This our Budapest Contemporary Art Pulse tour

"I am a huge fan of art, the meditations of art history, and generally curious about the culture and accomplished artists in the local scene of any destination that I travel to. Local avant garde, fashion, sculpture, and designer handicrafts are inspiring and allowed for my brain to digest the cultural history absorbed from a traditional tourist agenda...

The Coolest Hungarian souvenirs, batch 1.

I love Budapest T-shirt? Naah. I love Hungarian Girls T-shirt? A little bit better, but come on, really? You can do better! We start a series with cool souvenir suggestions - real 21st century Hungaricums, made by Hungarians for travellers and compatriotrs... With love.

WAMP - Hungarian Design & Gastro Fair

Having cancelled my weekend snowboarding trip due to a severe case of the man-flu, my Sunday was completely and utterly free, leaving Budapest once again as my snow-covered playground... A little bird told me about a unique contemporary 'design & gastro' fair named WAMP, held only a few tram stops away, so I figured 'Why not?'

Now, I've been to these 'contemporary' markets before, and I've found that often they are simply a meeting place for the quirky, alternative and experimental young artists out there, and even though they intend to invite everyone from every age, profession and social class, they end up attracting the select few who are already involved with this sort of thing. I am happy report that with WAMP, this simply wasn't the case!

New World Order 2012 - Discovering contemporary Hungarian fashion in Budapest

Dora Mojzes

Over the past few years numerous young and talented fashion designer emerged in Budapest and started their own brands to rethink and revitalise the Hungarian fashion scene. Numerous showrooms and fashion stores have been created to offer high quality, unique design clothes for fashion-lovers who are looking for something unusual and unique, not available in bigger ordinary stores.

STRICTLY UNIQUE AND HUNGARIAN! Part 3. - younger and older generations

Wanna breathe fresh oxygen on the city's first green wall and shop some real fine design? Between the Opera and the Basilica, lies a little oasis of Hungarian fine art-design.

Wonder how some fashion designer students can rent a showroom on one of our most beautiful squares? Well, they design noisy coats among other things:)

 Discover Hungarian Design Part 3.

STRICTLY UNIQUE AND HUNGARIAN! Part 2. - Siberian Eco Shoes and Eco Lamps

Did you know that flat shoes are sexy and they can be bought in Siberia? No, not in Russia, in the Siberia of Budapest. Let me introduce you to Anna Zaboeva  and her world of shoes.

And did you break your favourit mug, or inherited a too worthy porcelain set? Time to turn them into your unique lamps: cut, glue, dream and switch on the light :)

 Discover Hungarian Design Part 2.

STRICTLY UNIQUE AND HUNGARIAN! Part 1. - Hidden design galleries

Ever wondered what that retro small building is in the middle of Gödör? It looks useless, for some strange reason renovated, there are skateboarder guys wooshing back and forth in front of it and sometimes you can catch some exhibitions inside. It is our Design Terminal!

And have you ever thought that th graffity is and three windows in the street of the synagogue hide a design shop and silk screenig atelier?

Discover Hungarian Design Part 1.

XMAS FAIRY TALES WALKS - we have been there!

Wondering sbout our XMAS FAIRY Tales Sightseeing Tours? Scott Alexander Young and  a French Budapest Ambassador wrote their experiences:

On the 2nd December, the Ambassadors took a walk around a part of Budapest that is very familiar to most of us, but still coated in layer upon layer of history and legends. The Fairy Tales Tour by Budapest Underguide  took us around the Christmas markets, mulled wine in hand, where we heard

about colourful folk superstitions and traditions.

 

Fairy Tales do come true in Budapest - Sugar Shop design confectionary

We had our design Budapest walk this Sunday. There is plenty to tell you about, we have been in the Zara Design Hotel and than also in Tuzrakter Cultural Centre, and wandered along the Paulay Street where you could easily spend all your earnings on the fancy stylish new-generation Hungarian designer clothes. However, there are some more affordable pieces of fashion, namely the bag collection of Sugar Shop - all edible :D



Down with Viennese Cafe style and long live the Design Futuristic Candy shops!

Discovering South Buda o a walking tour

I am one of the guides of budapestUNDERGUIDE and right now we are running a campaign Séta van! (Walking!) where we organize free walks every Sunday. We had a nice 2hours long walk in the 11th disctrict, in South-Buda, which is a less visited district of Budapest.

The photo which inspired Bresson to photograph - Martin Munkácsi

http://fotobibliografica.ca/media/Munkacsi_Tanganyika.jpg

In 1932, the young Henri Cartier-Bresson, at the time an undirected photographer who catalogued his travels and his friends, saw the Munkácsi photograph Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika, taken on a beach in Liberia. Cartier-Bresson later said, "For me this photograph was the spark that ignited my enthusiasm. I suddenly realized that, by capturing the moment, photography was able to achieve eternity. It is the only photograph to have influenced me. This picture has such intensity, such joie de vivre, such a sense of wonder that it continues to fascinate me to this day." He paraphrased this many times during his life, including the quotation, "I suddenly understood that photography can fix eternity in a moment. It is the only photo that influenced me. There is such intensity in this image, such spontaneity, such joie de vivre, such miraculousness, that even today it still bowls me over." (wikipedia)

Promising Metropolitan Party Place - SZIKRA

Sunday can be with hangover (másnaposság in HUngarian, meaning "with the next day")

I was in Szimpla (simple), no, sorry, Szikla (rock), no not even that one... Szikra (sparkle), yeah, that's it :) Szikra Cool Tour House has its opening parties series these days and we just had to check it out on this Saturday nigh fever.


We still do not get it what this place was before. Theatre for sure, cinema as well, and than for some period they had random parties or events. Now it is a very retro, yet fancy party place with a huge dancefloor. We were already hungry for something like this!

Lumen Gallery - my dog drank my cappucino and I took a photo of it

The so called Palace district, named after the rich, tremendous residence buildings owned by aristocratic families in the past, has always been my favourite. Not only mine, but of many university students as you have many important universities, libraries, cafes and other cultural points next door. On the most charming square, in my opinion the most Mediterranean spot in Budapest, where I used to cross in my university year, the best place for a photo exhibition and high quality caffee is the very tiny Lumen Gallery.

Szatyor Bar - Plastic Bag Bar reopens after 100 years in Buda

Szatyor means plastic bag in Hungarian. Szatyor means now also the end of the ruin bar thirst on the Buda side.


 The bar got its name from our famous writer Karinthy Frigyes. When he first entered the underground floor of the Hadik Café, and saw the mat overlay on the walls, he exclaimed: "My dears, this is nothing but a Szatyor (plastic bag)!
Karinthy's works have been also translated to more foreign languages, one of his  famous ironic books about school life can be read here . For those with hard nerves, I can recommend Journey Round my Skull where he writes about his brain tumor operation experience.

Design week - brush up your wardrobe in Second hand shops and Designer fairs

Budapest is no Milan in terms of design, but we try to make up for this on the autumn DesignWeek from the 1st of October till the 10th. Models walk up and down the catwalks, studios open up to the public for a few days, special open air expositions can be admired all through the city and you can shop with discounts in designer shops!

To learn more about design week programs, check their homepage:
http://www.designhet.hu/en/news 

Design street - off the beaten path courtyards and shops in Király street

A few days ago, on the occasion of the European Union's Cultural Heritage Day, some free guided tours were organized in Budapest. I strolled along with a huge Hungarian group on Király utca, one of the oldest and still most developing streets downtown.
Let's check what the most hidden gems were!

First of all, a little history and situation. Király utca leads from Deák Tér (centre centre) till the City Park, crossing over the Grand Buolevard (Nagykörút). However, the historically richer part is inside the boulevard, so till the 4-6 tram's stop.