William Penn Life, 2017 (52. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2017-05-01 / 5. szám
Tibor's Take with Tibor Check, Jr. The Millennial’s guide to Hungary SPRINGTIME GREETINGS to all of my readers. It seems like only yesterday we were all under a few inches (or feet) of snow, contending with winter's chilly and damp conditions. But now, spring is here again, and with it has come warmer weather and the peak European travel season. My parents and brother recently returned from a selfguided trip to Hungary. Even though they certainly had enough planned activities to fill up their itinerary two or three times over, before they left I gave my brother some advice and a few travel tips. I shared with him things I've learned over the course of my vacations, tips I thought might liven up his sojourn to Magyarország and help him find experiences with a more youthful, more "hip" crowd. I think planning travel activities for every age range of a household is a great way to ensure that everyone has a memorable experience. There is so much to see and do in Hungary, far more than just the exquisite museums, buildings and monuments. Hungary — and Budapest in particular—has a growing reputation as a cool, hip vacation destination, rivaling cosmopolitan cities like Paris, London and Berlin. As a result, I wanted to pass along to my brother — and now to you — my advice in the form of a travel guide for the young and "young at heart." Things to Sec & Do Ruin bars These pubs first began to sprout up in dilapidated buildings over the course of the early- to mid-2000s. They range from the kitschy to the grungy, but they all promise two things in abundance: cheap beer and an unmistakably cool vibe. Szimpla Kert (http://en.szimpla.hu) in Budapest is the most well known, but there are many others to try as well. Be sure to visit a ruin bar for a distinctly Hungarian nightlife experience. Diverse nightlife There is an oft-quoted saying that a person lives in Budapest when they are young and moves to Vienna when they are old. Whoever penned that phrase definitely had Budapest's nightlife in mind. Budapest has a vibrant club scene that plays host to the very best Hungarian and international DJs playing the hottest electronic dance music far into the wee hours of the morning. To be sure, there is much more that Hungary offers than Budapest discotheques. For example, the capital city has a sizable number of jazz clubs and piano bars, and cities like Debrecen, Siófok, Balatonfüred and Szeged all have a vibrant (if seasonal) nightlife. Fans enjoy the dosing of last year's Sziget Festival in Budapest (Photo courtesy of Sziget Festival) 8 ° May 2017 0 WILLIAM PENN LIFE Spa parties During the day, thermal spas, like the Széchenyi Baths (http://szechenyispabaths.com), are filled with bathers of all ages. But on Saturday nights, these spas turn into fullon raves with pulsing techno music, dazzling laser-light shows, and hundreds of youthful revelers. If this sounds like your type of thing, a night party at the spa cannot be missed. Sziget Festival This will not work for everyone's schedule, but if you are in Budapest in early August, be sure to stop by the worldfamous Sziget Festival. It is a week-long festival that rivals events like Coachella in the U.S. and Glastonbury in the UK, but takes place on the Óbudai-sziget (Óbuda Island) smack in the middle of the Danube. Sziget Festival features a scorching hot lineup of famous Hungarian, European and international stars. For example, this year's lineup includes Wiz Khalifa, Rita Ora, Major Lazer, Charli XCX, Flume and Pink. Extreme & adventure sports If one grows tired of dancing and drinking the night away, there are plenty of opportunities to engage in adrenaline-packed activities, like paddleboarding, paintball, off-roading, hiking, ziplining, paragliding, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking and much more. The best thing is that these activities will get you outside of the Bu-
