Hungarian wine on my mind

by Kelly Amabile on

A few weeks ago I enjoyed sampling some Hungarian wines at a New York reception hosted by Perceptive Travel magazine. The folks at Monarchia Winery and Hungarian Tourism were kind enough to provide a collection of regional wines for tasting. I particularly enjoyed sampling two Tokaj varieties. Traditionally known for its sweet dessert wines, the two I tasted were drier, and quite nice. (You want to know what they are called, right? Yeah…well someone has misplaced her notes. Maybe one of my travel writing pals will jump in with an informative comment?!)

It was a pleasant evening, and left me reminiscing about my introduction to Hungarian wines, which began when I arrived in Budapest in spring 2006 on the eve of the country’s national labor holiday. I checked into my room at Grotta Haz, a quiet hostel on Castle Hill that unfortunately no longer operates. The best part of this place, besides the fact that no one else seemed to know about it, was that the owners operated a wine bar in the basement. Eszter, my gracious hostel host, doubled as bartender in the evenings, and welcomed me with an inviting glass of red from the Villany region. Throughout that week, after long days of sightseeing, I’d return to the Grotta, exhausted, but ready to sample whatever Eszter suggested. She introduced me to cuvees and rieslings from the Szekszardi region and also encouraged me to check out the nearby Hungarian House of Wines.
On my last night in Budapest, an American friend and I spent a few hours there, where we sampled at least 15 varieties from around the country, including a 2003 Egri Bikaver “Bulls Blood” from the famous Eger wine region. The House of Wines is an affordable (about $25 to sample up to 50 wines) and enjoyable way to sample Hungary’s vast wine offerings — as you can see from this happy photo of me and my friend with one of the wine house staff near the end of our tasting spree :) But I do wish that I had actually visited a few vineyards while I was traveling through the country. Eszter has invited me back to do some touring…all I have to do now is find the time. Thanks to Perceptive Travel for reminding me to plan that trip!

Calling All Cubists

by Brett Atkinson on

Is that what you call someome who is a whiz at solving a Rubik’s Cube? Either way the best on the planet at working out those challenging little cubes of coloured plastic will be heading to Budapest for the 2007 World Rubik’s Cube Championship on October 5.

It’s fitting the Hungarian capital will host the event as the devilish device was let loose on the world by Hungarian Erno Rubik in 1980.

Other crazes to emerge in the decade that taste forgot were Milli Vanilli and Cabbage Patch Kids, but neither has had the staying power of the Rubik’s Cube.

With world championship contenders aiming for a time of under 10 seconds – the world record of 9.86 seconds is held by Thibaut Jacquinot of France – it promises to be quite a show.

Thanks to Toni Blay on Flickr for the pic.

Top 10 Hostels Around the World

by Justin Glow on

Our friend Benji over at the Guardian has compiled a list of the top 10 hostels around the world. “When I say I’m staying in a hostel instead of a hotel, they think I’m subtlety telling them I have a drug problem,” he writes. “But things have changed, people. Not all hostels are grubby dives run by people called Starchild.” It’s true; some of the cheapest and most unique places to rest your weary travel legs are hostels, even if you do have a drug problem. Here’s Benji’s picks:

  1. Villa Saint Exupery, Nice, France
  2. Hostel Celica, Ljubljana, Slovenia (pictured)
  3. Casa Caracol, Cadiz, Spain
  4. Art Hostel, Sofia, Bulgaria
  5. Backpack Guesthouse, Budapest, Hungary
  6. Backpackers International, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
  7. Long Street Backpackers, Cape Town, South Africa
  8. Casa Esmeralda, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  9. Sleeping with the Enemy, Sydney, Australia
  10. The Gershwin, New York, US

I haven’t been to any of these, but I’ll be looking for hostels to stay in next month in Ljubljana, Budapest, and Sofia, and each of his recommendations in these cities looks promising. Make sure to head over to the Guardian to read details — including website links — of each one of the hostels listed. [via]

Odd Statues from Around the World

by Brett Atkinson on

Weird statues are usually the end result of a city councillor with too much time and other people’s money on their hands. Some of the planet’s oddest statues include a giant Optimus Prime from Transformers and the kids jumping into the Singapore River outside the Fullerton Hotel.

Check out those and other odd and offbeat constructions here, and let me know any that have been overlooked, especially from your neck of the woods.

Some of most poignant and imposing statues I’ve seen are at Statue Park in Budapest. While other former Communist countries destroyed their statues of Lenin, members of the Proletariat, and brave Socialist soldiers, Hungary moved them to a park on the egde of Budapest.

Click here for an article I wrote about Statue Park, or read more travel information about Budapest.

News via Oddee and pic of Statue Park thanks to nicol_b on Flickr.

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Hungarians Reclaim World Kissing Title

by Willy Volk on

This week, a group of 6400 horny Hungarian couples broke the world record for simultaneous kissing when they locked lips for a few moments outside the country’s ornate and mood-inspiring parliament building. Amusingly, Hungary has been engaged in a back-and-forth “kissing duel” with the Philippines since 2004, as both countries have been vying for the title.

Reportedly, one young, lascivious couple who identified themselves only as “Orsi and Pityu” started kissing half an hour before the official record attempt. “That’s the least we can do for the nation,” Pityu said. Pityu, you are a patriot! Anyway, this is what the event looked like:

Note that this record is not the same as the world’s longest kiss, which is a lip-wearying 31 hours long. Nor is it the same as girls kissing in bars, which happens on a daily basis at college campuses around the world.

We’ll try to keep you posted on future attempts in time to make travel arrangements, you perverts.