WOODEN SPOON GRAND PRIX OR COOKERY CONTEST BUDAPEST STYLE

Fakanal (= Wooden Spoon) Restaurant
in the Great Market Hall

Hungarian Cuisine, Food, Cooking and lots of Fun!!! :)

There is a great unique program in the Great Market Hall (a.k.a. Central Market Hall) for those who would like to get to know the Hungarian Cuisine and some traditional Hungarian foods; who would like to cook some of these dishes; do all this in a competitive spirit in the Fakanal (= Wooden Spoon) Restaurant on the Gallery of the Great Market Hall.

THE GAME:

The participants are divided into teams and each team is given a Hungarian recipe and the task: shopping in the Market. Each team receives an envelope containing a list (in Hungarian) of the ingredients to be purchased and some money to cover the cost. The teams have half an hour for the shopping. Speed does not count but points are awarded for quality and the money spent. The winning team is the one that shops for the lowest prices and most precisely.

Then the cooking competition begin :)

The teams select 2 competitors each, one to prepare the main dish, the other the dessert. Each contestant uses, cleans, chops, slices, etc. the ingredients purchased by his or her own team. Speed and uniformity of size are marked in evaluating the preparation of raw materials. The main attraction is the dessert that is frying the pancakes. The winner is the contestant who successfully tosses the pancake at first try - if several contestants succeed in this, they continue tossing until one of them makes a mistake.

The winner receives a string of peppers and a certificate confirming that he or she has learnt the tricks of making goulash soup and cottage-cheese pancakes. (Don't panick - our cottage-cheese is much different :))

At the end of the cooking competition the guests eat the dishes made and served individually.

During the meal the orchestra plays popular melodies of internationally known Hungarian composers, operettas and other evergreens.

Duration of program is about 2 hours

It costs about £25 / person (A glass of drink is also included in the price.)

We need at least 10 people for this program.

ABOUT THE GREAT MARKET HALL:

History of the Great Market Hall 

Construction of the Great Market Hall started in 1894. After repairing the roof the market opened on 15th March 1897 together with the other four Budapest Markets, built at the same time. Budapest's Great Market Hall belonged to the most modern indoor markets at that time, with up-to-date lightning and refrigeration. Originally the vendors shipped their products into the hall through a network of indoor channels. They aren't in use anymore. The Great Market Hall was reconstructed between 1991-94. Beautiful Zsolnay tiles cover the enormous roof structure that makes it the most spectacular element of the building from outside.

Explore the Great Market Hall 

The three-storey hall offers you plenty to do and see.

Ground level

Among the three levels the ground floor is the busiest. To the right of the main entrance you'll find exotic fruits and vegetables from all around the world. To get good bargains look around further inside where the more modest stalls offer fresh vegetables, fruits, paprika, salami and other products. On the north end of the hall you can get fresh and dried mushrooms and homemade honey.

Basement

Take the escalator to go down the basement where you'll find a supermarket, fishmongers and pickles.

Try the pickles, gherkins, pearl onions, paprika stuffed with cabbage. Hungarians are experts in making them :) 

(We usually have pickles with meaty main dishes, but they're excellent appetizers too.)

Upper Level

The upper floor attracts lots of tourists because of the rich selection of Hungarian embroidery and other art and craft products. And this is the place to grab some tasty Hungarian food :) 

Try our "langos" (= deep-fried disk-shaped pastry, rub in some garlic and spread sour cream and grated cheese on top) or hot sausages and black pudding with fresh bread and mustard.

There are also some restaurants if you prefer to sit down.

Just to give you some ideas for buying souvenirs / tipical Hungarian foods:

Hungarian paprika powder, strings of red paprika and garlic, Hungarian salamis (Pick salami!), sausages, hams and other meat products, fresh pastries, dairy products, Hungarian wines (Tokaji aszu!) and palinka (traditional Hungarian fruit brandy) , dried fruits, ...

THE HOUSE OF TERROR

Recommended to those who are interested in history.

House of Terror is a museum located at Andrássy út 60 in Budapest. It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th century Hungary. The building commemorates these two bloody periods of Hungarian history. It presents a picture of what life was like for Hungarians in those times and it is also a memorial to the victims of these regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building.

Permanent exhibition:

With regard to communism and fascism, the exhibition contains material on the nation's relationships to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It also contains exhibits related to Hungarian organisations such as the fascist Arrow Cross Party and the communist ÁVH (which was similar to the Soviet Union KGB secret police). Part of the exhibition takes visitors to the basement, where you can see examples of the cells that the ÁVH used to break the will of their prisoners.

The Museum, while presenting the horrors in a tangible way, also intends to make people understand that the sacrifice for freedom was not in vain. Ultimately, the fight against the two cruellest systems of the 20th century ended with the victory of the forces of freedom and independence.

Much of the information and the exhibits are in Hungarian, although each room has an extensive information sheet in both English and Hungarian. Audio guides in English are also available.

 

TICKET PRICES:

Full price ticket: 1800 HUF = £6.00

For citizens of EU between 6-26 and 62-70: 900 HUF = £3.00

With international student card between 6-26: 900 HUF = £3.00 

Free admission for visitors 70 and over (for citizens of EU)

Group admission fees (groups of min. 20 people):

Full price ticket: 1500 HUF = £5.00 

For citizens of EU between 6-26 and 62-70: 800 HUF = £2.70

With international student card between 6-26: 800 HUF = £2.70

Audio-guide (English or German): 1300 HUF = £4.40

Temporary exhibition ticket price 800 HUF = £2.70

If you are interested in history, I recommend watching the movie called “The children of Glory”. It is about the Hungarian revolution in 1956 and some clips were filmed in this building.

“Children of Glory will commemorate Hungary's heroic Revolution of 1956, and takes place in Budapest and at the Melbourne Olympic Games in October and November of that year. While Soviet tanks were destroying Hungary, the Hungarian water polo team was winning over the Soviets in the Olympic pool in Melbourne, in what has been described as the bloodiest water polo match in history.”

TRAILER OF "THE CHILDREN OF GLORY":

THE HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT

The Hungarian Parliament Building is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings, a notable landmark of Hungary and a popular tourist destination of Budapest. It lies on the bank of the Danube.

The construction was started in 1885 and the building was inaugurated on the 1000th anniversary of the country in 1896, and completed in 1904. About one thousand people were involved in construction, during which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kilograms (88 lb) of gold were used.

With its height of 96 m (315 ft), it is one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest (along with Saint Stephen's Basilica). The number 96 refers to the nation's millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later Kingdom of Hungary in 896.

The building has 27 doors, 29 staircases, and 13 elevators. In addition to planetary, conference and session rooms, it includes over 200 offices.

The symmetrical arrangement of the building is designed to serve a double chamber system. The huge dome hall in the middle was designed for joined sessions. As Hungary resorted to a single chamber system at the end of 1944, the northern conference room (once serving the upper chamber) is often used for international conferences. The southern conference room came to host the chamber of deputies.

The Holy Crown of Hungary, also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence. Since 2000, the Holy Crown is shown in the central Domed Hall of the Hungarian Parliament Building.

The Parliament also includes an extensive library of around half-a-million books and documents, handled by a modern information system.

The building can be toured in groups, led by guides, in English daily at 10.00, 12.00 and at 14.00 o’clock.

If you would like to visit the Parliament, let me know and I will arrange it for you. It is free but you need to sign up and you will need to take your passport with you. Entering the Parliament, you have to go through a security control - similar to the airports.

THAI MASSAGE

If you fancy getting a Thai massage, one of my friends has a Thai massage salon in the city centre (at the West End Shopping Centre) and they have really good prices.
They have traditional Thai massage; Thai oil massage; Foot massage and Fish pedicure! J
If you would like to make an appointment, let me know.
The prices approximately:

	½ HOUR	1 HOUR	1 ½ HOUR	2 HOURS	2 ½ HOURS	3 HOURS
THAI MASSAGE	-	£25.00	£30.00	£35.00	£40.00	£45.00
THAI OIL MASSAGE	-	£30.00	£35.00	£40.00	£45.00	£50.00
FOOT MASSAGE	£17.00	£22.00	-	-	-	-
FISH PEDICURE	£13.00	£20.00	-	-	-	-

SZÉCHENYI BATH

Budapest is the city of Spas; there are plenty of thermal baths here, therefore it is a(nother) MUST to go to one of them. My favourite is the Széchenyi Bath - one of the largest bath complexes in Europe. It is in the City Park (next to our wedding venue.J) Its water is supplied by two thermal springs.  It has 3 outdoor and 15 indoor pools. The entrance fee is different on a weekday and at the weekend; you can get a locker or a private changing room. The highest price is about £12.00/day. You can get Swedish, sport or Thai massage here.

By the way Thai massage – if you do fancy getting a Thai massage, one of my friends has a Thai massage salon in the city centre (at the West End Shopping Centre) and the prices there are much cheaper than in the Spas. For more info, see “Thai Massage”.

BUS SIGHTSEEING TOUR AND BOAT TRIP IN BUDAPEST - 5th August

Hello guys,

We are planning a BUS sightseeing tour on Friday (5^th August).  It takes about 3 hours. Most probably it will be between 5:00 – 8:00 pm. The tour guide is going to be one of my teachers from the college (Her name is Adrienne). She is the BEST!!! J A very clever (she knows EVERYTHING!!!) woman with a good sense of humour. J This is a MUST – especially for those who have never been to Budapest before! And with her help, it costs ONLY £10.00 / person!!! J
Please let me know if you are interested, because there are “only” 45-49 places on the bus!

Right after the bus tour, we are going to go on a boat trip on the Danube. J The bus will drop us off at the bank of the Danube and from 8:00 pm – when it is already getting dark in Budapest – we are going to see the city by night. J It will take about 1.5 hour. There is going to be a buffet dinner (cold & warm food, some cake/pastry + a glass of wine) + gipsy music! J With the dinner, the gipsy band and Adrienne guidance included it costs ONLY £35.00 / person. For the boat trip we need at least 30 people (after your feedback it won’t be a problem.J) The boat capacity about 70 people so please let me know if you would like to take part.

It would be great if you could let me know by the end of June as we have to organise the bus and the boat, too. Please email me your full name and which programs you are interested in. Please only do this, if it is a definite. I have to check with Adrienne, we might have to pay in advance or at least some deposit, I’ll let you know...

FLIGHTS TO BUDAPEST

Websites:

http://wizzair.com/

http://www.easyjet.com/

APARTMENT IN BUDAPEST

We tried to collect apartment that have good location - easy to approach and also near to the wedding venue. All of them are in the centre, we signed the venues and the main underground/metro and tram lines (4-6) on the map so you can see how close they are.

If you would like to book any other apartment (there are many more to choose from) and you want to check with us, just give us a call or email us the hotel's name and address and we will get back to you. It might looks nice and maybe the price is good as well but if it is on the other side of the city or not well accessable, you will have to spend money on the taxi what I don't really recommend as the transportation system is really good and cheap! It is also good if we all stay close to each other so you don't have to travel a lot to meet us.
(Further information about the apartment and booking options is on: http://www.expedia.co.uk/Hotels)

  

Recommended apartment (in no particular order):

1. Som Basilica - Apartment*** It is very close to the Basilica!!! OUR Basilica :) It is also very close to Deak Square (meeting points of the three metro lines.) Vaci street (famous tourist street - shopping promenade) is in walking distance as well! Parliament is two metro stops away.
   The prices (approx.) / room / unit:
   Double room (2 people) £42/night
   Quadruple room (4 people): £55/night
     
2. 7 Seasons Apartment This hotel is located on the Deak Square that is the meeting point of the three metro lines! The Basilica is in 2 minutes walking distance. Vaci street (famous shopping promenade) is close as well!
   The prices (approx.) / room / unit:
   1 bedroom-ap. (2 people): £68/night
   1 bedroom-ap. (4 people): £85/night
   2 bedroom-ap. (4 people): £97/night
     
3. Golden Stars DELUXE Budapest Apartment It has a very nice location on the bank of the Danube, right at the Margareten Island. The tram (4-6) has a stop at this apartment and the metro line 3 at the WestEnd City Centre is only 1 stop away!
   The prices (approx.) / room / unit:
   Apartmant (2 people): £59/night
     
4. Kadar Apartment*** It is opposite the WestEnd City Centre at the meeting point of the main tram line (tram 4-6) and the metro line 3. The Danube with the Margareten Island is only 2 tram stops away.
   The prices (approx.) / room / unit:
   Apartmant (2 people): £40/night
     
5. Budapest Hotel Apartment It is located on the Main Boulevard, on the tram line no 4-6, very close to Oktogon (with connection to the underground). WestEnd City Centre and metro line 3 is only one stop away!
   The prices (approx.) / room / unit:
   Double room: £39/night
   Triple room: £43/night
     
6. Oktogon Apartment  It has a very nice location on the Andrassy Avenue, right at Oktogon (underground station!). The wedding venue is only 4 underground stations away! (The stations are very close to each other so you might can walk as well.) The City Park with the lake and the Szechenyi Bath (is a must!) is very close as well!
   The prices (approx.) / room / unit:
   Apartment (2 people): £51/night
   Apartment (3 people): £63/night
   Apartment (4 people): £76/night
      

Check out the apartment for yourself by watching the slideshow below:

3* HOTELS IN BUDAPEST

We tried to collect hotels that have good location - easy to approach and also near to the wedding venue. All of them are in the centre, we signed the venues and the main underground/metro and tram lines (4-6) on the map so you can see how close they are.

If you would like to book any other hotels (there are many more to choose from) and you want to check with us, just give us a call or email us the hotel's name and address and we will get back to you. It might looks nice and maybe the price is good as well but if it is on the other side of the city or not well accessable, you will have to spend money on the taxi what I don't really recommend as the transportation system is really good and cheap! It is also good if we all stay close to each other so you don't have to travel a lot to meet us.
(Further information about the hotels and booking options is on: http://www.expedia.co.uk/Hotels)

Recommended 3* hotels (in no particular order):

1. Budapest Museum Central: This hotel is opposite the Hungarian National Museum, near to the Market Hall and Gellert Hill. The metro line 3 has a stop right on the corner. Deak Square (meeting point of the three metro lines) is 2 bus stops away. Vaci street (Famous shopping promenade) is in 10 minutes walking distance.
   PRICES from £41/room/night
        
2. Matyas Hotel: The hotel is located at the leg of Elisabeth bridge, right opposite Vaci street (famous shopping promenade). Metro line3 has a stop near to the hotel. Deak Square (meeting point of the three metro lines) is close, as well.
   PRICES from £31/room/night
    
3. Cosmo Fashion Hotel: This hotel is in the famous Vaci street (shopping promenade). Always busy promenade, full with restaurants, bars, shops. Metro line 3 and the underground as well has a stop near to the hotel. Also Deak Square (meeting point of the three metro lines) is close.
   PRICES from £45/room/night
   EARLY BOOKING BONUS - SAVE 10%!
   
4. Budapest Karoly Central: It is located between the Hungarian National Museum and Deak Square (meeting point of the three metro lines :)) The Great Synagogue (largest Synagogue is Eurasia & second largest in the world) is on the corner! The Basilica is in 5 minutes walking distance, too.
   PRICES from £41/room/night
   
5. Central Basilica Hotel: It is next to the Basilica!!! OUR Basilica :) Basically it is very close to Deak Square (meeting points of the three metro lines. :)) Vaci street (famous tourist street - shopping promenade) is close as well! Parliament is two metro stops away.
   PRICES from £40/room/night
   STAY 4 NIGHTS AND SAVE 25%!
    
6. Ring Hotel: It is located on the Grand Boulevard where the tram goes. It is very close to the metro line 3 as well, and the WestEnd City Centre is only in 2 minutes walking distance. The Margareten Island is only 1 tram stop away!
   PRICES from £34/room/night
     
7. Hotel Benczur: It has a very nice location on the Andrassy Avenue. The wedding venue is in 5-10 minutes walking distance - depends on your hangover. ;) Heroes' Square is only 2 blocks away with the City Park and the lake. The underground has a stop on the Avenue as well. Szechenyi Bath (is a must!) is in walking distance!
   PRICES from £32/room/night
     

Check out the hotels for yourself by watching the slideshow below:

4* HOTELS IN BUDAPEST

We tried to collect hotels that have good location - easy to approach and also near to the wedding venue. All of them are in the centre, we signed the venues and the main underground/metro and tram lines (4-6) on the map so you can see how close they are.

If you would like to book any other hotels (there are many more to choose from) and you want to check with us, just give us a call or email us the hotel's name and address and we will get back to you. It might looks nice and maybe the price is good as well but if it is on the other side of the city or not well accessable, you will have to spend money on the taxi what I don't really recommend as the transportation system is really good and cheap! It is also good if we all stay close to each other so you don't have to travel a lot to meet us.
(Further information about the hotels and booking options is on: http://www.expedia.co.uk/Hotels)

Recommended 4* hotels (in no particular order):

1. Mamaison Hotel Andrassy: This hotel is very close (actually the closest) to the wedding venue, on the Andrassy Avenue. The City Park with a lake, the Heroes' Square, the Szechenyi Bath is in 5-10 minutes walking distance! The underground's stop is right on the corner.
   PRICES from £58/room/night
   BOOK NOW AND SAVE! ROOMS FROM £39!      
      
2. Radisson Blu Beke Hotel: This hotel is on the Grand Boulevard where the tram goes, between the metro and the underground lines, has a brilliant location, still very close to the wedding venue. The WestEnd City Centre is just about 5 minutes away.
   PRICES from £59/room/night
   BOOK NOW AND SAVE! ROOMS FROM £44!
     
   
3. K+K Hotel Opera: Situated next to the National Opera House, one block away from the Andrassy Avenue. Between the Basilica and the wedding venue. The underground has a stop right on the corner, also the tram and the metro line is close. Liszt Ferenc Square with lots of restaurants is in 2 minutes walking distance.
   PRICES from £86/room/night
   EARLY BOOKING BONUS - SAVE 10%! ROOMS FROM £77!
     
4. Regency Suites Budapest: This hotel is located on the Deak Square that is the meeting point of the three metro lines! The Basilica is in 2 minutes walking distance. Vaci street (famous shopping promenade) is close as well!
   PRICES from £55-59/room/night
          
   
5. Danubius Hotel Astoria: This hotel has a very nice location near to Elisabeth bridge. Both metro 1 and metro 2 lines have a stop very close to the hotel. Vaci street (famous shopping promenade) is almost opposite the hotel. Deak Square (meeting point of the three metro lines) is in 5 minutes walking distance - also the Basilica is very close.
   PRICES from £51/room/night
   EARLY BOOKING BONUS - SAVE 25%! ROOMS FROM £38!
      
   
6. Mercure Budapest Korona: This hotel is close the Deak Square (meeting point of the three metro lines), almost opposite of the National Museum. The Market Hall is in 5 minutes walking distance!!! Gellert Bath with Gellert Hill is close as well, just as Vaci street (famous shopping promenade).
   PRICES from £63/room/night
   BOOK NOW AND SAVE! ROOMS FROM £48!
      
   

 Check out the hotels for yourself by watching the slideshow below: