A few tips for potential visitors

    Budapest is ranked amongst the most touristic cities in Europe. Since, as well as about any other touristically attractive destination, the Internet is full of information about Budapest and its popular places, I'm not going to spend my time writing here about common things that everyone can find on the map, can be advised in the first tourist office, or it takes you just 20 seconds to Google. Those are, indeed, the places worth a visit (usually), but my words wouldn't have any added value (although they necessarily don't have to have anyway :-D).
     Anyway, there are some places that are not so touristy, may be quite hidden or special in a way. I have discovered a few such places and would like to share them with you. Anytime I run into something new, I'll always add it here.

Buda Hills

 

    To begin with, I have to say I like this area very much. I'm not sure if everybody is aware of the fact that Budapest consists of two parts - Buda and Pest. Yeah, pretty easy, isn't it? And it's also easy to recognize them, the Pest side is the one absolutely flat, the Buda side is the mountainous one.
  Frankly speaking, I like the Buda side somewhat more. Well, actually I love to come here. I love mountains, I love hiking and I love nature. This part of Budapest is kind of different, not only due to its relief. I sometimes call it "the boring side" of Budapest but don't get it wrong, it's because all Budapest nightlife, well actually any life, takes place in Pest. Only there you can find all the famous bars, clubs, restaurants as well as museums or whatever else. I've never heard anyone saying anything about any place located on the Buda side. What you can't find in Pest, however, is hills and much greenery. Therefore Buda is definitely the nicer side to me, comparing Pest it is, not only thanks to its hills, more verdant, cleaner and much quieter.
    Let me tell you a bit more about the Buda hills, along with some tips. First of all it's necessary to say that so called Buda hills are not only two little clods of earth, as many people may expect, but it's a larger range with plenty nice places to see. And what is very cool - most of the places are very easily reachable by public transport. In the Buda hills, you can find lots of trails, paths, walking routes, simply lots of places worth a walk. Let me share some of them with you.

The lookout tower (Erzebét killató)

 

     This interesting monument located on the János hill (János hegy) is probably the most known place among locals and is, especially in the spring and summer months, one of the most popular relaxing places at all. No wonder, it's a peaceful area in the nature and yet pretty close to the city. It's also the place where I always take my visitors to see something different from the noisy city. The usual walking route which people take is from the place called Normafa, where you can get by a bus from the Széll Kálmán square.
      Normafa is already a spot uphill, where you can be given a nice distant view over Budapest. There is also a restaurant and a few meadows near by, where you can relax if you feel too lazy to walk further. However, it is worth extending your walk to the mentioned tower. It's about a 25-30 min very easy walk on the horizon. Even though it's quite rare, considering how close to Budapest you still are, the lookout tower is free of charge and it's open whole year round till 8 pm, so in autumn you can also get a romantic night view.
     Once you have enough of views and the strong wind, which always blows there, since the tower projects beyond the surroundings, you can of course come back to Budapest the same way, which I, however, usually don't do. I take the red trail and continue straight down the hill. In about 25 min you show up at a bus stop from where you take a bus back to the Széll Kálmán square. There is also a possibility of taking a chairlift (libegő) to Zugliget and afterwards a bus back to the center.
     In fact, in the surroundings you can find one more mean of transport, which is a little bit untypical. There is a so called Children's railway (Gyermekvasút). It starts in the place called Széchenyihegy, where you can also get by a cogwheel train (it's allowed to take a bicycle) from Városmajor (two trams stops from Széll Kalmán tér) and it goes through the whole area of the Buda hills, with a stop at János hegy (actually below János hegy).

Budaörs

     In the entire area of the Buda hills, there are plenty of places where you can go for a hike or just short walk. After the most popular ones - Normafa and the János hill, I would like to give you a tip for a nice short trip to another nice, but a bit forgotten place.

     You take the same bus to Normafa but you take number 21, which doesn't terminate there, but continues a few more stops to Csillebérc (but you can also get off at Normafa and walk already from there). From Csillebérc - the terminal stop of this bus - there is a very nice route leading to a town located right behind the border of the Budapest area. It's about 1h long, easy walk on the horizon and then down the hill to the town named Budaörs. From the town you take any bus going back to Kelenföld.

    I like this place very much. It's a very relaxed walk with a nice view over the surrounding rocky hills. It's also cool to have here a picnic and chill. I can recommend it also for a bicycle trip as you can get up to Normafa by the already mentioned cogwheel train that takes up also bicycles, and then follow the same route. From Budaörs there is also a bicycle road going back to Kelenföld. 

   In conclusion, just a small advice. Do not do it the other way around. It makes it a nice, easy walk also because you can take a bus (or a cogwheel train) that carries you up and then you walk/ride slowly down. If you come to Budaörs and then head to Normafa (or other places), I can assure you that you will sweat a lot. Well, it's obvious that you will have to go up the hill, but I would like to emphasize that the hills are pretty steep. So, in case you want to climb up to one of the rocky hills, do not do it on the bicycle (like me, idiot :-D) or you will cry.

Margit sziget

 

   Margaret island (Margit sziget) is one of these places where you will never ever occur alone. On Margaret island, you will always find many people, no matter the year season.
     Margit sziget can be found exactly in between Buda and Pest (not actually sure if it's fifty-fifty or it's a neutral land :-)), yes on the Danube, in between both banks. It is actually a big piece of nature, situated basically in the middle of the city. The three kilometers long island is a significant, and perhaps the most popular, Budapest sport place. Thanks to much greenery, a running track all along the island (more than 5km in total) and the relaxing, peaceful environment it offers, it's favored by running devotees and it doesn't get crowded only in summer, but even in winter plenty of people come here for a jog or a walk.
    Apart from joining tens, or sometimes maybe a few hundreds, of joggers, you can take a swim in one of the pools. The Alfréd Hajós Swimming Pool offers an indoor pool, outdoor pools and even a water polo pool. In sumer you can then cool down and get some tan (together with another 1,000 of people) at the Palatinus beach (Strand).
    It's nice to come here on a bicycle and make a picnic on meadows in the middle of the island, walk through flower gardens, see medieval ruins or a mini zoo. If you want to stay a tourist for some more time, you can rent a bringo car, segway, electric cars, roller blades or a bicycle.
     At the very beginning of the island, there is a musical fountain which performs a musical light and water show every hour. As one of  the very few things in Budapest, the fountain is for free.
     After you've enjoyed your relaxing day on the island, no matter what you have actually been doing, there are a few summer bars where you can grab a beer and sit on a terrace, bench, or simply a shore to watch the flowing Danube and contemplate. Finally, you can finish your day at one of Margaret island clubs - Holdudvar or Zippp Club.

      To get to Margit sziget, take tram 4, 6, or bus 26 passing through the island. Have a good time!

City park

 

    Throughout Budapest you can find quite a lot of parks, which are generally, and perhaps surprisingly, pretty well maintained. It's another thing I like here, when the weather is nice, you have a fairly big selection of relaxing places - parks or other green areas.

     The biggest (official) park of Budapest is called Városliget -  City park located at the end of the famous Andrássy avenue and on the Budapest retro metro route. Frankly speaking, to me this park is not the nicest place of Budapest and I personally don't come to relax here, but there are a few reasons why you may like it and that's why I'm actually mentioning it.
      First of all, even though the location might seem to be a little bit off-track, it's easy and quick to get there by the retro metro (I devoted a paragraph to the retro metro in Some Intercultural shocks"). Full of impressions of the thematic metro, on your way to the city park you also check the Hero's square (Hősök tere) - considered to be another Budapest "must see" sight.
     In the park itself, you can find a small Vajdahunyad castle (Vajdahunyadvar), Széchenyi thermal baths, a circus, a zoo and also a technical museum. There also used to be an amusement park but since 2013 it's closed. But above all, what I find cool in the park is the lake where you can rent a canoe or kayak for (half) an hour, paddle a bit around and relax on the water. In winter times the lake turns to an ice rink, you can borrow ice skates and skate on it. On weekends in some parts of the park a flea market takes place. The park, indeed, has also lots of green areas, where people use to sit and lie in the grass, read, play games or simply relax. In hot summer evenings you can refresh at another famous beer garden called Kertem.

*2015 update: The Hungarian government has decided on investing in renovation of the park in order to create a cultural-recreational-whatever center. The City Park should become a new museum quarter, with completion in 2018.

Kopászi gát 

 

    Talking about places for a relaxing day, I have another tip to add. This isn't a place which you are usually recommended to visit when sightseeing in Budapest, it's a very cool place for a lazy weekend day, though. It's located a bit out of the downtown, so you won't really meet tourists, however, last years its popularity has been rising and especially in Summer the place is favorited mainly by locals.

  In fact it is sort of an artificial peninsula - a dam built upon the Danube with a big area of newly planted, very green grass, which is perfect for picnics. At the Kopaszi gát (literally Bald dike) you can find many restaurants, playgrounds and a even beach, although swimming in the Danube in Budapest is officially forbidden due to the bad Danube's water quality. I've already seen people bathing in the Danube, and not only at Kopászi gát, but I really don't recommend to take a swim there. The beach(es) are on the riverbank that is basically a dead bay with stable water, so just imagine for a while what's happening when the wind blows towards the dam....

    In my opinion, Kopaszi gát is the cleanest and most maintained park in Budapest. Perhaps you may not want to spend here the hottest summer days since taking a bath and cooling down in the Danube is not something you should do here, but it's a perfect picnic spot to roll on the green grass to read a book and relax.

Hospital in the Rock

 

    Budapest has quite a long-term and rich history and has therefore something to offer to everyone. All around Budapest, you can find a historical piece of the Roman Empire (e.g. Aquincum in today's Óbuda district), the Ottoman Empire (Gül Baba's Tomb - Gül Baba turbeje, which is actually also a pretty hidden place in Buda, not far from the Margaret bridge, or Rudas, Király and Veli bej baths), Austro-Hungarian monarchy (the Vajdahunyad castle, Metro line A etc.), as well as the Communist regime (The House of Terror). As mentioned in the introductory paragraph above, Google a bit or get a guide to find what's the most interesting for you.
   But I would like to recommend you one which I liked and found interesting. It's called the Hospital in the Rock (Sziklakórház Atombunker Múzeum) and it is what the name says - a hospital in a rock. In other words, originally it was a secret hospital and nuclear bunker built before WW II, which is nowadays open to the public as a museum. As a matter of fact, the hospital is a cave and cellar system constructed under the Buda Castle that used to serve as an emergency hospital to treat wounded soldiers and people during the Second World War, and as a nuclear bunker later.
    With a (also English speaking) guide you will be given a great tour through the hospital labyrinth where you will learn more about Hungarian history and thanks to the original equipment and wax figures you'll put yourself in the soldiers' or nurses' shoes and leave the museum with an authentic experience.

Go caving!

 

    No carving, no craving, caving! This city really have everything. Well, except for the sea. People come here to spend a day in thermal baths, visit the castle, climb up the citadel and experience the Budapest nightlife in Szimpla or another popular place. But what about exploring Budapest also from underneath?
     People are not very often aware that under Budapest a pretty extensive cave system can be found. Yes, many caves have been discovered under the Buda hills, whereas only two (as far as I know) are open to the public - the Szemlő-hegyi cave and the Pál-völgyi cave. Apart from a normal, walking, guided tour in the Pál-völgyi cave, for the more courageous ones, there is a more adventurous, climbing-crawling tour. You will be borrowed an overall, get equipped with a helmet and a light and led by a tour guide you will climb on walls and crawl through narrow slots to explore the caving system and experience the real potholing excursion. No previous caving experience needed so dare to experience some adventure!
     To visit both the Pál-völgyi stalactite cave and the caving experience under the Mátyás-hegy, you need to take bus 65 or 65A from Kolosy tér.

The Budapest market(s)

 

     If you open any Budapest guide, one of the touristic sights you will find mentioned in it will be the Central Market Hall - Nagy Vásárcsarnok. It's the biggest (or at least the most popular) Budapest market, a place where greengrocers, butchers or other farmers gather to sell their stuff. It's certainly an interesting, worth visiting place, particularly if you are not used to such a thing in your country. Besides fruits, vegetables, meat or dairy products, you find here lots of stalls with souvenirs and on the upper floor, eateries serving "typical Hungarian" food are located.
     It's nice to visit the market as a tourist, it's something you may find interesting, you can take photos and buy souvenirs (which are here, by the way, a bit cheaper than in souvenir shops in the very center ;-)). I'm not a big fan of this place as a "local", however, simply because Nagy Vásárcsarnok is too commercial. It's touristy. You can meet retired Hungarians shopping here as well, but mostly you will hear many different languages but Hungarian (if you want to run into Czechs, look for places with food :-D ).

   It's a cool market place inside a very old, stylish building, but similarly to any tourist attraction, if you get "untouristed" and become a common inhabitant, you may want to buy the same stuff more cheaply and, in my opinion, also better quality at other markets throughout Budapest. I personally don't buy fruits and vegetables or pastries in supermarkets, I always prefer to buy such stuff fresher from small farmers. Although the Great market hall is a market indeed, I don't find the quality of some products very good and sometimes not even cheap (perhaps because it's pretty much a tourist place anyway). The market is closed on Sunday so plan your sightseeing tour accordingly.

Area around the National Theater 

 

     I would like to mention also this place because it's one of the nice areas where no tourist come and I think it's a place nice enough not to be skipped. You won't probably find it in many guides. I discovered it one day, how else than basically by coincidence, when I went for a walk along the river. And this area has become one of my favorites spot for nice walks and refreshments.
     However paradoxical it may sound, the building of the theater is the easiest to find at night as it is sparkling. It's located by the southernmost bridge of Budapest (actually there is one more at the very edge of the Budapest territory, very far from the center), but it's easily recognizable since the whole building is lit with lights changing the color.

    Anyway, at whatever time of the day you come there, you will be given a nice view, from "the south angle". The whole area is newly renovated in a very thematic way - (musical) art. In the theater garden you can see and take photos with a couple of artists. Except for the musician statues, there is also a zigurrat where you can climb to get a nice view, or get lost for a while in a small yew labyrinth.
   You will get to the theater with tram 2, or you take a nice walk all the way along the eastern bank of the Danube.

Why is Budapest so cool?

The best public transport ever

 

     I'm sure each city has its own good sides and bad sides. And what I consider the biggest plus for Budapest is the city public transport - the best I've ever seen so far. To describe it in one sentence, I don't remember last time I used a timetable here. I did it perhaps like 2-3 times, but that was definitely in a place very far away from the center and probably very late (or very early) on a Sunday.
       Really, for traveling throughout the center (and not only there), you don't need it. I'm not even sure if there are any timetables in some places at all. Well, probably there are, but the reason for not needing them is that most of the means of transport run basically all the time. The only mean of transport on my mind for which you might want to use a timetable is a boat. Yes, in Budapest there is a river so there are also boats. Plenty of boats - both tourist, sightseeing ones as well as public transport ones. If you have a monthly public transport pass, or more likely you buy a one-day or three-day ticket, you can use it for any Budapest urban transportation, including the BKK regular boat lines (called Hájo) or suburban trains (HÉV). So take this as another tip of mine, if you want to see Budapest also from the Danube perspective, you don't have to pay for overpriced touristic boats. With the whole day (three-day) ticket you can have it for free and you can actually always get on/get off at any stop you want. Just check the schedule to know the exact route of the boat you are gonna take.

       Anyway, enough of boats, I'm sure you won't use them too much. Besides using the water transport, in Budapest you can also typically use the underground transport as well as the overground one. The city now has 4 metro lines and except for night hours, which are namely between approx. 12 am - 4 am., the subways run all the time. The longest time I've ever had to wait was I think 9 minutes, which has happened to me like twice, not more, and it was in a very late Saturday or Sunday evening. Normally, during the day metro goes roughly every two minutes, on the weekend maybe every 4-5 min. The Budapest metro is certainly a transportation for which you don't need a schedule.
     Nevertheless the most amazing part of the transportation is that even though the metro is closed during the night hours, probably much like in other cities, there are night buses passing through the center and going further to the suburban parts, covering most of the area of the city as well as the suburb, so you really don't have to be afraid of not getting home even at night.
      But mainly, there is one more thing you will never need to use a timetable for. The main tram lines (number 4 or 6) - whose routes cross the whole city center and actually connect Buda with Pest and Buda again, also run nonstop and you hardly ever have to wait 5 minutes for one. In fact these trams bear two numbers - 4 and 6, however, unless you live at the end stop of the line(s) it makes no difference for you as both routes differ only in the last stop. Considering, then, that trams 4 and 6 are the same line, imagine that during the day at any time you come to a stop a tram is already coming. Sometimes three in a row. If you are coming home in the middle of the night, you never have to wait more than 10 minutes, which is just awesome!
      One funny thing about using the Budapest transportation in conclusion. For whatever you are waiting in Budapest, you expect it, basically any time, to arrive soon and that's, as a matter of fact, the way you totally get spoiled. For some people living in a village, out of bigger cities, there is no chance they would wait for the next bus less than 15 minutes. Very often, people coming back home at night have difficulties, because sometimes there is just no connection at all. But here, you know, the "pissing off", bored feeling we - Budapest spoiled townsmen - get when we come to a subway station and on the clock see we have to wait 4-5 minutes for the next one...oh boy!
 

Budapest has several thermal baths

 

    Hungary is famous for its many thermal baths (fürdő), with the most popular ones Hevíz lake, Hajdúszoboszló or Harkány. Thanks to the hundreds of thermal springs that have been discovered through the country, Hungary is conclusively the land of medical and thermal water and certainly a great place for relaxation and rehabilitation. Imagine that the first spas were already built in the Roman and Turkish era.
     In Budapest, you can find 8 official thermal baths, plus some of the hotels sometimes have their own small spas, too. And there are tens of other springs as well, indeed.

   I've tried out almost all of them, I've only never been to the Király fürdő. I think all of them are cool, all of them have something to offer and therefore are worth visiting. In my opinion, two most popular, and at the same time the most expensive, baths of Budapest are Széchenyi and Gellért. Both are pretty big and can be a good experience, but I personally prefer Gellért, which is, unlike Széchenyi that looks a bit like a sanatorium to me, built and restored in a Turkish style, has many indoor pools of various temperature and a great outdoor place with a Finish sauna and thermal pool, from where you see the Erszébet bridge or the top of the citadel while enjoying a splash about in hot water. Both places are, of course, very touristy and you will hardly ever hear Hungarian there.

     I usually choose the golden mean, though. My favorite spa is Lukács fürdő and can absolutely recommend it. I find it really nice, it offers everything you need, but you still pay much less than in case of visiting the two baths mentioned above. Except for usual indoor thermal pools with cold, warm and hot water, Lukács spa also offers one outdoor wellness and two outdoor swimming pools, different kinds of sauna and a newly renovated sauna world. 
      Dandár baths can be a good option for a relaxing afternoon/evening. Personally I'm not a big fan of this one. Comparing the others it's pretty small and mostly popular by elder and retired people, but if you go there after 5pm, you get a ticket only for 1100 HUF, which is a good deal if you just feel like bathing for a couple of hours.
      Perhaps if you don't feel like splashing around a whole day in any of the bigger spas, you can get a three-hour ticket to a sort of secret and less known, small Turkish baths called Veli Bej - Csazár fürdő (Caesar baths). The interesting thing about this one is that it is located in the underground and it's the oldest Budapest spa, built by Ottomans already in the 16th century. The Veli Bej baths has been fully renovated, however, it still keeps the "Turkish era spirit".

       Even though the Lukács baths is my favorite relaxing spot, I have to say that the Gellért baths is still the best Budapest spa. It's quite expensive and it's crowded mostly by tourists, but if you are just visiting Budapest for a while and don't want to miss the spa experience, I say go for this one :-)

Always something going on

 

    Budapest is a city that is always alive. It hardly ever sleeps. Perhaps the winter time is a bit more quiet and less crowded, with fewer tourists. The rest of the year and especially then summer is really busy, with lots of people everywhere and many things happening.
    During the warm months Budapest turns into a big festival place. Certainly the most known summer festival that hosts nearly 500,000 visitors every year is Sziget festival, ranking among the biggest European festivals. The Sziget festival is held every year in August on Óbudai-sziget (Old Buda island) and for one whole week becomes the Hungarian cultural and musical center with almost 1,000 performers. In past events you could see here, among others, artists such as David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Lilly Allen, Calvin Harris, Placebo, Fatboy Slim, The prodigy, Eric Prydz, Chemical Brothers and many many other famous or less famous artists. Please don't stone me now, but I confess that I never visited the festival O:-)
     Speaking about summer festivals, you can also visit events happening out of Budapest - no less famous Balaton Sound or B.My Lake, both held at Balaton lake, or VOLT festival in Sopron.
     Budapest is certainly not only a place of music festivals, but also "culturally gastronomic" events. Yes, as you notice quickly when you come to Budapest, Hungarians love food and they do love beer. And they love Czech beer hehe. I mean, seriously, Czech beer is very popular here. A couple of times within a year, there are Czech/Belgian beer festivals and kind of an October fest in Autumn.
     Hungary is also "famous" for high consumption of sausages and similar meat products. Believe it or not, even a Pig slaughter and sausage festival has its own place here, if you keen on something....harder ;-). Other regular food & drink festival events are Mangalica, Fish and indeed a couple of wine and Pálinka festivals. In winter, throughout whole December and usually part of November, you can get in the Christmas spirit at the Budapest Christmas markets in Vörösmarty square.
   Being the capital city, Budapest is indeed also a great sport place. Besides watching common sports like football or basketball, Hungary are masters in water polo so you can come to see the top national matches to Margit Sziget. After the last successful qualification for the Ice Hockey WC, also ice hockey has recently become quite popular. There are many running events throughout the year. You can participate in marathons, half-marathons or other runs to exercise your bones. Every year in summer, you can watch in Budapest the world's best pilots at the famous Red Bull Air Race World Championship, or world's best drivers at Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring situated just outside the city.
    If you wanna experience something untypical, go sparty! Yes, it's not a typo. You know there are baths in Budapest, but do you also know you can go party in the spa? So called Szecska parties - Spa parties take place at the Széchenyi thermal bath during the summer nights. I can't tell you my personal experience, because somehow I never managed to go there (perhaps I didn't even feel like it), but from what I've heard it sounds like a cool experience which you don't want to repeat again, however. You pay 50€ for a ticket, then spend tens of euros for overpriced drinks to party through the night in dirty water with other hundreds of drunk people. But once in a life, you know....
   Of course, there are also many museums of various types in Budapest. If you are into history, visit the House of Terror (Teror háza) and I can personally recommend the Hospital in the Rock, which is a Nuclear Bunker Museum (Sziklakórház Atombunker Múzeum) representing a hospital created under the Buda castle in the 1930s. I really liked this one. You can read more here
     Last but not least, Budapest isn't alive only by day, this city doesn't fall asleep even at night. All around Budapest, well rather Pest than Buda, there are tens of pubs, clubs and beer gardens that particularly in summer burst at the seams, sometimes even on weekdays. To get into the places like Szimpla, FogásHáz, Instant or Dobosz, you sometimes have to wait in the line.
   In Budapest, you'll never get bored, I can guarantee that you will always find something interesting for you.

Cosmopolitan city full of foreigners

 

    As majority of you know, when you come to Hungary, due to the language uniqueness, you probably won't understand a single word, so you may also wonder how it really feels to be a foreigner in such a country. Well, to tell the truth, if you don't speak the language, to a certain extent you will indeed be limited, but since the city is very cosmopolitan, with plenty of foreigners, it won't be such a big issue, though.
     But even if you don't speak the language, you don't have to worry about getting bored. Thanks to many expats living or studying in Budapest, you can hear English around you everyday. There are lots of events and meetings organized in English happening all the time, where both foreigners and locals gather in order to speak and practice English (or other language), meet people, make fiends or make trips together, for instance. You can use various websites or Facebook groups. You can also simply meet someone at work or just randomly visit one of the plenty bars and easily socialize there.
     I came to Hungary just by myself. Well, together with my luggage. I didn't know anyone and first days was pretty much all alone. This a bit weird and lonely state lasted basically just for a few days and very soon I didn't feel like I was lost in the city. Personally, I found quickly people to hang out thanks to the Couchsurfing website. I checked out the events, a couple of times joined people for a drink, trip or caving, for example, and eventually stayed in touch with some of them.
     I have to tell you that I don't really have many Hungarian friends, there are only very few with whom I'm in a closer touch. I do have non-Hungarian friends, though. I have a feeling that it may sound strange to you, doesn't it? I've lived in Hungary but don't have many Hungarian friends? Well, I think this is pretty similar for most of expats. The thing is that as an expat you live a different life from the life locals usually live. You move in to the city to experience something new, to meet and get to know new people, gain new experiences and just enjoy your life. Therefore, you get more excited about the city, discovering new places and trying new things and tend to meet people similarly minded. You go to similar places, you gather in similar events and make friends with international friends of your international friends :-)
      You my disagree with me, but I think being a local feels a bit different. What I've noticed is that as a local you usually sort of have your own life, you have lived in the city for a couple of years so there is not much new for you, you have your own long-term friends, hobbies, job, goals and a routine. It definitely doesn't mean that you don't do it, you just don't tend to meet foreigners so much, or so often.
     The second reason for having many more foreign friends, and I surely don't mean to insult anyone, I don't find Hungarians the easiest people to make friends with....
     I don't want to judge whether it's good or not, not to have many local friends. Locals can certainly help you to explore the city deeper and from a different angle, can give you many useful tips on places, food, events or habits. And they are also very useful when it comes to the language barrier. However, there is for sure also one bad aspect. If you are in the same situation as me, meaning you know rather foreigners than locals, you might be forced to constantly look for new friends as lots of people just come and leave. Budapest is a cool place, but for most of such people it's just a stopover. As soon as they know the city so well that there is nothing new, get stuck or finish the project they came to work on, they leave for another destination. Even though it's nowadays a bit easier to stay in touch and see thanks to the Internet, cheap flights and other possibilities we have, saying goodbye, ehm...saying see you around the world to someone who has just become your good friend is not easy....

The weather

 

      Although Hungary is not located too far from my country - the Czech Republic - and, much like whole Europe, lies in the temperate zone, I wouldn't expect a big difference in the climate between both countries. The true is that there isn't a too big difference, but there still is some.

     Hungary is a landlocked country without access to the sea, has a continental climate, but is situated rather south of Europe and, unlike the Czech Republic, doesn't have high mountains, which may be one of the reasons (I'm not a climatologist) why this country is actually warmer.
     Of course, it depends on the season, but summers are usually pretty warm and winters pretty mild with very little or no snow. I personally don't like winter and I'm then a bigger fan of summer and warm weather. I like winter snow in the mountains, perhaps also for a while on Christmas days, which actually makes Christmas feel like Christmas, but other than that I prefer winter temperatures when I don't have to take on a beanie and huge winter shoes. On the other hand, although I love summers, I don't need to have them with extreme heat as it happened last year*
    Anyway, generally speaking Hungarian weather is a golden mean. You can have sometimes some snow in the Buda hills but in the city there is hardly any. Summers are usually hot but, as it's typical in these parts of Europe, don't last too long. Even though autumn is quite rainy, I would say in general it doesn't rain so much in Hungary (definitely less than in my country and incomparably less than in Belgium or the Netherlands, hehe :-)), which is a great thing and particularly in spring you can enjoy a nice weather.

*a small update - that was in 2013, summer in 2015 was probably even worse. One of the many, really hot, summer days I was at the swimming pool and the thermometer outside was showing 41°C (in the shade). It was 6pm. Yes, 6 in the evening. There were nights when the temprature didn't drop below 25°C.

Markets with lots of fresh fruits and stuff

 

   Although the quality of Hungarian food (I wrote a whole post about Hungarian food in the post ...), not to mention Hungarian cuisine, is pretty bad (apologies to all Hungarians, but it really is :-P ),  there is still one good thing, too. All over the city, there are plenty of markets, whether bigger or smaller, where you can get a lot of fresh stuff. Except for the famous Nagy Vásárcsarnok, being one of the touristic sights to be found in every guide, where everybody has been or will be at least once for sure, you can also find many other non-touristy places. There are a few other official big markets in Budapest, but it's not necessary to go to them.
    The one I know about, like and prefer to the touristy one, is Lehel Csarnok at the Lehel square. Well, you find hardly any souvenirs here, but then there is a variety of stuff you actually go for, such as all possible kinds of fruits, vegetables, a couple of butchers, milkmen, bakers and stalls with other miscellaneous homemade products. Another one is near Újbuda-központ, behind the Alee shopping mall.

      You don't always have to go for fresh fruit and vegetables to the big traditional markets, however. Besides these, there are many farmers having their small stalls around Budapest.
      Anyway, getting back to the point, the nicest thing about fruits and vegetables in Hungary is the vast variety of fruits in summer. Obviously it's not as good in winter, of course, because some fruits simply don't grow on this land, but thanks to the quite warm weather and good natural and agricultural land conditions, as soon as the early summer comes the selection of fresh fruits is pretty big here. Typically you can get fresh apricots, peaches, plums, whatever kinds of berries, apples, pears, melons and lots more.

Lots of nice parks and green areas

 

     Living in a big city full of people, cars and the accompanying pollution is, without a doubt, not the healthiest way of life and it's not always easy to find a piece of nature among the concrete jungle. I think in Budapest they don't completely forget about the importance of having green areas to keep the city at least a bit cleaner, to have a place to relax, or possibly do some sport.
    Above all, I would like to tell you that if you kind of get tired of the city and all the dust, traffic and rush around, and start feeling like getting out to nature to refresh your mind, Budapest has a great place for everyone to do so. Basically the whole west - Buda - side of the city is pretty green, mainly thanks to the Buda hills covering most of this area. There are many nice places you can visit in the Buda hills and surroundings, such as the most popular Normafa, János Hegy with the Elizabeth lookout tower (Erzsébet-kilátó), Hármashatárhegy or other lookout towers. You can get more inspiration for hikes at "A few tips for potential visitors".
     Coming back to parks as such, the biggest and at the same time the most popular one, you can find right in between Buda and Pest, which means on the Danube. Yes, right there you can find the biggest Budapest island - Margit sziget (Margaret island), which presents one huge park, in fact. Margit sziget is also the most popular running place and sport & relax center in general, with a swimming pool, football pitch, water polo pool, play fountain, a club and even a mini Zoo. You can read more about Margit sziget here.
     Looking apart from the island, officially the biggest Budapest park is Város liget (city park) close to the Hero's square (Hősök tere). The place I like very much and can absolutely recommend is called Kopászi gát (Bald dam), which is apparently an artificial dam. Having written about these places under post "A few tips for potential visitors", hereby I would like to encourage you to check it and read more there.
     A bit out of the center, but nearby my apartment, right behind the Hungarian Natural History Museum, there is a bit smaller but very lovely Orczy park. Also here you can see a lot of people from the neighborhood (sometimes even me) jogging. In the middle of the park, there is a big meadow, a perfect spot for relaxing on warm days or performing various types of games. You can walk around, sit by a duck lake or try out being Tarzan in a small adventure park for a while. One proper and one artificial football pitch can also be found in the park, however, a part of the park is already under reconstruction that is supposed to include the whole park in 2016.

    On the Buda side, there is an interesting park called Millenáris, which can be found behind the Mammut shopping mall. The park is located on the territory of the former industrial site and has fully been reconstructed a few years ago. Nowadays, it serves as a recreation center with a pond, cafes, playground and a couple of exhibition halls (The Invisible Exhibition can also be visited here). It's also a popular venue for concerts and various exhibitions or fairs.

    You can also spend your time in Városmajor, Vérmező or in the south (11th district) a bit forgotten, nameless, but lovely park (near Kosztolányi Dezső square) with a lake (the lake is called Feneketlen).
    I've tried to gather perhaps the most interesting parks that can be found in Budapest. Besides those, there indeed many small parks spread throughout the city. Very often they have a ping-pong table, various working out stuff or children's playground. But find your time to explore the city by yourself. Or play Geocaching ;-)

Junction of the low budget airlines

 

    In my very first post I told you that one of the reasons I decided to come to Budapest was that I was missing traveling. Believe it or not, although Hungary is not a big country, it has borders with 7 other countries so just by visiting its neighbors you can easily add 7 new counties to your "I've been to" travel map.
     You can do it, of course. And you can also travel throughout Hungary as well. What I especially want to mention here, however, is that Budapest is also a perfect spot for traveling to distant countries because the Budapest airport is a base for all the low budget airlines. Therefore, from here you can get to more than 30 destinations for a reasonable price, by flying with Wizzair, Ryanair or Easyjet. Moreover, although the airports of most of the low budget airlines are sometimes located quite far out of the actual city, the Budapest one is pretty close to the city so it's quite cheap and fast to get there.
    If you are lucky, book your tickets in advance and, perhaps use a club card, you can sometimes travel for an incredible price. Out of many places I've visited from Budapest, as an example, I got a return ticket to Targu Mures in Romania for 7.000 HUF, Rome for 8.000 HUF or Istanbul for 21.000 HUF.
     Little advice, in conclusion. When you arrive at the Budapest airport, don't be such a lazy, comfortable tourist. Sure, the easiest way to get to the city is to grab a taxi. It will cost you around 22 € and take about 35-45 min depending on the place you want to be dropped off at. You can also use a shuttle bus (I don't know much about those but the price should be lower). Or you can play being a local, which is always the cheapest, and get on a public transport bus 200E with a transfer ticket for 530 HUF (less than 2€), whereas it will take you around 40-45 min with one change for metro M3.