Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hungary

How best to buy two places?

Dee Xtrovert — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:41:09 -0800

I'd like to buy a place in America. I'd also like to buy a place in Hungary. I've got enough for a 20% down payment on both. I've also been told that I would qualify for a loan for a place (in America) equal to what the cost of the *two* places would, in actuality, be. I would have no problem affording both - I live on about 25% of my net income and have not a penny of debt, even if the mortgages would be equal to the upper end of what I might qualify for - so I'm not worried about that. But does the fact that I'd be buying *two* places, in two different countries, affect the situation? To put it another way:

Obviously, I'd have two separate mortgages. If I bought one place (for much less than what I would have qualified for), would I have a hard time qualifying for the second, even if the amount of that second loan were smaller than the difference between the amount I originally qualified for and the amount of the mortgage of the first place?

Anyone have any experience with such a thing?

is this hungarian DGSM method going to help my new-born niece ?

Baud — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:37:00 -0800

is this hungarian DGSM method going to help my new-born niece ? Long story short : my niece is about six weeks old, did a cardio-respiratory arrest in her first day, is finally able to breathe without a machine. Now here comes the hungarian chapter of this story : The parents (my brother and the sister-in-law) are being told that the hungarian method Dévény Special Manual Technique and Gimnastic Method a.k.a. DSGM is the best thing for the child.

Problems : the DSGM method means trips to Hungary and nowadays money does not exactly grow on trees.

The website is http://www.deveny.hu/en/

Has any fellow MeFite heard of this method ? Is it good ? Is it the best one ? Is it a scam ? Should they blow their savings doing it ?

Magyarország film!!

the luke parker fiasco — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:55:24 -0800

Where can I find DVD's of Benedek Fleigauf's films? At an International Film Festival a few years ago I saw a great film by Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf ("Rengeteg"--in English, "Forest"--clip here, no subtitles. IMDb bio, and interview with English subs). I've been trying to locate that film specifically, and all his films generally, for purchase ever since, with no luck. If anyone has any suggestions or leads, I'd love to hear them.

(I've also looked when in Budapest, but haven't had much luck there--if anyone has in-country leads, those would be much appreciated as well, as I will be going back.)

mystery music video with warp holes

jschu — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:05:18 -0800

Help me find this German (?) music video! In Hungary, in April 2007, I saw a music video which I need your help identifying. The song may have been in German, or Hungarian. It was on an MTV-type channel that showed the popular songs of the day (I remember they played international hits such as Tokio Hotel, Mika, Nelly Furtado, and Paolo Nutini).

The music video showed a waifish girl singing and climbing in and out of large square holes that led to different locations; for example, a hole in the wall of a bedroom set might lead to her being on a beach. (The warp hole portals and the dingy bedroom setting of part of the video are the only things I remember specifically. Some things I'm less certain of: I think the tempo of the song was rather slow and somber. The colors of the video may have tended towards greys and blues.)

I would love to find this song! I've tried googling for German and Hungarian top 40 lists, but I don't speak either language (which was why I sat around watching so many music videos when I was there ;) ). Sorry for the lack of specificity!

Help my grandmother find her first love.

thejoshu — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:42:55 -0800

Help me figure out where to start looking for my Hungarian grandmother's long-lost first love. With increasing frequency, my grandmother has been asking me (and my sister, and my mother, and her aide, and her social worker, and her pharmacist...) to help her with something that has been nagging her for a long time: she wants to find the Hungarian army (or air force?) pilot (or Red Cross doctor?) who, she says, got into worlds of trouble for flirting with a young Jewish girl and tried to save her and her family just before the war reached the doorsteps of their tiny, eastern Hungarian village. Obviously the likelihood that he's alive right now (if he survived the war at all) is slim, but getting the answer to this one question and getting in touch with him (if possible) has become, I'd say, the most important thing in her life.

I know his full name, the neighborhood his family lived in in Pecs during the war, and that he participated in some military and/or Red Cross occupation in the town of Tarpa some time before they came to take my grandmother away to Auschwitz in 1943-44.

I suspect, though, that even if I knew more than eight words of Hungarian, I would not have a clue where to start, so:

If these records exist, where would they be kept? Would it be more useful to seek public records from Pecs or records from the various branches of the Hungarian military or Red Cross? Who might be able or willing to help? As you can tell from these totally vague questions, I really have no clue where to start. Any and all advice would be incredibly useful.

How much should I pay someone in Hungary?

Joe in Australia — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:39:27 -0800

How much should I offer someone in Hungary to photograph graves in a cemetery? I'm doing genealogical research and I need about a dozen graves photographed. I found someone willing to do it, and I don't want to either insult him or drive the price up.

Hungarian Soccer Jersey for a 3-year old

taang — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:53:19 -0800

Looking to purchase a Hungarian soccer jersey for a toddler. Please help! I am looking for a place online where I can purchase a Hungarian soccer jersey for a 3-year old. I Googled and found a couple of places that will sell an adult jersey, but none for kids. I would prefer if the jersey was for the Hungarian national team rather than a club team, but I'll take what I can get. Also, this wonderful online store should ship to Canada. Thanks!

FleaMarketFilter: Looking for all Flea Markets in Europe

dripdripdrop — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:55:20 -0800

I'm looking for flea markets in Europe. Specifically we will be going through Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia (Sarajevo), Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland (Krakow) before settling in France, but any other suggestions in Europe are welcome. I'm interested in the kind of flea markets with old, random crap, not the new, cheap crap. I've been to the flea market outside Budapest on Nagykőrösi út and loved all the old nick nacks.

Please be as specific as possible about addresses. If I get a lot of answers I'll put together a Google Map for sharing.

Where should we visit or stay in Eastern Europe?

D J Robertstein — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:54:44 -0800

Where should we visit in Eastern Europe? Me and three or four freinds are planning to have a bit of an interrail this summer and unlike last time, we've opted for more of an eastern European slant. So far it's looking like this:

France - Italy - Greece - Bulgaria - Romania - Hungary - Poland - Germany

We're hoping to see a bit more of the countryside and will be camping a fair bit as well as using hostels. However, we know nothing of Eastern Europe save for a Michael Palin documentary.

Does anyone whos been around that area have any suggestions of places to go, things to see and stuff to do? We're on a fairly low budget, but we could save cash for certain things if it's worth it.

Sorry for the vague post but we're ignorant and in the early planning stages. Thanks!

Pre-vacation reading

CiaoMela — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:51:13 -0800

Any recommendations for a book set in Budapest or Hungary? In a couple of weeks I’ll be visiting Budapest for a long weekend (I’m from New York). One of my favorite things to do before visiting a new city is to read a book (usually a novel) set there. Something that incorporates a bit of history/historical fiction would be terrific, but a contemporary setting would be fine, too. I love to read but don’t have time for a huge tome before I leave—so maybe 200-500 pages? Authors I like run the gamut from Dickens to Willa Cather to John Irving, Toni Morrison, and Margaret Atwood. Oh, and I’d be interested in reading a memoir, autobiography, or other work of narrative nonfiction if that’s my best option. I think it’s obvious, but this will have to be in English.

How do I call my wife in Sweden, Copenhagen, and Hungary while she visits for two weeks?

seinfeld — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 08:54:51 -0800

How do I call my wife in Sweden, Copenhagen, and Hungary while she visits for two weeks? I'm in the US and she will not have a cell phone or a computer. It's probably best if I call the hotels, but is jajah or skype my best bet? Anyone have other suggestions? How about via calling card so I don't have to be around a computer.. Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated.

"Quarelin" painkiller in the USA?

redteam — Wed, 16 May 2007 07:21:21 -0800

Is there something like the Hungarian "Quarelin" painkiller available in the USA? Quarelin is this incredibly effective headache-killer that my Hungarian girlfriend introduced me to. It wipes out headaches really quickly and very reliably. Usually, my girlfriend has Hungarian visitors bring her a bunch of boxes of the stuff but no one has visited in almost a year. We use them very sparingly for bad headaches and we're almost out.

Does anyone know if something like Quarelin is available (for cheap) in the USA? Maybe through a prescription?

I can't really find any names or any info on my own. According to a Romanian and a Hungarian source, the tablets are composed of:

[Romanian]
400 mg metamizol sodic, 60 mg cafeina, 40 mg drotaverina hidroclorica

[Hungarian]
400 mg metamizol-nátrium, 60,0 mg koffein, 40,0 mg drotaverin-hidroklorid

Now I really AM a starving artist! Why can't I get cash?

dirtmonster — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:50:00 -0800

Where would I look for information (and a solution) on why I can't use my American (mastercard) ATM card to withdraw money in Hungary? I've been using it for the last 3 weeks, then yesterday, no ATM machine would give me any money. They are all in the 'network,' and I have successfully used these machines before.

My SO in Ireland is also unable to withdraw money from our State-side account.

I've talked to the bank, plenty o'cash, nothing wrong with the account or the cards. But they have no record of either of us trying to withdraw money. What gives?

I would like to be able to find out why this is happening and how long it will keep on happening. Any ideas on where to look or who to call? Many thanks!

It's crumbelivable

riotgrrl69 — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 18:33:25 -0800

Can someone who speaks Hungarian tell me whether the voting is over and Stephen Colbert is really going to have a bridge in Budapest named after him?

Tourist apartments in Budapest, Ljubljana and Sarajevo?

cmonkey — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 11:30:44 -0800

Apartments in Budapest, Ljubljana and Sarajevo? My roommate & I are heading to Central Europe in March, and we'd like to rent apartments for a week in each of those cities, so we can have a kitchen and enough space to not drive each other crazy. We're not picky; as long as it doesn't have cockroaches, is under 60 Euros a night, and has a pair of beds, we'll be happy. Hostels aren't an option since we're far too introverted to deal with sharing rooms with other people. Any personal recommendations?

Dental tourism in eastern Europe

uk_giffo — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 06:48:41 -0800

I have a friend here in the UK who needs some dental work doing and decided to combine it with a little holiday and maybe save some money by getting it done in either Poland or Hungary. I've heard from other friends that eastern European dental tourism is a good idea (it's clean, cheap, and the dentists are skilled) but I've yet to meet anyone who's actually done it. Furthermore I can't find any independent sources that offer advice/recommendations/anecdotes/lists of dentists to avoid - only glossy websites set up by either dentists themselves, or specialist travel agents who want to sell the whole package.

Have any of you, or someone you know, done something similar in one of these countries, and if so do you have any more details, or resources that could help me? How long would you recommend staying there for, say, an initial check up and a couple of crowns fitted? Would a working week be long enough?

Honeymoon suggestions for Eastern Europe in September?

UMDirector — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 08:53:33 -0800

Next September (16th ish) I will be going to Eastern Europe for a honeymoon. Any travel suggestions? Resources? Must sees? My fiances grandparents are polish and mine are hungarian so we thought it might be interesting to go to Poland, Hungary and maybe somewhere else (also more affordable from what I hear). We will probably have between 7-10 days for travel. Not sure if we want to freelance it or do some sort of travel package thing. Neither of us have ever traveled in Eastern Europe so we have no idea what to expect (is there as much English spoken as western europe etc)....any information, thoughts, suggestions etc would be greatly appreciated!

Krakow or Budapest this winter?

mdonley — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 16:29:19 -0800

EasternEuropeFilter: I'm taking a course to become certified as a teacher of English to speakers of other languages in November-December. It's available in Krakow and Budapest for about the same cost. Where do I want to live for a month? I live in southern California and while I could commute an hour by car each way to Santa Monica for a month, the course (to prepare for the CELTA, or Cambridge English Language Teaching Assessment) costs so much more here in the States that I'm actually saving money on housing, food, gas, etc. by heading over there.

It's a full-time thing - every weekday, 9 to 5 or thereabouts - so I won't have much time for sightseeing save on the weekends, when I'm not doing homework or preparing model lessons, etc. It's a very intensive schedule from everything I've read about it, and both schools are run by the same organization, so I'm not worried about the quality of the course being different.

In both cases, I'll probably be living in a shared apartment near the center/old town. While Budapest is larger than Krakow, does that necessarily mean it's got more/better things to do?

Most importantly, which city's going to give me the best value for money? It might cost about the same to get over there, but if I'd pay twice as much for groceries or warmer socks or copies or time in internet cafes in one place or another, that's enough to make my decision.

Thanks!

Budget Lodging in Budapest

Rash — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 06:23:14 -0800

BudaPestFilter: accomodation and arrival questions. I'll be there in early October, wondering how necessary it is, arranging something in advance. I travel solo, and although I can afford more stars, I'd rather not pay so much -- while visiting Europe previously I've generally found one star hotels to be quite adequate, in general. (Still a backpacker, all these years later, though I can no longer tolerate a hostel's barracks scene.) Pre-trip research suggests that advance arrangements result in better rates, and a reservation on the first night is always nice to have, but most of these on-line deals like Expedia seem only to deal with hotels rated three stars, and above -- and for Budapest, I hear taking a private room may be the way to go, something spontaneous arranged with a local upon arrival (or an agency like Ibusz). (But they insist on three or four nights miniumum?)

Any experience and/or recommendations, please share.

Also greatly appreciated, any tips to aid in overcoming bewilderment, upon arrival at the train station in the afternoon. (Jet lag won't be an issue; I'll have been in Europe for a couple weeks by the time I arrive in Pest.)

What are the digital not-clocks on the Budapest Metro all about?

jack_mo — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 03:08:02 -0800

On the Budapest Metro there are signs hanging from the ceiling that show train times - they have analogue clocks at one end and, at the other end, a digital display counting upwards, apparently in minutes. They're not minutes past the hour and they're not minutes since the last train arrived, so what the devil are they for?