This fascinating bus starts its journey on the road and continues on the water. Nobody could have imagined before what it�s like to cross the Danube on a floating bus. This vehicle, known as the “AmphiCoach” (operated by Ride River Company), will allow you to visit places of interest in the city from a different perspective. The tour starts at the Roosevelt Square, in the heart of Budapest, and then goes to:  the Parliament, the Budapest Opera House, the Royal Palace, the Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Stephen�s Basilica and a few other hot spots of the Hungarian capital. After visiting these tourist sites, the famous amphibious bus goes into the sacred waters of the Danube to continue the tour.

On this tour, you will have the opportunity to see the best views of the capital of Hungary, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Undoubtedly, the main attraction in Budapest is the Danube River, which gives life to the city with its calm waters.

When traveling in Europe, we usually take tourist buses that bring us, in a hurry, to the most important attractions, while exposing us to the polluted air of the city. With the Amphibious Bus, pollution or traffic jams won’t be a problem anymore, because with this vehicle you can navigate on the river, while getting to know downtown Budapest. AmphiCoach offers the best way to discover both Buda and Pest, and yet being able to enjoy the contrast from one shore to another. This spectacular bus can navigate upstream as it was on a road; it literally moves like a fish in water.

The tickets for children can be purchased for 5,000 forints (around 18 Euros) and for an adult ticket you will pay 7,500 forints (28 Euros). With this 2-hour trip you’ll have a guide who will show you each of the best, known and unknown, spots in Budapest.

This idea is so original that surely will be soon spread to other cities, where a river is the main point of reference. It occurs to me that it could work with the Thames in London or the Seine in Paris. This is definitively a very nice way of urban tourism and the first European waterbus.

Tourists are normally skeptical when they look at the bus for the first time, but when they have tried it, most of them are eager to take it once again. It is a pleasant tour in which more than one is surprised that the bus can float. This revolutionary Amphibious Bus is like the ones the Spanish Army used in some missions abroad. By road or water. No obstacles.

DianaRPretel

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One of the most special summer events in Budapest is its Popular Arts Festival (Mesterségek Ünnepe). Every year, in the second fortnight in August, the city celebrates St Stephen�s Day, patron of Hungary, and over 800 craftsmen and artists gather to entertain the 80,000 attendants. This is an event you cannot miss if you like discovering new traditions and the popular culture of the places you travel to.

The festival will take place between the 17th and 20th of August, and what distinguishes it and makes it special is that those who attend don�t just have to chance to observe the best craftsmen of the country doing their work and then buying their finished items but also because they�re invited to participate and learn. For example, they can make a musical instrument, ceramic, work with a blacksmith, make embroidery, egg painting, etc.

If you travel with your family to Budapest, you�ll enjoy it in a special way because many of the programmed activities are thought for kids: puppet theatres, storytellers, rag doll making, making paper by hand, felt crafts, dancing… all of which with the aim of transmitting popular trades and traditions to the youngest ones in the family.

In each edition, the festival revolves around a certain subject and this year the subject is traditional dresses, with workshops where you can discover how old clothes were designed, create your own clothes and seeing the techniques of how traditional clothes were made, which are still used to make modern clothes.

This is a varied and lively programme that will also have music and popular dances during the night. The artists will dress up in traditional clothes and they will dance to music from different countries every night. Not only folk will be the main protagonist, but jazz and music from around the world as well as electronic music will also be part of the programme.

Gastronomy is another of the main stars of the festival, and you can try typical food and drinks of Hungarian medieval cuisine, such as homemade sweets, jams, cheeses, etc.

On the last day, August 20th, coinciding with St. Stephen�s Day, it will be the turn of the so-called �bread blessing ceremony� in front of St. Matthias� Church. Bread is consecrated by the craftsmen on Clark Adam Street, who go on a parade around the Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) up to St. Stephen�s Basilica, where they celebrate mass and the cardinal blesses the bread. They carry on with the so-called Sacred Han Procession and the afternoon is rounded off with fireworks to close the festival.

This festival takes place around Buda Castle, one of the most beautiful places in Budapest, especially at night, when it�s completely lit-up. An old royal residence, it has suffered numerous restorations since its construction in the 14th century and its location, on a hill, offers spectacular views of the city. Inside, you can visit the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum.

Elena Alvarez

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Lake Balaton is one of the most popular attractions for all those who visit Hungary. This outstanding natural destination should not to be missed during your stay in Budapest. Located in Transdanubia, Lake Balaton is one of the meeting points of local and international travelers. Also known as the “Hungarian Sea”, Lake Balaton is the largest lake in central Europe. After the First World War, the lake became the main holiday resort for Hungarians. This lake not only impresses with its large size but also by the diversity of activities that can be performed on it and around it. In addition to boating and sailing in its waters, activities such as horseback riding, golf, swimming and other outdoor activities are possible. Near the lake, you will find sandy beaches very suitable for relaxing, and sunbathing. Usually during the summer, the waters of Lake Balaton are warm during the night; they are even warmer than the breeze circulating in the area. With a beautiful sunset and bright nature around the Balaton, you will never fail in enjoying a perfect romantic night. On the northern part of the lake you will see beautiful mountains, which will complete a simply unforgettable landscape.

As you might imagine, the most popular months to visit this beautiful lake are between June and August, but don’t let this fact stop you from visiting this natural beauty because, despite being a popular destination, remains as a place of tranquility and recreation for all who visit. To get to Lake Balaton from Budapest, you can take a train from the city center or you can even get there by bus. Prices in both cases are extremely reasonable. We recommend you take the train to the north of the lake, which is the closest to Budapest; the journey will take from two an a half hours to four hours. To sum up, traveling by train is your best option, because of the beautiful and diverse landscapes that you will be able to see on the way to this amazing lake. The railway system in Hungary operates quite effectively throughout the year. You will generally find cabins or second-class seats, which are the most desirable in terms of price. If you decide to go first class the price doubles of course. You can take these trains from stations: Budapest Déli and Budapest Keleti. There are discounts for students and families. Preferably, buy your train ticket in cash. For more information about tourism in Budapest and Hungary, visit this website: http://www.budapest.com/

Alexa Ray

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After a hard winter, the return of spring means going out onto the streets again, enjoying some sun and being once again amongst nature, eating al fresco and going to café terraces. This past winter was a lot harder than the last. Perhaps it�s because of global warming that the seasons are more intense or unstable, with unexpected climate changes that include waves of wind and cold, storms and other phenomenons, so could it be true that it�s the end of the world in 2012? The human race and the thousands of inventions of its culture are always bordering the apocalypse; that machinery that unites us to death so desperately and that makes the final destruction of the planet something so selfish, eroticized and eventually another product of day to day consumption. Religions and companies, or religions that are companies or companies that are religions, it doesn�t matter, just fill us with fear with these ideas that turn out to be false, that separate us from today, the time of action and the constant daily transformation.

Spring is a reason for rejuvenation, rebirth, of new life and light. Of course it�s related with the green environment of the dry and shadowy forest, the return of flowers and birds in patios and gardens, no other association goes better with love, fertility and the essence of life itself. And so, so many books and poems have been written to spring that we�d need more days to count them, comment on and read them all. In the same way, the association of spring and music has always been intense. The processes of musical creation, like spring, can be the result of a large effort in the personal interior darkness that finally bring melodies and rhythms to light, which move us in a thousand different ways and make us more human and, of course, more careful towards the beauty of our humanity.

Despite the contradictions of our time, art and of course music, above all, can bring us back to think about our species, its future and the immense possibility of change that the human race represents. Even more in spring and in a city as poetic as Budapest, which traps you from the first moment of your visit.

The Spring Musical Festival in Budapest is one of the best pretexts to travel and see this beautiful city in a climate that rejuvenates us and with the spirit of seeing contemporary, classical, jazz and folk music as well as the opera from inside in some of the most emblematic places in the city: churches, the Palace of Arts and the Thália Theatre among others. For more information visit the following website: http://www.btf.hu/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Budapest and enjoy this important spring music festival. Budapest and its diverse and rich cultural lifestyle await you to wrap you inside it. Without doubt, it�s one of the most interesting cities in Europe today.

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Anyone who thinks that Paris, London, Milan and New York remain the only sources of international fashion today, little know about what is really happening in terms of fashion around the world. Of course, these cities continue to conglomerate much of the international fashion industry, many of the most important designers are strategically placed in them, but much more is happening in some other cities, such as in Budapest. Besides having a lot of independent designers, Budapest aroused the interest of the consumer market to fashion; “Made in Hungary” is present.

The future does not belong to the old dinosaurs, to the same markets. From the place of the margin, from the borders and out of the common patterns, at present, new and riskier models are being tried, new ways of dressing, different costumes, and riskier products at better prices by independent designers, sound much more interesting. The WAMP fair that takes place regularly in this city verifies this.

It is noteworthy that some of the most important and recognized brands are more established in Budapest, either in shopping malls in central areas of the city or intermingled with small shops in the historic center. Brands like Vapiano, United Colors of Benetton, Sisley, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, La Coste and Nanushka will be waiting for. All these brands are available in the ” Fashion Street ” on the remodeled Deák Ferenc Street.

Keep in mind, that style in Budapest at night is very important; both women and men, are risky, wearing trendy and sexy clothes, when it comes to conquering the nights of dancing and fun that the city offers. Do not be surprised that some residents actually spend time and money in the production of their daily clothing. Like in any big city, the style is considered long before romance.

Another essential place to find the best in fashion in Budapest is the shopping mall next to Blaha Lujza Square. Here you will find a greater variety of items in some very exclusive, small shops and recreational areas, as well as other services to spend an entire afternoon shopping.

While the most of the best in clothing, shoes and accessories can be found at the center of the city, exploring some nearby areas you will find interesting shops where there are plenty of unusual items and great prices. Like going hunting, it�s about going with the keen eye and explore everywhere. Never miss the deals at the beginning of the year, some weeks after Christmas holidays.

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Budapest and explore its ancient and modern streets, filled with fashionable shops and curiosities. Going shopping is an adventure that requires a careful city exploration, Budapest awaits.

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Translated by: Hans
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Next year will be better, or so they say. On 2012 there are thousands of sensational speculations that have been there for two or three years. Among many, that the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world for the beginning of 2012. That�s not happened nor will it happen. Maybe, something that the calendar was right about was in the change and the end of many ideas that we�ve had on reality and its structure, on the inconsistent way in which capitalism hasn�t been able to control its networks and, from the United States to Europe and back, due to the bad handling of investments of many thousands of people, as well as political abuse against the working rights of many people, we�ve reached a global crisis.

The word �crisis� is today one of the most widely used in global language. This can be translated with some Google and seeing the results on social networks. Inadvertently, the social networks have unleashed a wave of text and information exacerbating the crisis from a problem which was essentially economical. And it�s not about dis-informing, of living in denial about what�s happening or turning one�s back on things, but more about understanding that the essence of the problem is in the language, and therefore we have to be alert towards other things such as music, art or travelling. There are ways of getting rid of the problems, which aren�t necessarily expensive and totally accessible.

The New Year�s Eve parties are usually a moment of excess around the world. We believe that, getting ridiculously drink and dancing, we will leave behind a year which hasn�t gone according to plan with our wishes. But a party is a party and it can happen on any day. Maybe the best thing to do to celebrate and say goodbye to the year gone by is to pay attention to music and see what it says to us, which new options it offers us and think a bit about it. Being drunk and dancing is very easy, but listening to beautiful melodies is more important.

For that, the concert of Amadinda and Gábor Presser on the 31st of December is an option to unwind from the noise of the party and enter another musical dimension. Amadinda is a unique percussion band who began their career in Budapest in 1984, and since then present compositions of contemporary Hungarian music in different formats, from the most traditional to the most minimal. Gábor Presser is another experimental musician who remains classic. He makes electronic compositions of classical and modern pieces. This concert is a chance to get to understand that the frontiers of traditional and improvisation are very light and, on the contrary, can go hand in hand in such an important place like the Palace of Art in Budapest.

It will undoubtedly be a night of the best contemporary Hungarian music. Recommended for fans of international contemporary music and experimentation. For more information visit the following website: http://mupa.hu/en/

Alexa Ray

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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To talk about design in today�s day and age is to be aware of what is really going on in the field of aesthetic exploration and production and marketing means. All of it is linked with one another: don�t expect that the new t-shirt that you�ve bought in the kitschiest shop in your city has nothing to do with any new conceptual agenda or relation with the newest in political complaints or new ways of production which are environment-friendly. Many designers, today go for �green� trends, an option which as well as helping the planet with its immediate corrosion and destruction, works as an even more seductive factor for the product you�re about to consume; and it�s more than obvious, don�t let them fool you: behind any attempt of �political correctness� there�s also a catch to get more money out of you so that others make more money.

The ease that design production is made with these days, thanks in the same way to quicker and more efficient means of production, makes that many young people can show their work and that there�s a larger variety of new possibilities. Despite that quantity doesn�t mean quality, what�s true is that among more range of choice regarding fashion, accessories, objects, music or home decoration, there are better options of finding the right gift or fetish. In other words, as well as being a very good option so that thousands of creative people gather, Wamp is also one of the best places to find the most unusual and special Christmas gift, which will surely delight the person receiving the gift, because they will have a unique stylish item, and especially because it will be the latest in Budapest�s world of design.

And so, Wamp is more than a market, it�s a designers exhibition, a space of action, an emerging community of new talents in Budapest. Wamp presents itself once or twice a month during the year. This way, the best in design is available for citizens, tourists, curious people and everyone who is passing by or lives in the beautiful city of Budapest. This way, Wamp is the perfect meeting place for creative people from around the world, as well as the trend setters who search for the cutting edge in European fashion.

Wamp presents the best in graphic arts, photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, home textiles, fashion, accessories, jewelry, furniture and gastronomy. Some of the names you have to remember when visiting Wamp are, MÍO Design, Gera Noémi, Muka Viktória, Kaintz Regina, Czeizler Zsolt, Földi Klára, Ligeti Miklós, BringaBag, Becker Judit, Csekő Etelka and MUSU among others. For more information on Wamp visit the following webpage: http://www.wamp.hu/

Alexa Ray

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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The effects of electronic music are probably different than those of other musical genres. Although the rhythm is repetitive, songs random and a constant mix of rhythm, voice and interpretation electronic music reaches the senses deeper than any other musical genre. Furthermore, the constant drug use at festivals, raves and underground parties leads to a more intense experience that opens our imagination, desire and body at parties come close to rituals in certain moments, one could call them technological. The inicial interest in electronic muisic derived from the experimentation with several effects and devices that generated frequencies for over 50 years. Eletronic music entered our daily life as an established music genre with many different forms and possibilities to dance and listen to with technology that continues to advance and new possibilities to create effects through computers.

Maybe it was the psychodelic master Timothy Leary who with his talks about LSD and its effect on the body who it itself represents an electronic machinery claimed that drug use will broaden the limits of our minds and with these new bodies through which we carry electronic impulses we reach new levels of imagination and reality which meant a possible evolution through the stimulants of LSD.

Leary caused such inspiration in the German community creator of thel Krautrock, amongst whom the electro’s fathers, Kraftwerk, it would be essential for us to understand that experience of mental and sensory expansion had to be done with effects and electronic devices: synthesizers.

Kraftwerk’s career till today needn’t be mentioned now, but it is to understand that resolution of the electronic effect in the sound has been changing with the different tools and devices that are used today, both for electronic music generation as in its reproduction. This way, electronic music festivals are pilgrimage events, of a subculture that without even realizing, is already a great part of the system. So much that there is already very few it can be offered and which it could re-assimilate as a chance or aspect towards the mainstream side. The festival corporation is present all around as we know, and it is not but from this corporation that one can better understand the music today and conglomeration it causes, as well as its reactions. Our links with PCs are today so close that thinking of moving away from electronic music and its possibilities is crazy. We are closer and closer of a future which, as Blade Runner said, implies an electronic Hill and artificial life, perhaps music is our insertion path in a future which is already happening, against our wills, and from our senses.

To live electronic music, come to Budapest and be part of this festival that is the best event of the year. For further info, visit this page: http://www.bonuszfesztival.hu/2011/

Alexa Ray

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Translated by: Maria
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There is a before and after Cicciolina, both in pornography and in Italian politics. But first we should ask what strange twist of fate causes women born in Hungary to be some of the most beautiful on the planet. It�s no joke. Hungarian women have a very particular grace and beauty that has made them perhaps the most desirable women in the world. Some of the most attractive porn actresses working today come from this country.

But to tell this story, we must go back in time. The history of pornography in Hungary dates from the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Until then, both production and distribution of pornography was illegal in communist Hungary. However the laws were changed with the arrival of “democracy” and these more permissive laws soon allowed this country to come to the forefront of the industry. Foreign directors were quick to take advantage of Hungary’s permissive laws, its low production costs and its large numbers of attractive actresses. 

However, the history of La Cicciolina dates from long before the Wall fell, and although her story is mainly connected to Italian culture and government, it is worth noting that she is from Budapest. In the 60�s she worked as a model in Hungary, and it wasn’t until the early 70�s that she began to develop her career in Italy. In the 80�s she starred in her first hardcore film and her fame grew even more. After this, she entered politics and, in 1987, was elected to the Italian parliament with more than twenty thousand votes. Her prime aims were to combat the nuclear threat and world hunger.

Among the most memorable moments of her time in parliament was the occasion she offered to have sex with Saddam Hussein in exchange for him releasing prisoners during the Gulf War. After failing to be elected again in 1991, she became one of the founders of the Partito dell�Amore, along with the porn actress, Moana Pozzi. Her further attempts to take an active part in politics failed, as did her offer to Osama bin Laden to have sex with him in exchange for an end to violence in the Middle East.

Although the successes of Cicciolina’s political career may have been negligible, her presence in the Italian parliament undoubtedly had an impact on European society. The fact that she found enough support to be able to crossover from the “underground” world of porn to the international political arena opened many people’s eyes to the true market size of pornography and its deep integration in contemporary culture. In pornography’s revelatory power of display, in its rawness, and in its blatant use of sexual intercourse as a means of production and capital, it explodes all society’s ideals, whether moral, political or religious about what sex means in our culture. La Cicciolina represented the impulse of downtrodden women everywhere to take control for themselves and wield some of the power in an industry, religion and world ruled by men.

Alexa Ray

There can be nothing better than renting apartments in Budapest and exploring this city, which, as well as being beautiful, is also the home of some of the best porn stars working today.

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Translated by: Ben Palmer
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Budapest is delightful. There�s never a lack of beautiful people everywhere, above all the proportionate and exotic Hungarian women, who will captivate you by just looking at them. Budapest carries on growing and, as such, it�s turning more and more cosmopolitan as we speak. Sziget Festival is an option to listen to some of the best bands on the planet in beautiful Budapest, for five whole days, as well as getting to know people from around the world, who are always searching for adventure, romance and crazy times.

Among the participants in the festival we can find Interpol, the New York band that along the years has known how to capitalize its image, sound and provenance. A band from New York is, at the end of the day, a band from New York and everyone knows that. Despite that, their last album, titled “Interpol”, leaves that band in a very uncomfortable position. To put it simply, if before they were Joy Division, now they�re just U2. Their best song is still “Turn on the bright lights”, a really amazing night-time album which is post-9/11, which managed to portray in their lyrics the isolation, shadow, frivolity and insecurities of the city that never sleeps.

From Australia we receive Empire of the Sun, a band that with their single “Walking on a Dream” from 2008, hasn�t stopped impressing and delighting live. They have a pop-rock sound which borders romantic and new wave, with a paraphernalia of clothing and cosmic attire.Their videos are clear homages to nature and the cosmos, generally in remote locations, which create a world of fantasy and colour that seduces and invites one to dance. It�s worth seeing their videos and, live, as well as video screens and lasers, the use all sorts of choreography to create a very personal universe.

Amongst the other crowd favourites we can find Pulp, Kate Nash, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Rise Against, British Sea Powder, Triggerfinger and Peter Bjorn and John. The summer festivals in Europe and around the world today, are a huge way of sound trafficking, trying to save the industry which is plummeting. Despite that, you can have a good time if you want to. Checking out this event�s website, you don�t need much to see the way in which the younger bands sell themselves, generally older is better, and it happens in many of the festivals now. Which will be the new sound to appear? Who knows.

It seems like rock sound would have stopped at some point in nostalgia, where few people still listen to it without having much knowledge that things are changing. The media, internet, Twitter and Facebook are responsible that the final product of any musical or artistic experience is the relay of this information. It�s not very important how many times it�s played but to how many people it can reach. Meanwhile, Sziget Festival is a good place to start. For more information and tickets visit this webpage: http://www.sziget.hu/

Alexa Ray

There�s nothing like getting apartments in Budapest and enjoying these five days with the best bands in the world today.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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