Thursday, 20 July 2017

The city that kept a piece of my heart

July 20, 2017

I came to Budapest for an Erasmus Traineeship at Legjobb Vagyok (I am the Best NGO) and I’ve been living here for nearly three months now. Not only have I developed my language skills (both of English and Italian, since I have an Italian work and flatmate – and other two Italian flatmates, and a tiny bit of Hungarian as well – ok, I’ll be honest, my knowledge of Hungarian sums up to the words I incessantly hear at the public means, such as “végállomás” or “kovetkezo megalló”); I’ve also acquired new knowledge about marketing, such as the concepts of direct and indirect marketing, social media best practices (timing, quantity and quality of posts), and I’ve developed my writing and video making skills.

We’ve had fun in the office when there were five or six of us; my favorite days revolved around food, of course, and were when I walked to the market with Duru to grab lunch or when I went to the place that sells huge ice cream with the others. But there were also times when we went for a walk or to play something, and it was cool. Or when there was this deafening silence on the office, and suddenly somebody started laughing out of nowhere. I also really enjoyed the view of our building from across the street: the beautiful trees on the entrance, the brown church right beside it, the arch back in the yard…

I can’t say that it has always been easy, though. The office got kind of crowded at a certain point and I felt it was affecting my productivity. Sometimes personal relations got a little tense as well, but with patience, self-reflection (of both parties) and civilized discussions, one could manage to pull it through. But apart all that, most of the days were nice, especially when András took us to visit the Asian Center, Bósnyak Market, Szentendre and to the surprise event, which consisted on Hungarian folkloric music and dances.

Now the most difficult part is to talk about the city and what it represents to me… I arrived with my expectations up for finally being back to living in a capital (ok, I’m from Rio de Janeiro and it’s not the capital, but truth be said, it’s huge and it’s Brazil’s most famous city), and I’m gonna leave disappointed… Disappointed that I have to leave, disappointed with what the other cities around the world could offer but don’t, disappointed because Budapest made it really hard for other cities to compete with it in terms of having fun for free. I’m not trying to depreciate other cities here; it’s just that when you’re a student with not much money to spend but wants to have a good time anyway, some places make it a hard task to be accomplished, while in Budapest you can have fun for free every day. There are always many things going on: the nightlife here offers so many free options; there are free events, parks, the amazing view of the Danube and its bridges (where I once sat and spent the whole afternoon chatting with my friends) Margaret Island, Citadella, Buda Castle’s garden, Fisherman’s Bastion and fireworks over the Danube every now and then. By the way, for me the city is completely different during the daytime and at night, so make sure to see it both ways. I’d also like to point out that here I felt safe to walk around at any time of the night or day (even though you can occasionally find some harmless drunk people). Budapest is nothing but magical.

Well, even when you have to spend money on things like food and the thermal baths, you  ‘ll realize that it’s pretty affordable, and better yet, so much worth it. My favorite places to eat were on the Jewish Quarter, more precisely on Kazinsky utca. I often bought ice creams as well but in other neighborhoods – preferentially not the touristic ones, where they would sell a tiny scoop for twice the price. 

I’m not ready yet to think about how much I’m going to miss the city and the friends I made here. When you spend so much time living with someone, they start to look like they are family. And if you’re lucky enough as I was, it’s the kind of family that you’d like to keep around. We’ve shared so many laughter and great moments, and also a few bad ones. All of them were good to keeping us closer. I’m pretty sure that we’ve all learned important lessons about living with different people with different manners and habits and that all of us are now somehow better and wiser. I’ll also miss the friends I made at work, and amongst the many memories, there were three songs that deserve to be highlighted for being part of a top-notch of my time here: riders on the storm, Budapest and the absolute number one, DES-PA-CI-TO.


At last, I just wanted to thank for the opportunity I was given. If I got here it was because someone believed in me, and I hope I was able to correspond to this expectation. Those were wonderful three months and I’ll certainly speak with my heart rather than my mouth when asked about how was Budapest.

This article was written by Nathalie Diirr Miglio Bensabat.

A imagem pode conter: 2 pessoas, atividades ao ar livre

Monday, 10 July 2017

A Walk Along the River

July 10, 2017

It was a rainy tuesday. I got off of my first day of work at 15h, went home to rest a bit, and then took off with excitement to the river for the first time. My work colleague, flatmate and now friend Silvia, who had been here for nearly one month before I arrived, offered to show me around. We then left the bus at Ferenciek Ter, and I remember already feeling intrigued about that huge white bridge: what was on the other side? Where would it lead me? Which small treasures would I find there? (Budapest is a city that arouses my curiosity, but I would find out about it later.)

Heading to the river, we passed by this cute tiny street with some souvenir shops and restaurants, until we reached a larger one with loads of shops, restaurants and kiosks. We went through a passageway under an arch next to this kürtos and deli shop, and before we even got to the river there were already some so-pleasant-for-the-eyes points of interest: a bed of colorful flowers and a church stood on the left; further ahead, a weird-looking black stone monument, like a table with some people above it; almost on the river, a pedestal held a statue with one of its arms up, and once again beautiful colourful flowers contoured it.

Little by little, as I got closer to the river, this crescent feeling of admiration caught me while I spotted each of the details of the magnificent landscape, some of which huge in its dimensions, but tiny from the distance. Starting from the left, you can see the green beautiful Liberty Bridge and the white Elizabeth Bridge; on the top of the mountain, at Citadella, stands the Liberty statue; randomly placed amongst lots of trees, lies my favorite monument: St. Gellert; now on the right, you can see the Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion and my favorite bridge, the Chain Bridge. Besides these main points of interest, there are so many other interesting sightseeings that I can’t even begin to describe.

Now walking on the Pest Side promenade for the first time was the most pleasant feeling I’ve experienced on this amazing city. The vintage-looking yellow trams running along the river, the boats floating on the vastitude of the Danube, the beautiful aligned trees all across the pathway… And the details, oh, the details… cute direction signs, flowerbeds with beautiful lamps, the princess statue, small boxes hanging on trees (that you’re supposed to spy on so you can see pictures of how the landscape standing ahead of you looked like formerly), restaurants with charming tents…


By the time I got to the Intercontinental Hotel, other than one more beautiful flowerbed embellishing the landscape, there was this musician playing “Toreador” with a stick on some glasses. What a great surprise, it made the day even better. God bless street musicians!


Soon I was on my beloved place: the Chain Bridge. The lions guarding its stone arches and the classy lamps made me think, “what a valuable piece of classic Europe”. I was just so glad to be there. Last but not least, after a bit more of walk and passing by nice places to chill along the river, the bronze shoes monument and some statues, I finally got to the Parliament. But you need to be there in order to understand its greatness.



This article was written by Nathalie Diirr Miglio Bensabat

Wednesday, 28 June 2017

SOME WAYS OF GETTING THE BEST PRICES WHEN YOU TRAVEL

June 28, 2017
Travelling is awesome, but planning it can be a tough task. There are so many options available on the internet, and it all depends on the purpose of your trip and on the resources you have available. Here I’ll talk about means of transportation, accommodation, car rental and currency exchange.
Since I’m always on a budget, this presentation will be focused on price. If you’re an experienced traveler, you may be familiar with those hints. In any case, hope I can teach you something new.

Monday, 19 June 2017

5 hidden tasty places in Budapest

June 19, 2017

If you are interested in a different culture's food and you are exited about trying new tastes then your next stop could be Budapest. This gorgeous city has a lot of different options to offer. Especially during the summer, every little piece of garden turns into a beautiful cafe or pub. There's absolutely no need complain about a lack of delightful cafes or restaurants in Budapest. You can find the most famous ones from Tripadvisor or from similar web sites. With this article I want to share my hidden places with you. I have been living in Budapest for almost a year and I can say that in some ways I'm starting to feel like a local. I love trying new tastes, and besides, as a student it is sometimes really hard to cook. You know, you need to go grocery shopping first and then come home to prepare all the ingredients, ask your mom about the recipe again and so on and so on. Instead of that it is sometimes good to know that you have some favorite places to go and fill yourself with pleasure. Also it is sometimes really pleasing to go to a cute cafe rather than Starbucks.


    I want to start with me and my flatmate's favorite pizza and pasta place, A Presto. Thanks to our home's location we were able to discover that place. It is right next to the opera building and whenever you pass by it you will be tempted by the amazing smell. For me this place makes the best pizza in Budapest, unrivaled for sure. Also you can find delicious pastas and tomato soup here. Plus, for a qualified restaurant like this, the prices are pretty convenient.
    The next stop is Brios which is a really dangerous place if you are trying to keep yourself in shape. When my lovely flatmate found this place and we went for a lunch for the first time we were totally amazed by their delicious chicken quesadilla. I still can't understand how they are so fast at preparing the orders but it is really amazing. The concept of the place is more about breakfast and lunch. You can find a lot of different toast and omelette options. Another great thing about their food is that they often serve salad as a side dish with the food and they have an amazing salad sauce, I am not exaggerating. Also I want to thank them for introducing me to the banana pancake, it is just an incomparable dessert for me now.
    Now I will talk about a place we had passed by maybe a thousand times before we even noticed it. This place is located in Kiraly utca and the only problem about it is the lack of sunlight. Otherwise it is such a cozy and lovely place to spend time in. If you are interested in all kinds of different teas then this is your place. They have around a hundred types of tea and they serve breakfast all day long. For me the most important thing about this place is their carrot cake. They serve the cake with a cream on top it and some fresh fruits, couldn't be better.
  


  In the middle of Astoria and Deak, there is a cafe called Konyha. In Hungarian it means 'kitchen'. The place has such a different concept and ambiance. The best and the most beautiful thing about the place is that it has huge windows which make the place really bright and vibrant. It has two stories of which the upstairs is my favorite. The basement is for food and the upstairs is more like a place for studying or having a cup of coffee with your friends. Also in the upstairs you can find big, comfortable couches right in front of the window where you can enjoy the great view. I can't say it is a cheap place for food but is definitely fine for a cup of coffee.
    Lastly I want to introduce you to one of the cutest coffee places in Budapest. It is called My Little Melbourne. It is a tiny place but this makes it really cozy and friendly. You can find vegan desserts and organic things here. If you are looking for a place to focus and study in you can go upstairs and have a chai latte with vanilla or cinnamon flavour.
    All the places I mentioned above are pet friendly and the personnel are always smiling. After you go to all these places you might be a bit broke but you will thank me for those amazing tastes. Egészségédre!

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