allee, 

was opened on Wednesday 11th 

November, 2009. It is located 

in the heart of District 11 in 

Budapest (on the site of the 

former Buda Skála) and is easily 

accessible by the 4, 6, 18, 19, 56, 

61 trams and also by car. There are altogether 1,200 parking spaces which 

make it very easy to park in the shopping centre. 

The building looks very modern and is altogether 46,000 square metres. The 

lights on the ceilings and on the walls of the shopping centre change colour 

every few seconds or so. There are also circular bridges across the fl oors with 

modern chairs and tables where people can have a rest when they get tired. 

There are a variety of shops, including the most popular brands such as Zara, 

Mango, H&M, C&A (1,900 sqm), Marks & Spencer (1,300 sqm) and Electro 

World. Van Graaf, one of the biggest tenants among the fashion brands has 

4,200 sqm of fl oor space. 

There is a 13 screen cinema and a casino for those looking for entertainment 

and a food court with Burger King and other restaurants. There is also a 

6000sqm hypermarket, Interspar, where you can do all your groceries. 

Although Allee is similar to the other shopping centres in Budapest, it certainly 

has a unique kind of feeling with the latest technology and is defi nitely the most 

modern shopping centre in town. Allee will defi nitely be a rival to the major 

shopping malls in Budapest! 

Hope you enjoy shopping at Allee! 

Teens in Budapest

Teens in Budapest 

Authors 

 

 

Youth group 

The International Baptist Church of Budapest 

http://www.ibcb.info/ has a thriving 

youth church currently led by Youth Pastor 

John Punch 

John Punch’s facebook page is 

www.facebook.com/#/ 

budapunch?ref=ts 

He is continuously updating it and organising 

events for teenagers. 

Golf 

If you are interested in other type of clubs, 

we recommend the Academy Golf Club, 

which will open in May 2010 in the direct 

proximity of the school and provide opportunity 

to enjoy a good game both during 

the day and in the evening hours. 

Academy Golf Club 

www.academygolfclub.hu/ 

english.html 

Tel: +36 30 429 2584 

E-mail: info@academygolfclub.hu 

Budapest after dark 

Here are some of the major clubs and 

discos in Budapest! 

Kameleon, Play and Bed Beach are the 

most renowned. 

1) Kameleon: located in Mammut, 

one of the favourite places to go out: 

www.boo.com/budapest/nightlife/ 

Kameleon_Club 

2) Retrodisco: newly renovated club, also 

very nice if you’re into retro music 

3) Play 

www.hungarystartshere.com/Play- 

Disco-Club 

www.partysan.net 

4) Bed Beach: located on Hajógyári sziget, 

fenomenal atmosphere for teens, any 

kind of music from rock to house: 

www.bedbeach.hu/ (click the english 

fl ag in the top-right corner :) ) 

Clubs 

5) Studio: house music, very large 

www.studio-eh.hu/ 

Medical 

There are four main English Speaking medical centres: 

All of these offer on-site X-ray facilities, mammograms, and minor surgery together with 

the paediatrics, gynaecology, chiropractor and general practitioners. Check the relevant 

websites for more information. 

Rózsakert Medical Centre 

Rózsakert Shopping Centre, 1026 Budapest, 

Gábor Áron utca 74-78, 3rd Floor 

Tel: +36 1 391 5903, 

Open: 24 hours, (always call this number even if the offi ce 

is closed), www.medical-center.hu 

Appointments: Mon-Fri 08:00-19:00, Sat 08:00 til 12:00 

(Emergencies only). Kinga (pictured) is a great paediatrician 

First Med (pictured) 


Hattyú utca 14. 

5th Floor, 

Tel: +36 1 224 9090 

www.fi rstmedcenters.com, 

Open: 24 hours 

Appointments: Mon-Fri 08:00 until 

20:00, Sat 08:00 until 14:00 

Dr Sue McGladdery is always 

recommended 

Author 

 

 

Medicover 

Medicover has 4 different branches across 

Pest and Buda. It offers a range of medical 

packages to those who do not have 

health insurance while serving those with 

assigned medical cover. 

1132 Budapest, Váci út 22-24., Ground 

fl oor. Opening hours: From Monday to 

Friday 7:00-19:00 

For medical appointment please call: 

+36 1 465 3100 (7:00-19:00) 

http://www.medicover.com/huen/ 

Dr Rose Medical Center 

This is another medical center favoured by 

many expats in Budapest. 

1051 Budapest, Roosvelt tér 7-8. 

Hotline: +36 1-377 6737 

http://www.drrose.hu 

Additional Doctor / Dentists etc: 

Dentist – Dr Ágnes Halman 

MOM Park Dental Clinic 

Tel: +36 1 202 3830 

Orthodontist – Dr Csipi 

Rózsakert Magenta 

Tel: +36 20 581 3952 Tue/Thurs only 

Dermatologist – Dr Sinka Pálinkás 

Szent Ferenc Medical Store 

Tel: +36 1 316 1616 

GP Doctor – Dr Giddeon 

Will do home visits 

Tel: +36 20 928 1602 

Gynaecologist – Dr Szepesi 

Tel: +36 30 403 6790 

Medical

Medical 

An Emergency in Budapest 

Public Ambulance 

(Free of charge although not much English 

spoken): 104 or 112 (general emergency) 

Private Ambulance 

(For a fee, English spoken both by 

operator and Doctor): 

Tel: +36 1 200 0100 or +36 1 275 1535 

You should say: 

1. Név? Mi a neve? Your name: “Smith, 

John vagyok” 

2. Cím? Mi a címe? Your address: “ …” 

3. Ask for an ambulance: 

“Mentôt Szeretnék” 

4. Try to give details of the emergency eg: 

• Suspected heart attack: 

Valószínûleg szívinfarktus 

• Serious bleeding: Súlyosan vérzik 

• Collapsed and unconscious: 

Összeesett es elveszette az eszméletét 

Accident and Emergency Departments 

Szent János Kórház 

1125 Budapest, Diós árok 1. 

Tel: + 36 1 356 1122 / 356 0318 

Szent János Hospital covers districts I, II, 

XI and XII. 

Margit Kórház 

1032 Budapest, Bécsi út 132. 

Tel: +36 1 250 2170 / 250 2420 

Margit Hospital covers district III. 

Ticks in Hungary 

During the summer months from April to 

September you should be aware that it 

is possible to be bitten by ticks and this 

can have serious consequences. Ticks are 

small fl ea-like creatures which are carnivorous 

and use their mouthparts to anchor 

themselves to the skin of a person or 

animal which they pierce in order to suck 

the blood, thus infected ticks transmit 

infection in their saliva. 

The risk is greatest in forests and woodland 

areas however ticks can also be 

found in your own garden. Ticks can also 

inadvertently be transferred from family 

pets to humans so always check your pet 

after visiting these areas. 

If you are bitten by a tick there is a risk of 

contracting diseases such as Tickborne 

Encephalitis (TBE), a viral infection of the 

central nervous system, or Lyme-disease, 

which is a bacterial infection resulting 

in joint problems similar to rheumatic 

arthritis. TBE is common in Austria, Czech 

Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, 

Poland, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, 

Belarus and Croatia. 

Sensible precautions: 

• Wear closed, brightly coloured clothes in 

order to see ticks easily. 

• Use suitable insect repellents 

• After visiting at-risk areas check your 

clothes and skin for ticks, especially between 

the legs, the backs of the knees, 

under the arms and the neck area. 

• There is a vaccine available against 

TBE but not against Lyme Disease. If 

concerned, consult your doctor about 

vaccination. 

If you fi nd a tick on your skin: 

• Remove the tick using special tweezers 

• Grasp the tick as near to your skin as 

possible 

• Turn the tick anti-clockwise and then out 

(they screw into the skin) 

• Show the bite to a doctor 

• Make a note of the date of the bite in 

your diary 

Signs to watch out for after a bite: 

• Flu-like symptoms after a tick bite can 

signal the onset of TBE and you should 

consult your doctor immediately, showing 

the site of the bite. 

• In about 75% of cases of infection with 

Lyme Disease the bite reddens and enlarges 

then fades away. Often there are 

concentric red circles around the bite. 

There may also be a feeling of numbness 

or painful infl ammation of the nerves and 

paralysis. Diagnosis is by blood test and 

treatment by antibiotics. If left untreated 

Lyme Disease can still affect the joints, 

skin and heart years later. 

Ragweed 

Hungary is highly infected by ragweed. 

Each plant is reputed to be able to produce 

about a billion grains of pollen over 

a season, and the plant is wind-pollinated. 

It is highly allergenic, generally considered 

the greatest allergen of all pollens, and 

the prime cause of hay fever in Hungary. 

It fl owers from mid-August until mid- 

September. 

All night chemists/pharmacies 

Budapest’s pharmacies (“gyógyszertár” 

in Hungarian) are well stocked and can 

provide medicaments for most common 

ailments. The location of the nearest allnight 

chemist is displayed on the door of 

every pharmacy. 

• Aranyhorgony Gyógyszertár 

IV. kerület, Pozsonyi út 19. 

• Déli Gyógyszertár 

XII. kerület, Alkotás út 1/b 

• Elefánt Gyógyszertár 

X. kerület, Pongrác út 19. 

• Fehérvár Gyógyszertár 

XI. kerület, Fehérvári út 12. 

• Hétkorona Gyógyszertár 

XIX. kerület, Ady Endre út 122. 

• Mária Gyógyszertár 

XIII. kerület, Béke tér 11. 

• Óbuda Gyógyszertár 

III. kerület, Vörösvári út 86. 

• Örs Vezér Gyógyszertár 

XIV. kerület, Örs vezér tere – 

Rendelôintézet 

• Refl ex Gyógyszertár 

XVII. kerület, Ferihegyi út 93. 

• Szentkereszt Gyógyszertár 

XVII. kerület, Pesti út 170/a 

• Szent Margit Gyógyszertár 

II. kerület, Frankel Leó út 22. 

• Teréz Gyógyszertár 

VI. kerület, Teréz krt. 41. 

• Tilia Gyógyszertár 

XXI. kerület, Áruház tér 8. 

You can also order a lot of medicines 

online from Bioszállító Webáruház on 

www.bioszallito.hu The delivery is swift 

and cheap. 

BISB employs registered nurses (pictured) 

who can administer emergency fi rst aid 

and care for sudden illnesses. 

Medical

Health & Fitness 

Author 

 

 

Aquaworld: Aquapark fun all year round. 

www.aqua-world.hu 

Basketball (Kosárlabda): VASAS Club, 

http://www.pasaretsportcentrum.hu 

Ballet Dance Craze Academy: Sandra 

Knibbs (Baby ballet, Private lessons for 

higher grades – see babies in Budapest) 

Cricket: www.hungary4cricket.com 

Cycle hire: Bikebase – they also buy and 

sell second hand bikes, do repairs and do 

guided tours. Excellent service and speak 

English. 

1066 Budapest, Podmaniczky Utca 19. 

Tel: +36 1 269 5983 

Mobile: +36 70 625 8501 

www.bikebase.hu 

Dance: Dance Craze Academy – Theatre 

dance, tap, jazz, hip hop. Sandra Knibbs 

(see babies in Budapest) 

Tel: +36 30 919 8417 

Figure skating: Eszter Botos 

Tel: + 36 30 545 3912 

Gymnastics: for information 

Contact gergo.karacsony@bisb.hu 

Gymboree: for the younger kids 

Contact zsofi @gymboree.hu 

Horse Riding: 

• Pasaréti horse riding centre 

Contact: Kristie 

Tel: +36 30 961 4645 (about 30 mins 

outside Budapest on the way to 

Balaton) 

• Petneházy riding club: Great for pony riding, 

walking and buffet lunch. (Feketefej 

utca 2. on the way out to Nagykovácsi) 

Tel: +36 20 987 3057 

Ice Skating: 

Eszter Botos 

Tel: +36 30 5453912 

Ice hockey: Széna Tér Ice Rink, near 

Mammut 2, beside the bus station, www. 

szenater.hu (only in Hungarian) the coach is 

Béla Tejfalussy. There are 2 groups – Under 

10s and one for older kids, training 3 times 

a week, Tues, Thurs and Sat. For older 

more serious players there is the Budapest 

Stars, who play in a more serious league 

and train at a dedicated rink 

Tel: +36 70 335 2553 

Hungarian speaking only. 

www.bpstars.hu 

Rugby: Budapest Junior Rugby, at BISB on 

Sunday mornings during term time 10:00 – 

11:00 (ages 7-8), 11:00 – 12:00 (ages 9-13) 

Contact: Jon Cooper 

Tel: +36 70 930 4030 

E-mail: jonathon.cooper@omd.hu 

Snow Skiing: A beginners course at Normafa 

during the winter on a plastic slope. 

Suitable for those who have never been on 

skis before to learn the basics. 

Contact: Orsi 

Tel: +36 70 290 6872 

Football / Soccer: 

• BISB team Saturday mornings 8:30 – 9:30 

(Years 1 & 2), 9:40 – 10:40 (Years 3 & 4), 

10:50 – 12:15 (Years 5, 6 and 7) Played at 

BISB in the gym (term time only) 

Contact: 

E-mail: gabor.pereszlenyi@bisb.hu 

Tel: +36 30 417 7633 

• Buda Juniors – English speaking, multinational, 

for children 4 – 16 years, different 

times for different grades and abilities. 

Played at Csillebérc in District 12. 

Contact : +36 70 702 2350, 

E-mail: info@budajuniors.hu 

Squash: 

• Római Teniszcentrum, 

1039 Budapest, Királyok útja 105. 

Tel: +36 1 240 3895, 

• Golds Gym, Kolosi tér, district II 

• RSC Rózsadomb 

Rószadomb shopping centre, top 

fl oor, 

Tel: +361 345 8490 

Swimming Squad: 

• Lessons : Joe Szoba – 

Komjádi Swimming Pool 

Contact: Zoltán, Tel: +36 30 452 6644 

• Tamás Denyer – Komjádi Swimming Pool 

and Margit Island Swimming Pool 

Contact: Csaba Toth, Tel: +36 20 927 

0727) 

• Private lessons: 

Chris Walker 

Tel: +36 70 703 2958 

E-mail: chris.walker@bisb.hu 

Ákos Gerencsér Tel: +36 30 816 3982 

Tennis: 

• Just around the corner from school: 

Thomas Vári, Hungarian and English 

speaking tennis coach from Australia. 

Teaching: beginners to professional, 

childern and adult. 

E-mail: thomasvari@hotmail.com 

Tel: +36 30 916 7669 

• Sávolt Tenisz Akadémia, 

Vasas SC Tenisztelep 

1037 Budapest, Folyondár u. 15. 

Tamás: +36 30 210 1036 

Banks are open on weekdays from 8:00 

until anywhere between 16:30 and 19:00, 

and until 12:00 on Fridays. The biggest 

ones are OTP, CIB, ING, City Bank, Erste 

bank, MKB, Raffeisen, Unicredit, K&H, 

Budapest Bank. 

There are lots of bankomats around the 

city. Be prepared to have cash on you 

when you are in a smaller shop as they do 

not tend to accept credit cards! 

Banking

Entertainment 

Books 

There are a few foreign bookstores in 

Budapest and you can order foreign books 

online too. The 2 biggest online retailers are 

www.alexandra.hu and www.bookline.hu 

(Hungarian websites but can buy foreign 

books). 

Both of them give a 20% discount on the 

RRP if you buy online. If the order is for 

more than 10,000 HUF, delivery is free. 

You will need to register on the website 

before you order. 

Treehugger Dan’s (pictured) is a great 

second-hand bookshop located in the very 

heart of Pest. It is worth subscribing to his 

newsletters as he hosts a range of events 

from gigs to talks to book evenings. 

Author 

 

Treehugger Dan’s Bookstore Café 

“The Local Bookstore with 

a Global Conscience” 

1067 Budapest, Csengery u. 48 

Tel: +36 1 322 0774 

open m-f: 10:00-18:00, 

sat: 10:00-17:00 

1061 Budapest, Lázár u. 16 

Tel: +36 1 269 3843 

E-mail: info@treehugger.hu 

www.treehugger.hu 

open m-f: 09:30-18:30, 

sat & sun: 10:00-16:00 

Pendragon 

1137 Budapest, Pozsonyi út 21-23. – 

fabulous selection and will order in for 

you as well 

Best Sellers 

Good books and also have magazines 

1051 Budapest, Október 6. u. 11. 

Alexandra and Libri bookshops are large 

chains dotted around Budapest and in 

malls. They tend to have a decent selection 

of books, maps and guide books. 

While you’re here read: 

The Food and Wine lovers Guide 

to Hungary 

It’s a great book listing good restaurants 

both Hungarian and International. 

Culinaria Hungary 

This book gives not only local recipes but 

also a history and background to events 

and traditions. I found it a real lifesaver in 

the early months and it is handy to give to 

interested guests. 

Under the Frog 

by Tibor Fischer 

The novel is a 

black comedy set 

in Hungary in the 

years immediately 

following the end 

of World War 2 

and culminates in 

the1956 uprising. 

Its protagonists 

are Gyuri, Pataki 

and several others, 

basketball 

players who dream 

of escaping their 

dead-end factory 

jobs, and travel to all their basketball gigs 

in the nude, even when this involves using 

public transport. The title is taken from a 

Hungarian expression used to describe 

any situation when things can’t seem to 

get any worse: “under the frog’s arse at 

the bottom of the coal pit”. 

Now You See It, Now You Don’t / House 

of Cards, written by our school’s very own 

Marion Merrick. 

As one of only about 12 British people 

to be living in Hungary in the 1980s, 

Marion Merrick’s books show what real 

life was like both in communist Budapest, 

and then after the fall of the iron curtain, 

through her own experiences here: a 

very different world to that which expats 

encounter today. 

Television 

Satellite or cable television offers many 

English channels including CNN, Music TV, 

BBC World, Cartoon Network, Eurosport, 

National Geographic, Euronews, CNBC, 

etc. These English-language channels can 

be received in most areas of Budapest. 

UPC Hungary (www.upc.hu) is the largest 

provider of cable services. 

Internet 

There are several internet services available 

such as T-online (www.t-online.com), 

Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.com), Nextra 

(www.nextra.hu), Chello via UPC (www. 

upc.hu), GTS-Datanet (www.datanet.hu) 

Author 

 

 

Mobile phones 

Using your home service provider with 

international calling is very expensive. 

Sign up for a mobile service here and get 

a SIM card for the service. Hungary has 

three major mobile phone providers. The 

market leader is T-Mobile (www.t-mobile. 

hu). Vodaphone (www.vodaphone.hu) and 

Pannon GSM (www.pannon.hu) are close 

behind. 

If you need help with the the TV Miki Mátrai 

(+36 20 337 2962) who works here at 

BISB during the day is available evenings 

for installation and maintenance of satellite 

systems, mending UPC Direct, Antenna 

Digital, Digi TV, aerial and reinstallation of 

indoor cables. Basically anything to do 

with satellites, systems and cables. 

Entertainment

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Useful local websites and TIMEOUT 

http://www.timeout.com/travel/budapest 

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magazines for life in Hungary 

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BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL 

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Where do we start with this section? The http://bbjonline.hu 

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good news is that there is an abundance English language business paper 

of fantastic websites and magazines for 

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you to choose from. Why not add some of BUDAPEST FOR KIDS 

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these to your “favourites” and make life a Information portal for family expat life in Budapest 

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bit easier! 

http://www.search4.hu/ 

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FUNZINE 

XPATLOOP 

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http://funzine.hu/ 

http://www.xpatloop.com/ 

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Magazine in English – free and online Expat information for Budapest 

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BENJAMIN GUIDES 

BUDAPEST INFORMATION 

http://www.benjaminguides.com 

http://www.budapestinfo.hu/en/ 

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Guidebook for children about Budapest 

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UK IN HUNGARY 

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THE BUDAPEST TIMES 

http://ukinhungary.fco.gov.uk/en/ 

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http://www.budapesttimes.hu/ – Political 

Websites 

Author 

 

 

and news and other Budapest listings 

EMBASSY DATA 

http://hungary.usembassy.gov 

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MAPS 

http://utcakereso.hu 

http://www.holvan.hu/ 

TRANSLATION SERVICES 

http://www.translation-guide.com 

Translate text and web pages 

online for free! 

BUDAPEST 

COMMERCIAL 

AND TOURIST 

http://www.budapest.com/ 

INTERRELO 

http://www.interrelo.com 

EXPAT WOMEN 

http://www.expatwomen.com/ 

BUDAPEST INDEX 

http://www.budapestindex.com/ 

CHAMPS 

http://www.champs.hu/index 

THE HUNGARIAN FOOD BLOG 

http://www.chew.hu/ 

MOVE ONE 

www.moveonerelo.com 

Try their Newsletter archives with lots of 

very useful information! 

MOVIE, THEATRE 

http://www.budapest.com 

http://www.palacecinemas.hu 

FILOLOG 

http://www.fi lolog.com 

Your personal, family-oriented guide to 

Budapest, Hungary & the Hungarians 

CABOODLE 

www.caboodle.hu 

A great site for searching data about life 

in Budapest. 

Top Budapest, top places, top 

programs 

http://familyfriendly.topbudapest.org 

BUDAPEST CHAMBERS OF 

COMMERCE 

http://www.budapest.com/business_education/business_directory/chambers_of_ 

commerce.en.html 

Detailed travel information of Budapest 

– List of chambers of commerce in 

Budapest 

BUDAPEST CITY GUIDE 

http://cityguide.budapestrooms.com 

ADVICE FOR EXPATS LIVING 

IN BUDAPEST 

http://expatecho.moveone.info/ 

Websites

Learning Hungarian 

 

Author 

Useful words 

OK, so Hungarian is never going to be 

the easiest language to learn. There are 

language lessons available through school 

but here are a few useful words and 

phrases to start with. It gave me such a 

buzz to be able to greet my non-English 

speaking neighbour when he spoke to me. 

I think it was obvious from my accent that 

I wasn’t Hungarian so he didn’t try further 

conversation but at least I was able to be 

polite and not just put my head down and 

‘ignore’ him. 

Days of the week: 

Monday Hétfô 

Tuesday Kedd 

Wednesday Szerda 

Thursday Csütörtök 

Friday Péntek 

Saturday Szombat 

Sunday Vasárnap 

Numbers 

1 egy 20 húsz 

General: 

2 kettô 21 huszonegy 

3 három 22 huszonkettô 

4 négy 30 harminc 

5 öt 40 negyven 

6 hat 50 ötven 

7 hét 60 hatvan 

8 nyolc 70 hetven 

9 kilenc 80 nyolcvan 

10 tíz 90 kilencven 

11 tizenegy 100 száz 

12 tizenkettô 1000 ezer 

2000 kétezer 

Hello is also used as goodbye! It can feel a 

bit weird when you’re on the ‘phone hearing 

someone say hello and then putting 

the ‘phone down, or when someone says 

hello as you’re leaving the shop. 

Shopping: 

Open Nyitva 

Closed Zárva 

Push Tolni 

Pull Húzni 

Entrance Bejárat 

Exit Kijárat 

If you are wanting to really make a go of it 

in Hungarian there are numerous companies 

offering classes including Inside Word 

used by the BISB staff contact. 

Tel: +36 1 215 2753 

www.insideword.hu 

Fungarian courses are run by the HUN- 

GAROLINGUA Language School. The 

method is the brainchild of Miklós Molnár 

and his team of highly qualifi ed and goodhumoured 

teachers. 

Tel: +36 1 788 8041, +36 20 243 5253 

www.hungarolingua.hu 

BISB runs its own Hungarian and English 

classes for parents during the school day. 

Please ask at reception for details. 

General (Rough pronunciation) 

Please Kérem Kayrem 

Thank you Köszönöm Kuhsuhnuhm 

Yes Igen Eeghen 

No Nem Nehm 

Good morning Jó reggelt Yo rehgelhlt 

Good day/good 

afternoon 

Jó napot Yo nahpoht 

Good evening Jó estét Yo ashtate 

Goodbye Viszontlátásra Veesohntlatashrah 

Bye Viszlát Veeslat 

Hi/bye Szia Seeya (informal to one person) 

Hi/bye Sziasztok 

Seeyastok (informal to more 

than one person) 

I don’t understand Nem értem Nehm ayrtehm 

Do you speak English? Beszél angolul? Bessayl ungolool? 

I can’t speak Hungarian 

Can you help me? 

Nem beszélek 

magyarul 

Kérhetem a 

segítségét? 

Where is …? Hol van? Hole von? 

Nehm bessaylek mudyarool 

Kayretem uh shegeechaygayt 

Buda Side 

The important thing 

is to remember to be 

up to date with the animal’s 

Rabies injections. This is for 

both cats and dogs. There are 

many vets around town 

and word of mouth is 

usually the best recommendation 

as different 

people demand different 

qualities in a vet. 

Dr. Miklós Zsómbôly 

Tel: +36 20 438 6908 (can arrange to pick up dog) 

ProVet Veterinary Clinic 

1025 Budapest, Csévi utca, 

Tel: +36 1 394 1006 

Budai Kisállat Klinika 

1112 Budapest, Csárda utca 10, 

Tel: +36 1 3101545 

Pest Side 

Author 

 

Állatkórház (Animal Hospital) 

1135 Budapest, Lehel Utca 43-47, 

Tel: +36 1 350 0365 

Szent István Veternary University 

1078 Budapest, István u. 2. 

Tel: +36 1 478 4100 

E-mail: webmaster@aotk.szie.hu 

Even do unusual/exotic animals like snakes! 

Pets in Budapest

Pets in Budapest 

Intervet, 

1139 

Budapest, 

Fáy utca 4. 

Tel: +36 1 350 8550 

Alpha-Vet, 


Hofherr Albert utca 38-40. 

Tel: +36 1 348 0246 

Boarding Kennels 

Zöldmáli Kennels 

These kennels are clean and Zsófi has a genuine interest 

in the dogs. She breeds Wired Haired Vizslas and can 

if requested pick up, as she lives in Páty (7 kms from Budapest, 

about 30 mins from school) 

Contact: Zsófi Miczek 

Tel: +36 30 313 2913 

E-mail: zsofi @zoldmali.hu 

Cathotel: 

cats are treated as home cats and 

they pick up from your house. 

Contact: Nikoletta 

E-mail: nikoletta.cathotel@gmail.com 

Dog Walkers / boarding 

Andrea Tuzson: 

(speaks only Hungarian) 

Tel: +36 70 458 7016 

Zsófi a Eged: 

(speaks English) 

Tel: +36 70 458 7014 

BISB teacher and (very!) long time Budapest 

resident Marion Merrick recommends: 

ZSOLT ARADSZKY has been my long-suffering solicitor 

for the last 15 years. (He may well feel it’s been longer than 

that!) He is endlessly patient, totally reliable and honest, speaks 

wonderful English (he and his partner speak other languages too) 

and he succeeded in the impossible: suing my bank and sorting out the 

tangled web of a badly managed property purchase. 

I cannot recommend him strongly enough! 

http://www.laworld.com/locations.php?content_id=133 

Author 

 

Lawyers

Shopping 

Author 

 

Food 

Shopping is time consuming! My regime 

is a supermarket shop once every month 

– water, washing detergent, canned and 

dried goods, toilet roll etc., then on a daily 

basis milk and bread. Once a week I visit 

the butcher and twice a week the greengrocer. 

Yes, this is a real commitment, but 

I fi nd this the freshest method. Fruit and 

veg don’t last long here so it needs to be 

bought regularly but the taste is so much 

better! 

During the summer there is an abundance 

of excellent and cheap fruit. Hungary was 

once the ‘bread basket’ of Eastern Europe 

and the result is fabulous fruit in particular 

peaches, cherries, watermelon, apricots 

and so on! The winter is much leaner and 

fresh green veg are defi nitely harder to 

come by. I have found frozen veg a reasonable 

substitute. The Hungarians eat pickled 

veg during the lean times and I have been 

caught once ordering a salad in January 

only to fi nd the veg had been pickled some 

time the previous July! 

Meat cuts are different too and a bit daunting. 

Pork is excellent and cheap. Lamb is 

a real treat but not impossible to fi nd. The 

Hungarians also eat a lot of poultry including 

turkey. 

Hungarian cheese (trappista) is not very 

fl avoursome however all the supermarkets 

sell a good range and specialist delis have 

a great display of European cheeses. 

Generally speaking, Hungarians tend to do 

their grocery shopping towards the end of 

the week. Fresh produce tends to be better 

quality and more plentiful on a Thursday, 

Friday and Saturday. 

Here are a couple of shopping tips 

• Always check the sell-by-date carefully! 

• If you want only one of something then you need to show this using 

your thumb. For 2 things you need your thumb and forefi nger. Do it 

in the British way and you will probably end up with 3. 

• Never hand money over (restaurant, taxi, shop) and say 

“Köszönöm” (thank you) as you do so. This indicates that you 

don’t want any change back and may be an expensive mistake. 

• Have a rough idea of how much your shop should cost even if it’s 

just a coffee and a cake so you don’t hand out too much money. 

Bio = organic 

Bread 

Good, but best to buy every day if possible. 

Wide selection: whole wheat, white, 

some made with potato or corn fl our. 

fehér – white 

barna – brown 

félbarna – half-half 

kukorica – corn 

burgonya – potato 

Milk 

The percentage of fat dictates the colour 

of the container. 1.5% is skimmed, 2.8% is 

semi-skimmed and 3.6% is full fat. Check 

sell-by-date and coolness of the fridge. 

Sausages 

Hungary has some great sausages but 

you can also buy a selection of British 

sausages from Wilkinson’s Sausage: 

E-mail: Sausage@chello.hu 

He also does New Zealand lamb and beef 

to order. 

Fruit and vegetables 

Wherever you buy them, they don’t tend to 

last very long, but, in season, on the day 

you buy them, they taste real. 

Self raising fl our and cream are both 

sometimes diffi cult to source. 

The recipe for SR fl our is 4 level tsp baking 

powder (sütôpor) to each 225g (8oz) of 

fl our (fi nom liszt) 

tejföl = sour cream. UHT cooking cream 

and whipping cream usually comes in a 

carton and is sold close to the UHT milk. 

(Shake before use, otherwise the gunk all 

goes to the bottom). Double cream can be 

purchased from some of the expat shops 

(see below) 

Kefi r is similar to yoghurt, full of probiotics 

but a little bit more sour. 

Ice cream 

The best ice-cream can be found just off 

Moszkva tér at ‘Artigiana Gelati’, 

1122 Budapest, Csaba utca 8. 

Tel: +36 1 212 2439 

Cakes 

Daubner (Szépvölgyi út district II), Szamos 

Café (Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal and 

Normafa, 1021 Budapest – can buy/order 

birthday cakes. 

Where to shop 

Supermarkets 

Tesco 


Cora 

2045 Törökbálint, Torbágy u. 1. 

Auchan 

1033 Budapest, Szentendrei út 115. 

Kaiser 


Interspar 


Shopping 

Centres 

Buda side 

Rózsakert and Rózsadomb both have 

Kaiser, Posta (Post Offi ce), expensive green 

grocers, dry cleaning, shoe repair counter, 

Kodak shop, banks etc. 

Budagyöngye – Hûvösvölgyi (56 tram) 

Main food shops are in the basement. 

Good butcher and greengrocer. Fishmonger 

(who will fi llet, etc as required). The deli 

sells cheeses from around the world and 

lovely bread. The butcher can take orders 

in English – lamb, venison etc – +36 30 

408 5355 (Josef). Poultry shop – can order 

Christmas turkeys. There are 2 Hungarian 

wine shops and a bio shop. 

Shell petrol station [sells gas for BBQs] 

Shopping

Shopping 

Mammut market (Fény utca) (pictured 

on previous page) – partially covered with 

huge range of fruit and veg. The butcher 

upstairs sells the Mangalica pork and organic 

grey cattle beef. There is also a spice 

shop there. 

Pest side 

Central Market (close to Szabadság 

bridge at Fôvám tér) – meat, veg, game, 

fi sh + Chinese supermarket in basement. 

Expat shops 

These are a treat and you can pretty much 

get what you would like – at a price! Unfortunately 

no M&S ready-meals! They have 

nice cheeses, crisps, baked beans, spices, 

oils etc 

Artosz 

1025 Budapest, Csévi utca, (near Pasaréti 

tér). Baked beans, crisps, double cream 

and other treats. Happy to take orders. 

Culinaris 

1036 Budapest, Perc utca 8. 

1067 Budapest, Hunyadi tér 3. 

www.culinaris.hu 

Corner Shop 

(corner of Gábor Áron and Pasaréti) 

Delicates Piccante and Café Delicates 

(pictured) – both very near school 

These are up-market delis, tempting expats 

where you can fi nd many home treats. 

Tesco 

Has an expat aisle where you can usually 

get some Mexican, Asian and North-American 

ingredients as well as muesli, Weetabix, 

shortbread, jam, SR Flour, mushy peas…. 

Asia exotic shop Wesselényi utca. Kamleesh 

runs the shop with her husband and 

also runs Indian cooking classes at her 

home. Every Asian ingredient ever required. 

Shopping online 

www.drink-to-door.hu 

delivers heavy goods i.e. water, wine, 

washing powder, fl our, nappies etc 

www.cibus.hu 

is the biggest Italian importer in Hungary. 

Prices are better than in the supermarkets. 

www.britishcornershop.co.uk 

features bulk and singular product sales 

from snacks and cake to noodles and 

drink. Also provides pet products, toiletries, 

and fair trade items. Located in the 

UK. 

www.thebritishpantry.hu 

online predominantly British food and 

drink, delivered to your door. 

Furniture 

Kika and Ikea 

Max City Törökbálint 

huge furniture and accessory stores 

Vibel 

Accessories for children’s bedrooms 

(Maia Christie). 

1051 Budapest, Október 6. utca 

corner of Balaton and Nagy Ignác utca. 

KA International fabric shop 

Order and sell fabric etc. 

although some people 

have bad experiences 

with their service. 

Bajcsy-Zsilinsky út. 

Beautiful hand-made wooden 

furniture by Zsolt Buday, 

cabinet maker. 

www.fairliefurniture.co.uk 

Bortársaság – chain of wine 

shops, selling mostly Hungarian 

wines, but you can pick up new 

and old world wines at a price. 

Will deliver for free, and take 

internet orders. 

Hungarian wine is good, best 

known for Bikavér (bull’s blood) 

which is a big red and Tokaji 

(mostly sweet, desert wines). Try 

the rosé as a cheap, refreshing 

summer tipple, or cabernet 

sauvignon for a fuller bodied red. 

“vörös” 

“rosé” 

“fehér” 

Shopping

Shopping 

Miscellaneous 

Great shop selling authentic Hungarian 

goose down duvets and pillows. (pictured) 

These can be made to order: 

Teréz Körút, 35. 

Tel. +36 30 996 6480 

www.paplan.hu 

Silver jewellery and pashminas: 

Sheena Bhasin 

Tel: +36 20 928 1602 

Optician – Mom Park Vision Express has 

an English speaking optician. 

Jolie Powell adds: 

Excellent costume hire shop in central 

Budapest (V district, opposite Central 

Kávéház). It has a really impressive range 

of costumes for hire – just about everything 

you could imagine for both adults and 

children. The entire selection is catalogued 

in an online system so you can browse and 

select what you would like before going 

along to the shop to try it on. Once at the 

shop there are plenty of staff to help find 

the right costume for you, using the same 

efficient online system, and help you with 

fitting. 

MASZKA 

“Costume making 

and renting” 

1056 Budapest 

Irányi u. 18-20. 

Tel: +36 1 317- 

5491, +36 1 317- 

4475 

www.maszka.hu 

As a newcomer to any city it is really 

worthwhile investing the time and energy 

to join an Expat club or society. Just 

remember that everyone who attends has 

been new at some stage and we all have 

to do things “out of our comfort zone” and 

push ourselves a bit in order to become 

settled. 

Why not try one of these clubs? You will 

meet wonderful people and feel at home 

in no time. 

BWA 

http://bwa.expatshungary.com/ 

The British Women’s Association (BWA) 

was set up in 1994 to offer British Women 

and wives and partners of British men 

living in Hungary a regular opportunity to 

meet together in an informal and friendly 

environment. 

NAWA 

http://www.nawabudapest.com/ 

The North American Women’s Association 

(NAWA) of Budapest is dedicated to fostering 

a sense of community among North 

Americans and offering a forum for members 

to interact with the local community 

through events and charitable activities. 

IWC 

http://www.iwc.org.hu 

The International Women’s Club Association 

of Budapest (IWCA) is a non-profit, 

charitable organization founded in 1981 

by a group of enterprising women from 

the international and diplomatic communities 

in Budapest. Today, the Association 

has more than 230 members representing 

more than 35 nationalities. 

The main purpose of the organisation 

is to sponsor and support charitable 

activities related to health care 

and education in Hungary, 

and especially to support 

hospitals and children 

suffering 

from disease or disability. In addition, the 

organisation promotes the development 

of good relationships between women of 

the international community and the host 

country in order to increase their knowledge 

of the people and the culture of 

Hungary. The organisation also supports 

the Club, which provides opportunities 

for women in the international community 

to meet and engage in social and cultural 

activities. The Club organises meetings 

and programs which fulfill the goals and 

principles of the Association and cooperates 

with other organizations sharing similar 

goals, whenever possible. The IWCA 

supports Mother Theresa Soup Kitchen, 

the Salvation Army, orphanages, hospitals, 

family assistance centers and a variety of 

other organizations in need. 

Italian Women’s 

Association 

http://www.cameradicommerciobudapest.com/cciucom/http://www.classictic.com/en/Budapest/Italian-Instituteof-Culture 

There is a new Italian Women Association 

called “Amiche dell’Italia” which 

Author 

 

was founded in November 2008 for those 

who are Italian or who can speak Italian. 

The Italian Chamber of Commerce has a 

magazine called “Il Ponte” and the Italian 

Institute of Culture has an organised space 

for leaflets and have small events. 

American Boy Cubs & 

Scouts Troop 939 

Contact: Don and Diane Baker – 

bridgeoverbrooke@hotmail.com 

It’s good to contact your embassy to 

find out more about any other national 

groups/societies that might be in your own 

nationality. 

Please ask BISB’s Admissions 

(admissions@bisb.hu) for the name of your 

Country Representative or the Country 

Reps Forum (agnes.clapp@bisb.hu) to provide 

you with more information on national 

societies/papers/websites/etc. 

Expats

Getting around 

Author 

 

 

Driving in Budapest 

The driving here is not terrible but it could 

be much better! 

The roads in Budapest are not very good, 

they are full of pot holes, especially after 

the winter. 

The traffi c lights colours are red-yellowgreen. 

Red = stop, red + yellow = get 

ready and green = go! fl ashing yellow 

= get ready to stop. Sometimes in the 

evenings and at the weekends they just 

have a continually fl ashing yellow light effectively 

turning a crossroads into a 4-way 

stop. Proceed with care! 

The speed limits in the city are 50km/h, 

dual carriageways are 90km/h and motorways 

130km/h. Keep to the speed limits 

– fi nes are huge! 

Headlights must be kept switched on all 

the time outside built-up areas. 

In order to use the motorways you will 

need to purchase a vignette (matrica) 

before you leave. You can buy these from 

petrol stations and the minimum time you 

can buy one for is 3 days. The offi cial 

website www.motorway.hu is very useful 

and gives you other options regarding 

purchasing a vignette. 

Wearing a seatbelt is compulsory. Children 

under 12 years or less than 150 cm tall 

must sit in the back in a child-seat. 

Use of a mobile phone while driving is 

strictly prohibited unless you have a 

speaker phone or Bluetooth. Unfortunately 

this law continues to be widely ignored. 

No drinking and driving! There is zero tolerance 

of alcohol and it is strictly enforced 

by the police. 

Carry your driving licence and car papers 

with you wherever you go. Do not leave 

them in the car. EU citizens can use their 

domestic driving licences in Hungary. 

Non-EU citizens need to convert their 

licence into a Hungarian licence after a 

year. For this, you will need to take a medical 

exam and the written road test (for 

English speakers this is arranged as an 

interpreted oral test). The process can be 

completed in about two months. Children 

aged 17 can apply for a driving licence. 

Driving lessons in English are available 

(www.csigajogsi.hu, www.driving.hu ) 

Rush hours are from 07:30 – 09:30 and 

from 16:30 – 18:30. Don’t be scared, hold 

your ground! 

Most of the Hungarian drivers know the 

short-cuts to school – ask them! 

Information on the state of the roads can 

be found at www.fovinform.hu in English 

as well as Hungarian. www.utv.hu is only 

available in Hungarian but shows the main 

interchanges live by camera online. Just 

click on ’Pest side’ or ’Buda side’ and on 

the street name. 

Very interesting! 

Hiring a car 

Hiring a car in Budapest is fairly easy. 

You need your passport and your driving 

licence. The largest car hire company is 

Fox Autorent 

(www.fox-autorent.com) and the largest 

bus hire company is 

Sargent-Bus 

(www.sargentbus.com). 

Public Transport 

A good fi rst thing to do is to ask your new 

neighbours or your landlord about local 

public transport. They will know which 

buses, trams, metro station are most useful 

for you. 

The Budapest Közlekedési Vállalat Website 

at www.bkv.hu is accessible in English 

too. You can fi nd everything here about 

how all the different forms of public transport 

link together. If you type the street 

name nearest to where you live that has a 

metro, bus, trolley bus, HÉV (overground 

metro) or tram on it in the search box, the 

site will give you a list of all the buses, 

trams and metro that go there. For example, 

if you type in Kiscelli (the school’s 

nearest street) it gives you the number of 

the bus lines- 86, 109, 206, and then you 

can check where the lines come from / go 

to. There is a route planner on the website 

too. 

It is important to know that you CAN’T buy 

your ticket on the bus, tram, metro, etc., 

you have to buy them in advance. You 

can buy tickets at the main interchanges 

(Moszkva tér, Déli pályaudvar, all metro 

stations, etc) and you can buy them at 

most newsstands. 

Ask for 

Gyûjtôjegy = 10 tickets 

Havi bérlet = a monthly pass 

Heti jegy = weekly pass 

It is a good idea to check the prices because 

if you travel a lot it is better to buy a 

season ticket. 

One ticket is valid for one line – the whole 

line with no stops and no changes. It can 

be used on all types of public transport. 

It has to be validated once on board the 

bus, trolley-bus, HÉV or tram and before 

getting on the metro. 

Author 

 

 

Getting around

Security 

Author 

 

Pick pocketing and purse snatching are 

very common in Hungary on public transportation, 

on the streets and in restaurants. 

Crime is petty but prevalent. 

We have been the victims of burglary 

twice. Cash was taken from the house in 

about 3 minutes, simply by tooling open a 

window and the second time my husband’s 

wallet was stolen very professionally. 

Both times – despite opportunity for 

more – only cash was stolen. I have never 

heard of anyone feeling threatened. So, 

here are a few tips to try and prevent this 

petty crime and what to do about it if it 

happens to you. 

Tips: 

• Photocopy passport and permits and 

keep in a safe place (separate from the 

originals). 

• Make a list of all the telephone numbers 

in your mobile phone. 

• Always make sure the gates are locked 

behind you when you leave the garage 

or property. 

• Make sure you lock your car when you 

get out of it. 

• Never buzz in someone you don’t know 

or understand. 

• Take valuables – wallet, watch, phone – 

upstairs at night. 

• Don’t leave valuables where they can be 

seen through a window. 

• Don’t leave valuables in your car. 

• Pick-pockets are common, especially in 

Mammut and on crowded trams. Never 

leave your bag unattended, carry it with 

you all the time. 

If you are the victim of a crime this is what 

to do: 

Stolen wallet / break in – go to the 

Rendôrség (police) in your district, take 

an interpreter and you will be interviewed. 

They take a statement i.e. what has been 

taken, where from, etc. and give you a 

printed copy (in Hungarian). There’s no 

point in going unless you have an interpreter 

that you trust. I have used both my 

babysitter and my Hungarian teacher – it 

doesn’t need to be anyone official. The 

Rendôrség investigate and 6 weeks after 

reporting, you will receive a closure letter 

in the post. It’s important to report a stolen 

wallet, particularly if it has your address 

and residence permit in it, as you’ll need 

the police report to replace the cards and 

insurance companies often want this. 

Police in English – 438 8080. However 

... it’s better if you can get someone to 

interpret. 

Security

Bills, post and fi nes 

 

Bills 

Author 

If you are renting your house or fl at it is 

better to agree with the owner that they 

pay the utility bills and that you give or 

transfer the money to them. The bills 

arrive at your house on yellow printed 

paper which details (see picture below) the 

amount (1), the name of the payer (2), the 

name of the company you owe the money 

to (3) and the deadline (4). The yellow slip 

has 2 parts, when you pay the smaller part 

is returned to you for your records. Keep a 

fi le with them in! 

It is best to pay on time because late payment 

incurs an interest charge. You can 

only pay these bills at the Post Offi ce. Be 

prepared to line up! 

You can also set up bank transfers to pay 

these regular utility bills. 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Fines 

If you receive a parking fi ne it is better to 

pay it within 5 days. The fi ne is one hours 

parking + 10x the hourly fee. 

e.g. if one hour is 115 HUF then the fi ne 

will be 115 + 1150 = 1265 HUF. 

After 5 days the fi ne goes up to 20x the 

hourly fee. 

The yellow ticket comes in a blue or red 

bag attached to your windscreen. You will 

have to fi ll in the slip when you pay with 

the amount in numbers and characters. It 

is enough if you write the registration plate 

of the car in the big white box where you 

normally write who is paying the bill. 

Because you only have 5 days to pay the 

fi ne, ask one of the Hungarians in school 

to help you. 

N.B. Keep some change in your car for 

parking. You can also pay by mobile 

phone; check out the website 

www.fi zessenmobillal.hu (Hungarian 

and English). 

(1) 

(3) 

(2) 

Post 

The offi cial website is www.posta.hu but is 

only available in Hungarian. 

You can do a lot in the Post Offi ce. You 

can buy all the stationery you need, 

phonecards, lottery tickets. You can pay 

bills, pay in money, withdraw money, send 

money, send faxes, subscribe to newspapers, 

effect an insurance and more. 

The Hungarian Post Offi ce has lots of 

offi ces. The smaller ones are usually open 

from 8 or 9 am until 3 or 4 pm, but close 

from 12.30 until 2pm for half an hour. The 

bigger ones in the shopping centres are 

open from 8 or 9 am until 7 or 8 pm. Most 

Post Offi ces close on Sunday and the 

smaller ones close on Saturday too. 

Euro Centre post offi ce is open on Sunday 

morning. 

It is best to wrap packages securely and 

label them as “LÉGIPOSTA” (airmail). Valuables 

should be sent with an extra security 

charge paid for them. When expecting 

packages from abroad, ask them to send 

to your work place address. They are 

easier to be traced than home addressed 

parcels if they are lost on the way. 

Some international courier services are 

DHL 

( www.dhl.hu ) 

World Courier 

(www.worldcourier.hu ). 

National courier services include 24 hr 

Futárszolgálat 

(www.24hfutar.hu ) 

Gepárd Team 

(www.gepardteam.hu ). 

www.interparcel.co.uk charge very 

competitive rates for sending packages. 

From the UK to Hungary. Approximately 

8,500 HUF for 26 kilos. 

Bills, post and fi nes

At a loose end 

Author 

 

The guide ‘Benjamin in Budapest’ covers 

activities for children and families really 

well, therefore this section is aimed at 

adults. Of course, your children may enjoy 

one of the following activities too, but this 

section is mainly aimed at Mums with a bit 

of time on their hands. 

So, after dropping off your children at 

school at 8:40, you have a potential 7 

hours to fi ll until you pick them up again! 

The tourist guide books cover the museums 

and galleries in Budapest, so I won’t 

include it here, but for me a real must 

when you fi rst arrive in Budapest is the 

National Museum’s ‘Hungary from 1000 

to 1990’. It will give you a potted history 

of the country you have just arrived in 

and you will see what are effectively the 

national treasures. Hungary has had a 

colourful and complicated past and so this 

might help you to understand the people 

and customs a little more. 

LECTURE PROGRAM AT THE MUSEUM 

OF FINE ARTS BUDAPEST 

Do you love art? Enjoy art lectures 

presented by museum curators and 

educators - in English. Attend the lectures 

at your leisure – no need to register in 

advance: you can buy a ticket in the lobby 

right before the lecture. Each spring and 

autumn a new series begins. 

Or if you would like to help introduce others 

to the beauty of the works in the museum’s 

collection, consider training to be 

a Docent of the Museum of Fine Arts. No 

art background is necessary. The museum 

provides intensive training – all you need is 

some free time and lots of enthusiasm. 

Visit the website www.mfab.hu for more 

details (click on Education, then Docent 

Program) or 

contact docent@szepmuveszeti.hu 

Again, Budapest’s famous thermal baths 

and spas are covered in the guide books 

but a recommendation would be the 

Széchenyi baths. Clean, beautiful and if 

you go in the week, not crowded and also 

not ridiculously expensive which some of 

the other baths become during the busy 

summer tourist season. In fact it is best in 

winter I am told, as bathing outside with 

snow all around is quite an experience!. 

They only take cash, you should get a 

changing cabin and you will need fl ip fl ops 

- top tips from a friend who had been a 

few times. 

If you are looking for a new hobby or 

perhaps you just want to try something a 

little different, the following short courses/ 

regular meetings may be of interest to you: 

Pottery 

Courses of 10 weeks at a reasonable 

price. Beginners and more experienced 

potters are welcomed. 

Contact Jutka Fisher 

on +36 70 370 4253 

Indian Cookery 

Short courses for small groups of 5 or so 

Mums. Learn how to cook authentic curries, 

rajta, chapattis - tasting included!! 

Contact Kamlesh on +36 306 818694. 

Mah Jong 

It takes place every Monday morning from 

10:00 until 12:00/12:30 usually, at Remiz 

restaurant, Budakeszi út. Bus 22 at Szep 

Ilona (after Budagyongye). They play in 

the card room on the fi rst fl oor. There are 

no dues. They just pay for their drinks. 

Everybody is welcome (even beginners). It 

is an International friendly group. 

Please contact Marie Pataky-Kovalevitch 

marie.kovalevitch@gmail.com 

Walking Club 

The Buda Hills walking club meet on a 

Thursday morning at 10am every week for 

a 2 hour walk. 

Contact Sharon Hardgrove on 

+36 20 931 1884 

CELTA 

Train for a TEFL qualifi cation (Teaching 

English as a Foreign Language) on a 4 

month part-time course or a one-month 

full time-course. This one may even lead 

to a new career!! 

See www.ih.hu for more details. 

Hairdressers and beauty salons are of 

course a must for any lady with time on 

her hands!! My personal favourite is ‘A 

List’ (district 2, +36 30 515 9944) which 

is cheap and friendly and you are sure to 

bump into someone from school there on 

a Friday lunchtime!! Some others are: 

CATWALK in Mammut shopping centre 

district 2 

Tel: +36 1 345 8521 

DITI just off Vaci út in Pest 

Tel: +36 70 619 9525 

JANOS in Paseréti tér in district 2 

Tel: +36 20 299 11987 

CSABA based at 

Le Meridian Hotel, Erzsébet tér in Pest 

IRISZ SALON Gárdonyi Géza, district 2, 

just round the corner from Rózsadomb. 

Great manicure or pedicure from Sylvie. 

You need to call in the salon as she only 

speaks Hungarian. 

Other Mums in school have mentioned 

Marilyn in the Rózsakert shopping centre 

and Zsuzsi or Kata at the Rózsadomb 

shopping centre, both in district 2. 

Whatever you decide to do, you will most 

probably fi nd someone at school who has 

tried it or knows someone else who has. 

Please just ask around and join in the fun!! 

At a loose end

Being Green 

Author 

 

 

It’s Easy Being Green…. 

It is getting increasingly easier to be 

‘green’ in Budapest, the last 5 years has 

seen an explosion of recycling bins and 

bike paths. Greenness is no longer confi 

ned to the realms of the hardcore. It is 

possible for those of us who cannot weave 

and hate tofu to do our bit… 

Recycling 

There is no kerbside pick up for recycling 

but there are large recycling bins within a 

few streets of most houses and around big 

supermarkets or parking areas. You can 

return paper (“papír”), plastic (“mûa nyag”), 

glass (“üveg”), milk bottles (“tejes doboz”) 

and clothes (“használt ruha”) in most 

places. 

• Batteries can be brought into school 

(and Ikea!) 

• Unwanted clothes can be put in the bins 

outside ‘Stop Shop’ on Hûvösvölgyi út, 

or brought to school for various charities. 

• Bottle returns: You can return most of 

your glass bottles, such as wine bottles 

and plastic bottles, such as water bottles 

at the “üvegvisszaváltó” window in 

shops. You will get some deposit back. 

Jam jars are not returnable. 

• Once or twice a year there is also a disposal 

day (“lomtalanítás”) when you can 

get rid of large items of rubbish. These 

disposal days are advertised in advance 

by the local government. 

Restaurants: 

There are many restaurants in Budapest 

with great options for vegetarians mostly 

those with ‘international’ menus. 

Trattoria Toscana 

1056 Budapest, Belgrad rakpart 13. 

Tel: + 36 (1) 327-0045 

or vistit www.toscana.hu 

Café Provence 

Great food and brilliant place especially if 

you have young children. 

Eating 

Organic food is now available nearly everywhere 

– the best place is the weekly farmers 

market close to Mom Park. Farmers from the surrounds 

of Budapest bring fabulously fresh produce, 

there is an organic bakery stall and a children’s play 

park adjoining it. A pleasant coffee shop beckons 

round the corner. 

1123 Budapest, Csörsz u. 18. 

6:30am – 12:00, Saturdays 

There are many ‘bio’ shops sprouting 

up all over Budapest – not cheap 

– but increasingly well 

stocked. 

1028 Budapest, Hidegkúti út 81. 

Open: Mon-Thurs 8:00-21:00, Fri 8:00- 

22:00, Sat 9:00-22:00, Sun 9:00-21:00 

Tel: + 36 274-7733 

Mobile: +36 30 865-9773 

www.cafeprovence.hu 

‘Normafa Grill’ is a great place to eat 

after a hearty walk in the hills, very child 

friendly. 

1121 Budapest, Eötvös út 52-54. 

Tel: + 36 (1) 395-6505 

www.normafahotel.com 

Indigo Indian Restaurant 

1066 Budapest, Jókai utca 13. 

Tel: +36 1 428-2187 

www.indigo-restaurant.hu 

Selling Secondhand: 

Items you would like to sell or pass onto 

others. 

• Place an ad on the school noticeboard 

• Erika’s Attic is a website for expats wishing 

to sell or buy secondhand items 

www.erikasattic.com 

Buda: 

‘Bio Centrum’ in 

Mammut Shopping 

Centre 

Pest: 

‘Bio’ ABC 

7th district, 

Erzsébet körút 

Wesselényi 

Tram stop 

• Emma Toth-Plumtree 

‘I sell it on for you’ 

Takes used items, (especially chidren’s 

items, clothes, books) presents them and 

sells them on ebay or local vatera sites. 

E-mail: emma@tothplumtree.com 

Buying Secondhand: 

As above! 

There are lots of secondhand clothes shops 

for the brave or very determined. For the 

more conservative BÚJÓCSKA (Hide-and- 

Seek) is a great place fi lled with designer 

childrens’ clothes. It is a bit of a trek but 

Budakeszi has a pretty playpark and a 

pleasant coffee shop in the centre and is on 

the way, if you go the scenic route to Ikea. 

2092 Budakeszi, Fô út 88-90. 

Tel: +36 30 449 9807 

E-mail: bujocskabolt@freemail.hu 

Open: M-F: 10:00-17:30 Sat: 10:00-13:00 

Treehugger Dan’s Bookshop is not only a 

great resource for secondhand books, but 

also a hub for anyone literary, environmentally 

or alternative culturally minded who 

enjoys a good cup of fair trade coffee. 

Purely 

vegetarian or vegan 

Hummus 

1054 Budapest, Alkotmany utca 20. 

Tel: + 36 (1) 302 13 85 

Napos Oldal 

Jokia utca 7/8 

6th district 

Here there are two shops facing each other, one is a 

Bio ABC, while the other is a small restaurant using the 

ingredients from Bio ABC to make sandwiches, lunches and 

dinners. 

Vegetarium 

1053 Budapest, Cukor ut 3. 

Tel: + 36 1 48 408 48 


Csengery u. 48 

Tel: 36 1 322 0774 

open M-F: 10:00-18:00, 

Sat: 10:00-17:00 


Lázár u. 16 

Tel: 36 1 269 3843 

E-mail: info@treehugger.hu 

www.treehugger.hu 

open M-F: 09:30-18:30, 

Sat & Sun: 10:00-16:00 

1052 Budapest, Sütõ u. 2. 

In the courtyard in the same building as 

the McD’s and tourist offi ce 

Opening hours: Nov to March 10:00 to 

18:00, April to Oct 8:30 to 20:00 

Ecseri Fleamarket has a great range 

of knickknacks and antique furniture. 

Defi nitely worth a visit for people watching 

purposes, some extraordinary characters 

and exchanges to be observed. A good 

deal of the stuff looks like and probably 

has come out of a skip. Prices are in some 

cases ridiculously high but bargaining is 

the norm. You will occasionally of course 

fi nd a unique treasure which ensures 

you cannot resist going back again just 

in case!! Best to go early ( 6-7am) on a 

Saturday morning 

XIX. Nagykôrösi út 

Transportation Bus: 54 from Boráros tér 

Tel: +36 1 280-8840 

WAMP 

While it is not strictly secondhand, WAMP 

is a monthly market promoting young 

Hungarian designers. Really cool, unique 

handicrafts often made from recycled materials, 

gorgeous jewellery, great gifts (for 

yourself)! Usually held in the Gödör club 

in Deák tér in the centre of town so pretty 

easy to get to . 

www.wamp.hu/en/ 

Hiring Bikes 

Yellow Zebra now do a long term bike 

rental scheme for those preferring not to 

purchase a bike. They also do daily and 

hourly services too. 

Located at Deák tér. 

www.yellowzebrabikes.com 

Green Map 

A Hungarian environment charity, Messzelátó, 

has produced a number of detailed 

maps pin pointing a range of green services. 

Really worth a look. 

www.messzelato.hu/hu/node/373 

Being Green

Tips & Hints 

AuthorEnglish. It is useful to know your address 

in Hungarian and to translate some useful 

phrases, like “my house is on fi re!” 

 

Making a telephone call 

• From a landline or payphone to another 

in Budapest, dial the 7-digit number. 

• When calling outside the city add +36 

then the city code (Budapest is 1) 

• All mobile numbers here start +36 and 

30, 20 or 70 depending on the network 

provider. 

• International calls dial 00 + country code 

+ area code + local number. Hungary is 

36, England is 44. 

• If you are having problems dial 00 for the 

International Operator. 

Emergency phone numbers 

and outside working hours 

numbers 

A few words of warning unfortunately 

gained through experience: do not expect 

emergency services operators to speak 

If you are unable to speak in Hungarian 

make sure you have contact information 

for someone who knows your details and 

can call on your behalf in Hungarian. 

General Emergency Services 112 

Police 107 

Fire 105 

Ambulance 104 

Directory Assistance 198 

English Phone Directory 191 

International Operator 199 

24 hour English language 

crime hotline Tel: +36 1 438 8080 

Lost and Found Tel: +36 1 322 6613 

Information from: 

www.budapestinfo.hu/en/general_information/medical_services 

24-hour medical assistance: 

Falck SOS Hungary. 

Tel: +36 1 200 0100 

24-hour dental assistance: 

Tel: +36 1 267 9602 

Dentist Rózsakert Tel: +36 1 200 0734 

Medical Rózsakert Tel: +36 1 391 5903 

First Med Centers Kft Tel: +36 1 224 9090 

Inland enquiries: 198 

Universal enquiries: 197 

International enquiries: 199 

Autó club-help number: 188 

Speaking clock: 180 

Tourinform 

telephone enquiries: +36 1 438-8080 

Loss of passport 

You should report the loss of your passport 

to the following authority: 

Budapest and Pest County Directorate of 

the Offi ce for Immigration and Citizenship 

1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 60. 

Tel: +36 1 463-9165 / 463-9181 

Open: 24 hours 

If your passport is stolen, you must report 

the loss to the local district police headquarters. 

It’s easy to lose your passport, but getting 

a replacement is expensive and time-consuming. 

You need to carry ID here, but you 

can use your photo driving licence. 

The Budapest Police Command has 

around-the-clock service in the centre of 

town: 

Tourist Police 

(1052 Budapest, Sütô u. 2.) 

Miscellaneous thoughts & tips 

National holidays 

1st January New Year’s Day 

15th March Anniversary of 1848 uprising against Austrian rule 

March/April (varies) Easter Monday 

1st May Labour Day 

May (varies) Whit Monday 

20th August Feast of St Stephen, the founder 

of the Hungarian state in 1000 

23rd October Anniversary of the 1956 uprising 

1st November All Saints’ Day 

24th December Christmas Eve 

25th December Christmas Day 

26th December Boxing Day 

National holidays falling on a Tuesday (or a Thursday) are usually joined with the Monday (or Friday) 

to make up a long weekend and the following Saturday will be a work day instead. 

Looking for work 

www.workania.hu if you are looking to fi nd a job in Hungary. You can change the language 

to Hungarian, German and English. 

Post codes 

Budapest has a four digit post code, the two middle digits are the district. 

E.g. 1026 = district 2 

Tips & Hints

Tips & Hints 

Taxis 

Never get a taxi off the street, always 

order one by phone or you may be vastly 

overcharged. 

Some taxi companies: 

Buda Taxi: Tel: +36 1 233 3333 

Tele5 Taxi: Tel: +36 1 555 5555 

City Taxi: Tel: +36 1 211 1111 

Taxi 2000: Tel: +36 1 200 0000 

Sôfôr Taxi Service will collect you AND drive your car home if you fi nd 

yourself out with the car and wanting a drink! 

Tel: +36 1 20 950 5505. 

Driving 

Give way to the right rule if there is no give way sign for them to stop. 

Drivers are very impatient and will use every opportunity to overtake. 

Money 

1 or 2 Forint coins and from January 2010 

HUF200 paper notes are not in use 

Tipping 

Normally 10%. Do not give the money 

and say THANK YOU this means thank you 

and keep the change. “Kérek vissza” means I 

want the change back. 

Language 

Csókolom – means kiss your hand – it is a sign of 

respect from men to women. Do not say it to men! 

Name days 

Hungarians celebrate both their birthdays 

and their name’s days which are noted 

on Hungarian calendars. 

Snow 

Shopping 

Grocery shops do not give out free 

bags (apart from Tescos). Buy bags and 

keep them in the car! 

You are responsible for clearing snow from your paths, you could 

be liable for any accidents. 

Ragweed 

You are responsible for cutting back ragweed in and around your property. 

You could be fi ned for letting the weed spread. 

Radio 

RadioCafé 98.6 FM has an English speaking program on a 

Thursday evening and BBC and RFI alternate on 92.1 FM (RFI 

between 7:30 and 16:00, BBC between 16:00 and 7.30) 

Tips & Hints

Photographers 

Photographs always make an 

excellent gift for friends and 

family back home. We have 4 

recommendations. 

Franc Anderson 

Photos of Budapest – often bought 

as presents. 

Tamás Holló 

tel: +36 30 990 2540 

email: francanderson@gmail.com 

Portraits, cityscapes, landscapes 

and wildlife. 

tel: +36 20 325 7112 

www.tamashollo.com 

www.hollotamas.extra.hu 

For lovely portraits of your little ones or indeed 

yourselves: 

Julian (Gyula Zácsfalvi) 

Wedding and family photos from which he 

designs unique Photobooks. 

He also photographs Budapest and publishes 

calendars each year using these images. 

www.juulphoto.com 

tel: +36 70 525 1242 

email: juul-photo@gmail.com 

Peter Ronaszeki 

Family photos and portraits. 

tel: +36 30 501 0837 

email: peter@ronaszeki.com

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