THE BUDAPEST TIMES

THE BUDAPEST TIMES
Volume 11, No. 27 5 July – 11 July 2013 www.bzt.hu HUF 750/EUR 3
Hungary’s English-language weekly.
05 DOG MEAT Rumour leads 1000s astray 06 TOLL SYSTEM Stumbles 13 NATIONAL DAYS (without all that marching & protesting)
Slow start in EUR 250,000 residency sale
Only three of the government’s new EUR 250,000 residency bonds have
been sold so far, state news agency MTI reported on Thursday citing progovernment
newspaper Magyar Nemzet. The bonds are marketed exclusively
by firms that have been approved by parliamentary committee, most of them
established in offshore jurisdictions. The residency bond is touted as the
cheapest way for non-EU nationals to acquire a permanent Schengen Zone
visa. The director of the firm with exclusive rights to sell the bonds in China said
last month that thousands are expected to subscribe over the next few years.
500 smarter speed cameras soon
Upwards of 365 fixed and 160 mobile speed control cameras will
soon be placed along Hungarian roads, police told state news agency
MTI on Thursday. The initiative – dubbed the “star wars scheme” by
news website Index.hu, taking into account Hungary’s international
weight, we guess – will not only allow the authorities to catch speeders,
but also drivers who cross a continuous white line and drive on the hard
shoulder. The system will register licence plate numbers, retrieve data
from a central database and issue fines accordingly.
D-I-Y burials may dig up some votes
Low-cost burials, where families would prepare the deceased’s body and dig
the grave to save on the current HUF 300,000 (EUR 1,018) price of funerals, and
a cut in firewood rates, are being mooted by the government. New cuts in utility
prices will be introduced by mid-October, Fidesz MP in charge of utility rates
Szilárd Németh said on Monday, with natural gas, electricity and district heating
prices to be lowered by ten to 20 per cent. This would be the second phase of
cuts after the government announced a first reduction from January this year, a
measure it is publicising widely ahead of next year’s general elections.
For the people?
European Parliament divided over Hungary question
European Parliament
1222 Bp. Nagytétényi út 48-50 • Tel: (+36-1) 382-9000
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www.fox-autorent.com • open: 8am-8pm 7 days a week
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s
right-wing government must
bring national policy in line
with EU values, the European
Parliament signalled on Wednesday
when MEPs voted overwhelmingly in
favour of adopting a Civil Liberties
Committee report that is highly sceptical
of the Hungarian government’s
commitment to democratic principles
and European values.
During a plenary session in
Strasbourg, the supranational legislature
voted 370 to 249, with 82 abstentions,
to endorse the report, compiled
by Portuguese Green MEP Rui Tavares.
RATES
346.12
4 July
346.44
27 June
295.00
4 July
295.51
27 June
239.23
4 July
“If we vote for this report we’re voting for
the freedom of the people in Hungary.”
– Socialist group leader,
Austrian MEP Hannes Swoboda,
insisted the report was not an attack on Hungary.
“No, Mr. Orbán, it’s not against Hungary,
you have no right to say that these people
here are fighting against the Hungarian
interest. It’s the opposite that is true. It’s
not in your interest, but your interest is not
the Hungarian interest. What we are
defending here is Hungarian democracy
and the interests of the Hungarian citizen.”
– President of the European Parliament’s liberal ALDE
caucus, Guy Verhofstadt, jabs a finger
as he thunders at a stony-faced Hungarian PM.
240.20
27 June
Orbán had taken the unusual step
of personally addressing the European
Parliament the previous day, where he
was predictably excoriated by leftwing,
liberal and green members.
Apparently resigned to the outcome
of the vote, Orbán railed against what
he said was a politically motivated
226.98
4 July
226.77
27 June
STATS
13 MO.
Egypt President
Mohammed
Morsi’s time in
office.
attack on Hungary. “We do not want to
live in a Europe where the biggest
abuse their strength and the majority
abuses its power,” he said.
The Tavares report, as it has
become known, criticised in particular
the most recent, fourth, amendment
to Hungary’s new Constitution that
237 YRS
Since the US of A
gained its
freedom from
profiteering Brits.
20 YRS.
as regent for the
Belgian King
Albert II. He abdicated
on July 4.
“The European Parliament must not turn
itself into a Big Brother that prescribes to
everyone how they must live.”
– German Christian Democrat (CSU) Manfred Weber
quoted by German news agency DPA. The CSU, along
with Orbán’s Fidesz party, is a member of the centreright
European People’s Party group, the largest in the
European Parliament with 269 of the 766 members.
The fact that there were 82 abstentions and only 249
MEPs voted against the Tavares report (including
numerous vocal eurosceptics and far-right
members) suggests a large number of Orbán’s
supposed allies did not support him and his government
in the latest spat over domestic policy.
Opposition politicians in Hungary (apart from the
far-right Jobbik) expressed satisfaction over the vote
on Wednesday. Dialogue for Hungary MP Tímea
Szabó noted that even the European People’s Party
is distancing itself from the Orbán administration.
Orbán defiant as European Parliament endorses report casting doubt on his government’s commitment to democracy
208 MN.
IKEA catalogues
printed for 2013
edition, doubling
the Bible.
772
bills pushed
through by
parliament since
2010.
was pushed through exclusively by
government lawmakers and took
effect last year. Among areas that were
singled out for criticism was a clause
defining a heterosexual marriage as
the basis of the family unit.
– Continued on page 2 as ‘New law’
9 771785 110000 1 3 0 2 7

5 July – 11 July 2013
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
02
POLITICS LETTERS
Calls to
rein in
wayward
states
– Continued from page 1
However, the report more
broadly criticised the way in which
Orbán’s administration has used the
two-thirds majority it secured in
2010 elections.
It called on the Hungarian
government to stop using its supermajority
to cement many areas of
what would normally be considered
ordinary policy into so-called
“cardinal laws”, which cannot be
altered in the future without the
backing of two-thirds of lawmakers.
The report also noted that several
pieces of legislation struck down by
Hungary’s Constitutional Court had
subsequently been incorporated
directly into the Constitution,
thereby removing them from the
court’s purview.
The report raised the possibility
of the European Parliament
recommending that Hungary’s
voting rights be suspended unless
the government adheres to the
principles of respect for human
dignity, freedom, democracy,
equality and the rule of law
enshrined in the EU Treaty. This
so-called “nuclear option” of
invoking Article 7.1 of the treaty
has only been used once before,
after Austria allowed the far-right
Freedom Party into a coalition
government in 2000. It would
require the backing of the Council
of Ministers – in other words, the
unanimous backing of the governments
of all member states.
The Tavares report also echoed
a recent call by the foreign ministers
of Germany, the Netherlands,
Denmark and Finland for the
setting up of a more effective
Dear Editor,
I’m telling my friends
to never go to Budapest
I was travelling with my family by car in Budapest and
entered the Castle District on Saturday. On the way back in
the early afternoon I was stopped to pay a HUF 500 parking
fee on Palota út. An unpleasant woman cashier informed me
that I could only pay in local currency; no credit cards and no
euros.
I had three kids aged 17 months to four years in the car,
and I begged her to let me pay EUR 5 cash and she wouldn’t
even have to give me any change. But she was rude and
refused to help me. Her only answer was: “Only Hungarian
forint.”
I understand that maybe in Hungary you have regulations
about payments, etc. but you need to inform people that it is
not possible to pay in any other currency than forints, and you
need to inform them in other languages besides Hungarian.
There was no such information, and if there had been, it
wouldn’t have been a problem for me because I speak five
languages.
Your workers cannot behave as if the only way to treat
people is to be unpleasant, officious and without human
sensitivity. I was not alone, I was with crying kids. What kind of
person must she be not to help in any way? I never experienced
such treatment anywhere in the world and I have
visited more than 30 countries on different continents.
What will I remember about Budapest? Only those 20
minutes, running to other cars, waiting in the queue and
asking other drivers to change EUR 5 to forint.
I will advise all my friends never to go to Budapest because
of this very poor treatment.
I’m sending this email to the General Directorate of the
Hungarian National Tourist Office, the Budapest mayor’s office
and to the Hungary Tourism Authority in my country, Poland.
Sincerely,
Lukasz Wrobel, Poland
(When we go to Poland we promise we will take zloty. – Editor)
“This is an interesting question,
the comparison of Brussels to Moscow.
Without a doubt, during the Soviet era I
could not have said what I think in Moscow.
If by chance I had been able to say what I
think, I don’t think they would have let me go
home. I think, therefore, that one cannot put
an equals sign between the two entities.”
– Prime Minister Viktor Orbán explains the
difference between the seat of EU power
and that of the former USSR, during a
heated debate in the EU Parliament on
Tuesday over his government’s commitment
to European values. In a widely reported
speech in Budapest in March 2011, Orbán
said Hungary had refused to be dictated to
by Vienna and Moscow, and would not be
dictated to by Brussels.
mechanism to force wayward
member states to abide by their
EU treaty commitments. In
endorsing the document, the
European Parliament has given its
backing to the creation of a
“Copenhagen mechanism”,
named after the Copenhagen
criteria to which aspirant members
must abide before they are allowed
to join. The problem is – and this
has been amply demonstrated by
the widespread flouting of
Maastricht criteria on fiscal
balance – that once a country is in,
the carrot has gone, and the
European Commission does not
have any particularly hefty sticks.
The mooted “Copenhagen
Commission” or some such highlevel
group would be independent of
political influence. This would avoid
any risk of “double standards”, the
report said using a phrase that has
assumed the quality of a mantra for
the Hungarian government.
Budapest has been at loggerheads
with the EU’s executive over a range
of domestic legislation – from media
laws to judicial reform – more or less
constantly for over two years.
The Tavares report was only the
latest swingeing critique of
Hungarian government policy since
the introduction of restrictive new
media regulation laws in January
2011, which created a furore that
overshadowed Hungary’s first sixmonth
EU Presidency. Since then,
the government has been
upbraided by the US State
Department and several European
government officials, the European
Commission, and international civil
and human rights watchdogs such
as Amnesty International and
corruption watchdog Transparency
International.
In a report adopted last week, the
Venice Commission of the Council
of Europe concluded that the
government’s use of the mandate it
secured in a landslide 2010 election
win “to cement the economic, social,
fiscal, family, educational et cetera
policies of the current two thirds
majority, is a serious threat to
democracy”.
In what the government
described as a “great success”, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) voted on
23 June not to put Hungary under
the kind of close human-rights
surveillance to which countries such
as Azerbaijan and Russia are
currently subject. If it had been
subjected to an official “monitoring
procedure”, Hungary would have
scored an ignominious first for an
EU member state.
– Robert Hodgson
Jobbik MP an insult to the human race
Dear Editor,
I address Jobbik MP Tamás Gaudi-Nagy, whose
statement that Auschwitz “may not reflect real facts” I
have recently become familiar with from multiple news
stories.
It made me curious to know whether you, Dr. Gaudi-
Nagy, have ever visited Auschwitz, whether you are
just talking based on things you might have heard from
others, or whether you are simply reciting things that
you are obligated to state, like a thoughtless puppet,
by virtue of your political affiliation with a despicable
political party that (just like yourself) is a shame to
modern civilisation.
Nevertheless, irrespective of the reason(s), you are
responsible for your statements. And for having such
an antisemitic, racist and hateful position, I wanted to
tell you that you should be ashamed of yourself and of
your ignorance that is flooded with stupidity and malice.
As the outrageously ignorant creature that you are,
based on your statement, I perfectly understand if you
are unable, unwilling or not allowed to take responsibility
for your statement that, in fact, is very much in
line with the political party that spreads virulent hate
speech, the party of which you are a member. Shame
on you for that, too.
You are listed on your website as being a lawyer by
training. But I was under the impression that law
school teaches about ethics and professionalism. You
seem to have missed those classes; perhaps it was
the time when you discovered other fun things that life
has to offer, and classes might have been the last thing
on your mind – because, clearly, you are unethical and
unprofessional.
But just so that you know, you are expected, by
virtue of your profession, to know about and profess
these concepts, and I strongly recommend that you
further educate yourself. Once again, shame on you
for trampling on the principles of ethics, professionalism
and decency.
For questioning the suffering and death of so many
people who were brutally murdered in Auschwitz,
simply because they were Jews and Gypsies or exercised
their freedom to choose same-sex partners or
suffered various medical ailments, for insulting the
sacred memory of the dead, for desecrating the
suffering and the lives of so many innocent people,
and for your stupid lack of compassion, once again,
Dr. Gaudi-Nagy, shame on you.
And how ironic it is that you are a full member of the
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights! How
are the principles of human rights being served if one
of the representatives in charge is actively involved in
questioning the suffering of millions whose human
rights were brutally violated merely a few decades
ago?
Isn’t that a cruel joke and a mockery for many
millions who are suffering today worldwide, that one of
those who should represent their hopes and dreams
casts doubt on those who were savagely murdered so
recently?
But there is one thing, nevertheless, for which I
should express my thanks to you, Dr. Gaudi-Nagy.
Thank you for proving, once again, that ignorance and
hatred are timeless and do not know geographic
boundaries, social class and political affiliations.
People like yourself end up polluting the dark and
obscure pages of history books, pages that future
generations will feel nausea even remembering.
You are an insult to the human race and to its
dignity, and today I feel more proud to be Jewish than
I have ever been, and more determined than ever
before to raise awareness about this mortal plague
that is ignorance and malice combined with antisemitism,
so that one of the darkest chapters in the
history of humanity, perpetuated by individuals with
these same qualities, will not repeat itself.
Sincerely,
Richard Stein, New York
European Parliament
EU a danger
to Europe: PM
Parliament set to declare
Brussels abusing its power,
in thrall to business interests
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán put in a
defiant appearance in the European
Parliament on Tuesday, the day
before EU lawmakers officially castigated the
government over its democratic record by
adopting the highly critical Tavares report.
He appeared resigned to the decision but
blamed the “attack” on Hungary as the work
of left-wingers and liberals.
“Your decision tomorrow represents a real
threat to the future of Europe,” Orbán said.
“The recommendations in the report
infringe the basic contracts and call for the
setting up of institutions not recognised by
the treaties of union, which would place an
EU member state under surveillance and
guardianship... This is a dangerous path.”
During the debate Socialist Caucus leader
Hanna Swoboda suggested that Orbán’s
policies had been scaring away investors.
“Investment in Hungary is increasing
continuously,” Orbán asserted. “There are
some who don’t like its economic policy.
They are the bankers and utilities providers
that enjoy monopoly positions. We disagree
with them. We have taxed the banks and
used state intervention to reduce utilities
charges, and distributed the burden fairly.”
Hungary to slap back
The ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat
alliance parties have called for Hungary’s
national assembly to adopt “with urgency” a
resolution condemning the European
Parliament, Fidesz chief whip Antál Rogán
told reporters in Budapest after the supranational
assembly endorsed the Tavares
report in Strasbourg.
“The EU is abusing its power,” Rogán
said. “The interests of business lobbyists lie
behind the European Parliament’s decision.
What is really happening to Hungary is not
a process about democracy but about utilities
charges.”
The Fidesz-controlled Parliament would
adopt the resolution this Friday, he said.
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THE BUDAPEST TIMES
Castration! That’ll
cut crime: Jobbik
Chemical castration, the death penalty and
ethnic-based prisons should be introduced to
deal with “continuously increasing” violent
crime, extreme-right party Jobbik spokesman
Ádám Mirkoczki said on Tuesday.
The new penal code introduced on
Monday is too lenient and will have little
effect on improving safety, he said. The situation
in small towns and villages was
“appalling” despite Prime Minister Viktor
Orbán describing law enforcement as satisfactory.
Mirkoczki, whose party campaigns on a
virulent anti-Gypsy, law-and-order agenda,
described Jobbik’s nominally banned paramilitary
organisations as “the most active”
and “the most organised” during the recent
flooding of the Danube.
“There weren’t many Gypsies to be seen
on the river banks apart from those that were
paid to fill sandbags,” he said.
Far-right to note
Gay Pride Parade
The far-right party Jobbik has announced
it will hold a rally on Erzsébet tér (square) in
central Pest this Saturday to coincide with the
annual Gay Pride Parade which will pass
close by. The event is ostensibly to mark
“fellowship day” and, beside Jobbik leader
Gábor Vona, speeches will be given by the
head of the New Hungarian Guard, the latest
incarnation of Jobbik’s militaristic uniformed
wing (although the wearing of such uniforms
is now technically banned by law).
In recent years the parade has been
conducted behind metal barriers and with a
heavy police security presence after
attempts to attack participants and violent
scuffles between police and skinheads.
The British Embassy has once again lent
its support to the Gay Pride event, as one of
17 embassies – among them most of
Western Europe, the US and Israel – that
signed a statement in support of gay and
lesbian rights.
“We look forward to the Pride celebrations,
to the respect for them which the Hungarian
people will show and to the determination of
the Hungarian authorities not to allow those
of extreme views to disrupt what should and
will be joyful occasions,” the statement said.
The march will proceed from Heroes’ Square
to Olympia park on the Danube embankment,
where a picnic will be held and
speeches made by invited dignitaries.
Bajnai sues Fidesz
spokesman
The opposition Together 2014-Dialogue
for Hungary alliance has announced it will
sue the spokesman of the ruling right-wing
party Fidesz after Péter Hoppál alleged that
former prime minister Gordon Bajnai was
behind the occupation in March of Fidesz
party headquarters. Several dozen
protesters climbed into the courtyard of the
building in protest over controversial constitutional
amendments pushed through by the
government.
Fidesz officials promptly accused Bajnai
of being behind the event, an assertion that
the head of the 2009 to 2010 interim
government denied. They also alleged that
the party staff had been menaced and property
vandalised – an assertion vehemently
disputed by the mainly student demonstrators.
Hoppál asserted
Hoppál told reporters on Tuesday that
protesters had “smashed up” Fidesz headquarters
at the former
premier’s instigation,
describing them as a
“violent Bajnai guard”.
Bajnai’s electoral
alliance responded by
announcing it would
sue Hoppál just as it is
suing another Fidesz
spokesman who
Gordon Bajnai recently sought to link
Bajnai to the bankruptcy
of a poultry processing company that
led to the ruin of numerous suppliers, and,
allegedly, suicides.
“We have already made clear our position
on the occupation of the Fidesz headquarters:
we understand the anger of the
protesters and agree with their aims but we
do not stand behind them,” Together 2014
said in a statement. The “Orbán regime”
would be toppled by peaceful, democratic
means.
Bajnai announced his return to politics in
October last year, since when – despite not
having until last month an official political
party – he has been the main target of the
government’s negative campaigning.
Chokehold
on smokers
Harder to buy butts; petition to
ban smoking in public
Hungarians are among the heaviest smokers in the
EU, so it came as a surprise to many when the
ban on lighting up indoors was implemented last
year with nary a whimper of opposition. Now antismoking
activists are launching a petition drive to force a
national referendum on banning smoking in all public places
– outdoors as well as in, after the National Election
Commission gave them the go-ahead last week. If they can
collect the requisite 200,000 signatures, the national vote will
go ahead.
This news comes in a week when smokers have had to
adjust to the new reality of the controversial government
shake-up of the tobacco retail market – this one provoked
rather more grumbling. As of Monday, the sale of tobacco
products has been limited to only 5,000 or so outlets that won
20-year concessions in a blatantly opaque tender process.
Most of 40,000 or so shops can no longer sell cigarettes, and
many owners face ruin.
Opposition politicians and other critics allege the licences
were handed to clients of ruling right-wing party Fidesz. As
the press and civil groups demanded access to the tender
documentation, the government promptly legislated to limit
Hungary’s freedom of information act, effectively making the
tender process secret. Corruption watchdog Transparency
International pulled out of a government working group in
protest.
Embarrassment, doubt as
Croatia finally enters EU
“Welcome to the European Union,” European Commission
president Jose Manuel Borroso told Croatians on Sunday as
Europe’s politicians flocked to the country to mark it
becoming the bloc’s 28th member the following morning.
One exception, and the most visible, was Germany, whose
Chancellor Angela Merkel had announced her decision not to
join the festivities and to send the German government’s
Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs instead.
Though the head of the EU’s most powerful member
blamed a busy schedule, dispute with Croatia over its failure
to extradite the former head of Yugoslav State Security
Administration Josip Perkovic, suspected of organising a
politically motivated murder in Bavaria in 1983, is seen as the
more probable reason for her absence.
Croatian leaders put on a brave face despite this embarrassing
ending to six years of the most protracted accession
negotiations to have taken place before accession. “The story
of Croatian success is a story of community, persistence,
ambition and vision,” President Ivo Josipovic said, hailing a
“historic” day for the country.
With high unemployment, a four-year-long and ongoing
recession, and national debt officially classified as junk,
enthusiasm for joining the EU is not universally shared
among the country’s inhabitants.
Some fear they may end up struggling to keep up with
competition from older EU members while losing free access
to markets in the Balkans.
MTI
MTI
MPs ram them
through on 2nd go
5 July – 11 July 2013
Áder refuses 3 laws
President János Áder refused to sign
three pieces of government legislation
this week, asking lawmakers to reconsider
a law that changes the legal status of
savings cooperatives, another
addressing concerns over the recent
fourth constitutional amendment,
and regulations on the legal status
of churches. The government
promptly signalled that it will pass
the laws again, albeit with amendments
in the case of the building
societies law. After a second
János Áder
passage, Áder has no choice but to
sign a bill into law. The ruling Fidesz party
was expected to push all three bills through
Parliament again this Friday.
The National Savings Cooperative
Association (OTSZ) had called on Áder not
to sign into law a bill passed on 27 June that
would integrate Hungary’s large number of
small savings cooperatives. The OTSZ’s 105
members believed the law was unconstitutional.
Áder agreed, asking lawmakers to
clear up ambiguities in the text and consider
whether limitations on ownership rights are
necessary or proportional.
The bill had already drawn stiff criticism,
not least from OTSZ chairman Sándor
Demjám, one of Hungary’s richest businessmen.
Many observers speculated that the
resignation of the head of Takarékbank,
Péter Csicsáky, was linked to the government’s
latest encroachment into private
finance. The bill states that integration of
many small building societies is necessary to
guarantee deposits and ensure sufficient
services to savers. “It remains a priority to
guarantee all savings banks deposits and
shares,” Fidesz group leader Antal Rogán
told reporters on Wednesday.
Áder also sent back to Parliament amendments
to the law on the status of churches,
which he said would create legal uncertainty.
The government had controversially incorporated
into the Fundamental Law legislation
that gives Parliament direct control over
the official recognition of churches. This was
done after the Constitutional Court ruled
that the ordinary legislation was unconstitutional.
The amendment currently in
question did not fully address the
concerns of critics who see the policy
as discriminatory.
The third point with which Áder
took issue concerned the functioning
of the regulatory Media
Council. The president balked at the
stipulation that the deputy president
of the body charged with
executing media laws is empowered to issue
decrees before a new president is in place
(the incumbent president having died
recently).
Land law signed
Meanwhile, Áder signed into law the
government’s new package of legislation
governing the use of arable land, which is
aimed at limiting purchases by foreign
nationals. The passage of the bill last week
saw chaotic scenes in Parliament, with
nationalists occupying the Speaker’s podium
and Greens holding a banner aloft in the
centre of the debating chamber.
The far-right Jobbik party reckons that the
government has betrayed Hungary by failing
to ban foreign nationals from buying
Hungarian land (when an EU derogation
expires next year, Hungary can no longer
discriminate between EU citizens). The
Greens and left-wing groups have argued
that the government’s land law, along with its
broader policy regarding the leasing out of
state-owned farmland, is designed to favour
those loyal to the ruling Fidesz party.
03
POLITICS

5 July – 11 July 2013
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
04
INTERVIEW: NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR TOVE SKARSTEIN
Grants promote solid Norwegian values
Norway’s Ambassador to Hungary, Tove Skarstein, talks about
the many bilateral links between the two countries, from her
promotion of Norway’s nature, culture, competitive economy
and core values, to active assistance via the Norway Grants in
meeting some of the social challenges in Hungary.
What is keeping you busiest in your job at
the moment?
We are currently in the phase of finalising
the preparations of the programmes that will
be launched very soon under the so-called
European Economic Area and Norwegian
Financial Mechanisms. These funds will
allocate some 150 million euros (40 billion
forints) to 12 programmes, and hundreds of
smaller and larger projects throughout the
country, with the aim of reducing social and
economic disparities, as well as strengthening
the bilateral relations between our
countries. Though the funded projects will
not start their activities before the end of this
year, the preparatory work that is being
done at the moment is essential, because
we are interested in funding projects that not
only efficiently address some of the most
pressing challenges in Hungary (Roma integration,
energy efficiency, improving public
health, etc.), but are sustainable in the long
run, i.e. even after the end of the funding
period.
Of course, as with any ambassador, most of
my day-to-day work is related to strengthening
the bilateral relations between
Hungary and Norway, as well as following
closely the political and economic situation
in Hungary. I must say, there is never a dull
moment these days for an ambassador
posted in Hungary.
How does Hungary rate on the scale of difficulty,
or as an enjoyable posting, for
Norway’s ambassadors?
Budapest is definitely a popular posting for
Norwegian diplomats. Hungary is a country
with an intriguing history, which is an especially
attractive aspect for me personally.
Budapest, a beautiful and safe city, has one
of the richest cultural lives in Central and
Eastern Europe, and is in addition
geographically close to Norway with daily
direct flights to Oslo. As I said, the political
developments in the country are exciting
from a diplomat’s point of view, which makes
our work both interesting and challenging.
What do Hungarians really know about
Norway? What are some important and less
well known facts?
My impression is that there is room for
improvement on both sides when it comes
to knowledge about the other country.
Hungarians tend to regard Norway as a
distant, exotic country, with a beautiful
nature, which has gained its richness thanks
to its gigantic oil revenues. This is of course
partly true, but not so many people know
that our economy is actually based more on
our qualified and competitive workforce,
especially the participation of women, who
actually contribute more to the country’s
GDP than the oil sector.
Also, many Hungarians associate Norway
with an extensive welfare state, where
everyone can feel secure and no-one is in
danger of losing their livelihood. Again,
partly true, however it is often neglected that
the reason our welfare state can function
efficiently and sustainably is that a much
larger proportion of the population than the
EU average, especially among women, is
active in the labour market, and continues to
work and pay taxes until a higher age than
is common in most other countries.
Our economy and society is therefore based
on a delicate balance between a competitive
market economy, with individual choices
and responsibilities, but on the other hand
solidarity and state intervention. That is why
we have to pay higher taxes than most other
European citizens, but we do pay these
taxes because we trust that the state or
municipality will perform its duties and serve
the interests of the society at large.
I found it very surprising, and even flattering,
that many of our greatest classical and
contemporary artists, from Henrik Ibsen to
Jan Garbarek (not to mention Jo Nesbø) are
so well known and popular among the
Hungarian audience.
Norway is not a member of the EU. Does
this complicate political and economic relations
with Hungary at all?
When it comes to economic relations,
Norway is part of the European Economic
Area, which means that, apart from agriculture
and fisheries, we are part of the EU’s
internal market with the same rights and
obligations as any other EU Member State.
Our companies compete on exactly the
same terms, and my impression is that
Norwegian businesses enjoy a high degree
of trust in Hungary. I don’t think our nonmember
status complicates bilateral political
relations, either. Even though we don’t
participate in the EU’s formal decisionmaking
mechanisms, we are deeply
involved in shaping indirectly the EU’s policies
by closely following the processes, and
aligning ourselves with like-minded countries
on issues where we have common
values and interests.
How are Norwegian-Hungarian relations
politically?
Our ties have been close already since
1956, when approximately 1,500 Hungarian
refugees settled in Norway. Since that time
they, and their descendants, have become
well integrated and respected members of
the Norwegian society, which obviously
contributes to further developing our friendly
relationship. Our bilateral contacts became
much stronger after 1990, when Hungary
became firmly anchored in the Euro-Atlantic
alliance, where Norway had belonged for
decades.Today we are important and strong
allies in Europe, we share many of the same
interests and values, and work together
actively to achieve common goals in various
forums, such as the Council of Europe,
NATO or the European Economic Area.
“Hungarians are definitely
not among the largest immigrant
groups, especially
when compared to the
Nordic countries, the Baltics
and Poland. However, in
recent years we have experienced
an increased influx of
Hungarian professionals, first
and foremost medical
doctors, engineers and architects.
It is in these sectors
where we have a large
demand for qualified workforce,
and living and working
conditions are no doubt very
attractive for citizens of other
European countries.”
– Norwegian Ambassador
Tove Skarstein
Of course, this does not mean that we have
to agree on everything, and we have
expressed our concerns about some of the
recent political developments in Hungary,
but we have also acknowledged when the
government took important steps to remedy
these shortcomings. The Norway Grants
provide an excellent opportunity to further
strengthen our political and economic relations.
What are the trade and business links
between Norway and Hungary? The main
companies? The main economic goods,
exports/imports between the two?
Norway’s Ambassador to Hungary, Tove Skarstein, says there is never a dull moment in her posting.
The EEA Agreement provides excellent
conditions for joint business activities and
trade between our countries. Though trade
statistics show relatively modest
export/import activities (export from
Hungary to Norway was roughly EUR 250
million, while import from Norway to
Hungary was about EUR 65 million in
2012), there are significant exports from
Hungary to Norway in important sectors,
such as pharmaceuticals, telecommunications,
electronics and automotive products.
In many cases trade relations are
indirect, and hence do not appear in the
official import/export statistics, for example
when Hungarian car-parts suppliers
export their products to Norway via
German automotive manufacturers. By far
the largest Norwegian investor in Hungary
is Telenor, which, with its roughly 33 per
cent market share is the second-largest
mobile operator in the country.
Interestingly enough, with more than three
million subscribers in Hungary they have
more customers here than in Norway! In
addition, there are some 30-40 Norwegian
companies present on the Hungarian
market in a range of sectors from energy
to seafood products, either as local
subsidiaries, sales agents, etc.
How do the business customs differ in
Norway?
I would say Norwegian businessmen are
more direct, and frank in their approach,
perhaps generally a bit more risk-averse
than Hungarians, although probably the
financial crisis has forced Hungarian businesses
to be more cautious than before.
Our business - and other social - relations
are based on mutual trust, as well as
transparency, and our companies try to
conduct the same type of behaviour also
when they are operating abroad.
There must be some interesting business
stories?
I found it very interesting to see how
popular Budapest is among Norwegian
dental tourists. An entire industry has
developed with businesses (dentists and
agents) in Budapest and Norway
specialised in attracting Norwegian
tourists to Budapest for long weekends,
where they combine high-quality dental
services at reasonable prices with
exploring the country’s beautiful capital.
How many Norwegian businesses and
individuals are in Hungary and what
important things are they doing? Do they
have any particular problems here?
As I mentioned there are quite a number of
Norwegian businesses operating in
Hungary. Most of them are small- and
medium-sized companies, with relatively
few employees, and even fewer of them
are Norwegians. But there is quite a sizeable
Norwegian community in Budapest,
not only businessmen but especially
students. Roughly 700 Norwegian
students study at Hungarian universities,
the overwhelming majority of them medicine.
About half of them live in Budapest,
the rest in the other university towns of
Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs. Generally
speaking the Norwegian community feels
very comfortable and safe in Hungary, but
some of them face language difficulties, as
well as heavy bureaucracy, and in some
sectors there are problems with non-transparent
business.
Is Norway a popular destination for
Hungarians wishing to emigrate? Is it difficult
to do so?
Norway has become a very popular place
both for labour migration, especially from
other Scandinavian and EU countries, as
well as asylum seekers from developing
countries. When it comes to workers from
the EU, it is relatively easy to settle in
Norway, given that the European Economic
Area provides identical working conditions
for Norwegian and EU citizens. Norway is
one of the few countries in Europe where
the available workforce is in fact scarce,
especially in some sectors, and therefore
we welcome the arrival of foreign workers.
Hungarians are definitely not among the
largest immigrant groups, especially when
compared to the Nordic countries, the
Baltics and Poland. However, in recent years
we have experienced an increased influx of
Hungarian professionals, first and foremost
medical doctors, engineers and architects. It
is in these sectors where we have a large
demand for qualified workforce, and living
and working conditions are no doubt very
attractive for citizens of other European
countries.
Is Norway a popular tourist destination for
Hungarians?
Norway is regarded as an exotic, but probably
high-end destination for tourists in
general. Of course, we have some
Hungarian tourists, who travel individually or
with organised tours to Norway in order to
explore the Western fjords or the midnight
sun, but their numbers are obviously much
lower than those of the Germans, the
Danes, or the Dutch. Thanks to Hungary’s
membership in the Schengen Area, and two
companies operating cheap and daily direct
flights to Oslo, travelling to Norway has
become even more convenient than before.
How are you promoting Norway politically,
economically and culturally? What are your
Embassy’s efforts to strengthen Norway’s
image in the country?
A large part of my job serves exactly these
purposes. We would like to use all possible
channels and opportunities to make our
country, our beautiful nature, our culture, our
competitive economy, and not least our core
values more visible in Hungary. Without a
doubt our main tool to achieve these goals is
the Norway Grants. Our funds provide me
with a golden opportunity to travel to all parts
of the country, meet national and local politicians,
NGOs, public entities and ordinary
people, and put Norway on the map, so to
speak. All of our funded projects are carrying
out activities that are related to the values we
wish to promote (gender equality, empowerment
of vulnerable groups, environmental
sustainability, etc.), and many of them
involve Norwegian partner organisations.
Through this strengthened cooperation, we
aim to improve Norway’s image in Hungary,
as in all the other beneficiary countries.
Apart from the Norway Grants, the Embassy
is very active in initiating and supporting
various events which promote Norwegian
culture, or important aspects of our social
and economic life. Let me mention a couple
of examples. Last weekend we co-hosted
with our Nordic and Baltic friends a
Midsummer event in the Szentendre
Skanzen, with Norwegian food, music and
other cultural activities. Last year, we were
one of the guests of honour at the Budapest
International Book Fair, and some 10 of our
internationally recognised contemporary
authors attended the event personally. In
other areas I could mention professional
workshops and conferences, which we have
co-organised with our Hungarian partners,
among others dealing with women in
science, corporate social responsibility
(CSR), or the so-called Nordic model.
What are some of the things you support in
Hungary?
I am personally very engaged in
supporting initiatives that are aimed at
empowering vulnerable social groups,
especially the Roma and women. I am
often invited to events, and I always accept
invitations, when I have the possibility to
promote Norway’s strong engagement in
these fields. Being a lady ambassador, I
know very well what it is like to be in a
minority position in an area that has traditionally
been dominated by men. We have
to work twice as hard in order to be
acknowledged. Though there is obviously
a long way still ahead of us, I am proud
that my country has done a lot to decrease
the gender gap as much as possible, and
significantly increase the share of women
in the political and business life. This is
definitely something Norway wishes to
promote throughout Europe and beyond,
and I personally attach high priority to this
task in my daily work in Hungary.
How are your Hungarian language skills?
At the moment my Hungarian skills are
extremely limited. I have to admit I have my
doubts whether I will be proficient in this
very complicated language by the end of my
tenure here.
What baffles and frustrates you most about
this country?
To be honest, I was very shocked to experience
that antisemitic voices are still present
in parts of the Hungarian society and political
discourse. Fortunately these voices are
marginalised, but still they are disturbing 70
years after the horrors of the Second World
War, when we all thought these vicious
ideologies were destroyed, at least in
Europe. It was reassuring to hear that Prime
Minister Orbán was very clear in his
message condemning all forms of intolerance
and antisemitism, and I sincerely hope
the Hungarian government will have the
resolve to be effective in mitigating such
tendencies.

THE BUDAPEST TIMES
5 July – 11 July 2013
05
Inquiry into fatal
rally accident
The National Automobile Sport
Federation will launch an internal
investigation into an amateur rally
accident on Sunday that killed one
and injured eight. Regional news
portal szon.hu said a driver lost
control and essentially straightened
out a turn, hitting spectators on the
other side of a double cordon. A
police investigation will determine
whether the accident was caused by
a technical defect and if the turn was
properly secured by organisers.
EUR 14,000 for
cramped cell
The Strasbourg-based European
Court of Human Rights ruled this
week that Hungary must pay EUR
12,000 in non-pecuniary damage
and EUR 2,000 for costs and
expenses to Sándor Fehér, who went
to the court over alleged inhumane
treatment before he stood trial for
robbery.
Fehér claimed that he and three
others were held in a seven-squaremetre
cell from September 2006 to
October 2008. He said the cramped
conditions with only limited time
outside his cell had been inhuman
and degrading.
Fehér was ultimately convicted of
robbery in October 2009 and
sentenced to six years and eight
months jail, which is not affected by
this week’s ruling.
EUR 28,400 to man
sacked by state
A Hungarian national whose
severance pay was taxed at 98 per
cent was awarded EUR 25,000 in
damages and EUR 3,400 in costs on
Tuesday after the European Court of
Human Rights ruled the tax breached
protection of property regulations.
The 40-year-old man’s contract
with a state-owned company was
terminated in July 2010 after 11
years in employment. Two rulings by
the court on similar cases in May and
June resulted in plaintiffs each being
awarded EUR 17,000 and EUR
16,900 in damages and costs
respectively.
Suspects held in
dog-fight raid
Five people believed to be organisers
of illegal dog fights were
arrested by police in Verpelét in
northeast Hungary on Saturday.
Investigators who raided a Heves
County farmhouse allegedly found
some 40 fight dogs and various
illegal substances.
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physical and sporting abilities
Send CV to Peter Jones
info@happykids.hu
Tel: 356-2440
Some are more cheesed off than others...
...but most
are definitely
cheesed off
Life is unsatisfactory for
the majority of
Hungarians, according
to new data from
research institute GKI. A survey
titled “Are we satisfied with our
lives?” shows that, on a scale of
minus-4 (least satisfied) to 4
(most satisfied), the average
response was about -0.5 or mild
dissatisfaction.
Ministry pooh-poohs
dog meat rumour
It is illegal in Hungary to raise dogs or cats for
meat, the Rural Development Ministry said in a
statement posted on Monday. This surprising
assertion had to be made, apparently, because of
“reports to the contrary” – as it turned out, rumours
propagating in social media that the government
had paved the way for the rearing of such animals
as livestock for food.
The news magazine HVG tracked down the
source of the wild talk to a lawyer who deals with
animal welfare cases. Anikó Pozsonyi told HVG
that her reading of a recent amendment to the law
on animal husbandry opens a back door to legal
dog and cat meat. “The legislation filed on 25 June
and now in force means dogs as an animal now
come under the law on livestock, and thus can be
raised for farming purposes,” she reckons, and has
informed Europe.
István Szilágyi of the White Cross Animal
Defence League was less concerned, saying that
other laws on animal cruelty overrule the interpretation
of the new rules on animal breeding, which
also cover the production of animals for recreational
and sports uses. The ministry told HVG that
the legal dog and cat meat interpretation of the
recent legislative change was “stupid”.
Dagály Bath in running
for world championship
One of Budapest’s biggest baths will be the
home to the capital’s new competition swimming
arena with a normal capacity of 5,000 spectators
and the possibility to extend to 19,000. The
complex in District XIII’s Dagály Bath is expected to
be completed by the end of 2016 and will be
featured in Hungary’s candidacy for the 2021
aquatic world championship. The decision on the
host city will be made at the congress of the international
federation on 19 July. Dagály currently has
10 pools, which are all open during summertime.
Buses 115 and 133 stop near the entrance and it
is in walking distance of tram number 1 and the
Árpád-híd station of the M3 subway. Entry is HUF
2,800 (EUR 9.45) for adults and HUF 1,900 (EUR
6.40) for students and pensioners.
Ageing trolley buses
come to end of line
Budapest Transport Centre BKK announced on
Monday a tender for 24 low-floor and air-conditioned
trolley buses to replace some of its over 20-
years-old fleet in autumn 2014. The tender worth
HUF 43 million (EUR 145,796) will be 99.33 per
cent funded by the EU with the city covering the
rest, and comes with an option to provide a further
84 vehicles. A further 25 articulated Volvo buses,
purchased second-hand from Switzerland, will join
the municipality’s fleet, BKK also announced on
Wednesday.
It’s not about the money
Where each respondent is
placed on the scale depends
more on notions of relative
wealth than on absolute levels of
income, the survey found, with
the segment of the population
living on the smallest income
showing less marked levels of
dissatisfaction (-0.51) than those
earning 20 to 40 per cent and 40
to 60 per cent of average salaries
(-1.50 and -0.92 respectively).
The top two segments of
population in terms of income
showed the mildest dissatisfaction
(-0.34 and -0.41 respectively).
MTI
MTI
Grumpy old women
There is, on the other hand, a
clear relation between age and
level of dissatisfaction, with a
steady decrease from -0.06 for the
youngest 20 per cent of the population
to -0.84 for the oldest 20 per
cent. This is corroborated by data
on occupational background:
among respondents, students are
the only group showing satisfaction,
however low. The employed
straddle the line between satisfied
and dissatisfied, while the dissatisfied
include (in growing order of
disillusion) the retired, mothers on
maternity leave, the unemployed
and housewives.
New section brings
relief on busy M0
The first motorists are using the expanded 11-
kilometre section of the M0 ring-road’s southern
stretch, which opened on Sunday. The right side of
the picture shows a similar condition to that which
drivers had to deal with in one of the busiest highways
of central Hungary since the road was
completed in the 1990s. Plans call for both directions
of the M0 to be expanded from two lanes to
three and an emergency lane on all sections. The
next stretch – to be opened in August – will be a
newly constructed section connecting road 51 with
the M5 highway.
High poverty statistics
being hidden: MSZP MP
The government and the Central Statistical
Office (KSH) must publish annual data on poverty
as soon as possible, Hungarian Socialist Party
(MSZP) MP Lajos Korózs said on Tuesday. KSH
data on subsistence levels normally come out in
mid-June but are not available yet, Korózs said,
accusing the government of seeking to hide a high
level of poverty in Hungary unseen since the
Second World War.
The data would reveal that the poverty line is at
HUF 85,000 (EUR 287) for a single person, HUF
150,000 (EUR 507) for a couple and HUF 250,000
(EUR 845) for a family with two children, he said.
Korózs cited data by polling firm Tárki according
to which 4.6 million of Hungary’s fewer than 10
million inhabitants live below EU poverty lines. The
number of poor people has increased under the
Orbán government in place since 2010, and so has
the gap between the richest and poorest ten per
cent, he said.
Rail link for new
football stadium
The new national football stadium – to be built
within the walls of Puskás Ferenc Stadium – will be
accessible by train from nearby Keleti (Eastern)
Railway Station, government commissioner László
Vígh said on sports network Digi Sport this week.
“The stadium-within-a-stadium concept has
already been used in Leipzig and Berlin but this will
be the first time that the space saved by not having
a running track will be used to house training and
other service facilities,” Vígh added. The stadium
will hold 65,000 and cost HUF 60-90 billion (EUR
203.46-305.21 million). It is expected to open in
2017. Two other stadiums are already being built:
both the one at Debrecen and the one to belong to
FTC in Budapest will have 20,000-plus capacity
and both are expected to open sometime in 2014.
Letters of dismissal for
250 postal staff
State-owned postal service Magyar Posta has
released some 250 employees over the past
weeks by mutual agreement. Left-leaning daily
Népszabadság said they had been dismissed in
small groups so as to avoid mass dismissals. The
paper said another 250 of the postal service’s
33,000 employees may go.
MTI
Learn to be happy
Level of education also plays
a role in determining satisfaction,
with university diplomaholders
showing mild satisfaction
(0.5), school leavers with
diplomas and technical
diploma-holders at 0 and those
with eight years of formal
education or fewer (the largest
segment of the overall population)
clearly the least satisfied.
Big city? Bluer
In terms of geographic
spread Budapest’s dwellers do
not do too badly, dipping at just
-0.09 on the side of dissatisfaction,
while those living in Fejér
(west of Budapest), Bács
(south), Nógrád (north) and
Baranya (around southern
Pécs) counties the most satisfied
at between 0.06 and 0.02.
Hungary’s impoverished
eastern countries registered
between -0.57 and -0.65 on the
scale, showing inhabitants that
are only a little more dissatisfied
than the national average
of -0.49 and who are certainly
happier than southern Tolna
county’s inhabitants, closing
the list at -2.87.
– Bénédicte Williams
Island will rise
from decades
of neglect: PM
BÉNÉDICTE WILLIAMS
Margit Island is entering a new era of development, Prime
Minister Viktor Orbán said on Monday at the opening of
its renovated fountain. The island had been practically
half-dead for the last two decades but the cabinet and Budapest
city aim to transform it from one of neglect to a trouble-free one,
he said.
Grabbed from local (Socialist) council
The island has been under municipal control since Parliament
voted to transfer it from District XIII to Budapest City Council in
June. The vote was MPs’ second on the issue, after President of the
Republic János Áder rejected an earlier decision on the grounds
that it breached European guidelines subjecting changes in local
authority borders to prior consultation or local referendums.
Parliament passed the bill anew without making any changes, so
it now becomes law.
District XIII mayor József Tóth, whose Pest-side district risks
losing HUF 133 million (EUR 451,619) yearly in property, vehicle
and tourist taxes, described the bill as “unreasonable and illegal”
when it was first submitted to Parliament by Administration and
Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics in May. Tóth told news outlet
index.hu the move opens the way for Budapest City Council to get
hold of any part of the city it likes.
A horse-drawn railway track, the renovation of the Palatinus
baths, the development and expansion of the sports stadium, the
renovation of the Japanese garden and the running track, a free
WiFi network, sewerage development and construction of an irrigation
network, and the procurement of electric buses are all in
the works, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós said, though he did not
give any timescale.
The renovation of the fountain, which has stood at the entrance
to the island since 1962, is the first step in revitalisation, Tarlós
said.
Plans are also afoot to upgrade Budapest’s City Park with the
renovation of the zoo, the Transport Museum and Petõfi Csarnok
concert hall, the removal of the circus to a new building and the
creation of a museum quarter next to the park, according to a
cabinet decision published in official gazette Magyar Közlöny this
week.
The cabinet aims to turn the park into a family-friendly culture
and entertainment area by 2020.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Budapest mayor István Tarlós officially
open the renovated fountain.
NEWS/POLITICS

06
ECONOMY/BUSINESS
5 July – 11 July 2013
Jordanian army to
march on cheese
Hungarian dairy products concern
Kõröstej has beaten off Dutch, Austrian and
Australian competition to secure a lucrative
contract to supply Jordan’s 100,000-strong
army with cheese, financial news broadcaster
Gazdasági Rádió reported on
Wednesday. The group achieved turnover of
HUF 15 billion (EUR 50.71 million) in the first
five months of this year and is among
Hungary’s largest exporters of cheese.
While domestic cheese consumption is
dominated by the much-maligned Trappista
sajt, exports tend to be of processed
cheeses and spreads. Jordan’s military will
be supplied with long-life tinned cheese.
“With this agreement we plan to export
many tonnes of cheese to the army,” said the
Kõröstej group’s Lebanese director, Riad
Naboulsi, who founded the firm in 1989.
Spanner in works for
backyard mechanics
The government and car dealers association
GÉMOSZ have signed an agreement
to fight illegal car repair businesses,
Economy Ministry state secretary Sándor
Czomba announced on Tuesday. Creating a
regulatory environment beneficial to legal
businesses and forcing grey and black businesses
to operate legally through crackdowns
by police and tax officers would help
reduce job losses in the auto sector, he said.
The automotive industry brings in HUF 1
billion (EUR 3.39 million) annually, of which
70 per cent remains within the illegal sphere,
GÉMOSZ president Gábor Gablini said.
Illegal businesses have caused 60 per cent
of legal car dealers and 50 per cent of car
repair operations to close in the last five
years, Gablini said, adding the association
was aiming to create 4,000 jobs by 2017.
Hungary’s HUF 5,000 (EUR 16.89) legal
hourly fee for car repair is low compared to
the European average of EUR 35-40, but
even HUF 5,000 seems expensive
compared to illegal rates, he said.
Illegal businesses also caused safety
and environmental problems because
they did not check used parts and oil
quality thoroughly enough.
E-toll system lurches into action
After 24 hours of utter chaos on its day of
introduction on Monday, the new national e-
road toll system worked more or less flawlessly
for the remainder of the week.
Haulers stranded at the borders since 1
July had also disappeared by Wednesday,
but that does not mean the new levy will not
have an effect on prices.
Although the system allows motorists –
haulers for now – to pay according to the
distance they travel on highways, more
roads are now included, which means that
Hu-Go – the imaginative name of the
system – will be the reason for the more
expensive port salut at the grocery store. At
least this is what numerous trucker and
producer organisations and some opposition
parties are claiming.
The price rise will not be because of the
first day: due to the chaos caused by system
freezes, the State Motorway Management
Company announced an amnesty for the
unpaid road usage on Monday.
The breakdown could not have been
unexpected. In the past weeks truckers
have begged for a delay and warned that
the system would collapse. When introduced
in Germany and Slovakia the trial
period lasted a year and nine months
respectively. Two months ago in Hungary it
was still unknown how Hu-Go was exactly
going to work, but as the e-toll system is a
crucial part of the budget – lawmakers plan
to collect HUF 75 billion (EUR 253.33
million) this year – the postponement of the
launch was never a possibility.
“During the test period in Germany using
the roads was free,” a trucker said. “In
Hungary the test period means a
discounted penalty but that’s still HUF
80,000-120,000 (EUR 270-405).”
The lack of testing is clearly shown by
some price quotes. If someone wants to
deliver cargo from Gyál to Kecskemét or
from Kecskemét to Gyál, the one-way fee is
HUF 4,900 (EUR 16.55). A roundtrip ticket:
nearly HUF 15,000 (EUR 50.65).
Fortunately the spokesman of the Hu-Go
project did not experience any of the confusion.
“In the early hours the system
received an overload cyber-attack, which
we immediately let the press know about,”
Lajos Kibédi-Varga said on Monday afternoon,
adding that the staff did not have
knowledge of any “condition causing a
traffic jam”. Perhaps that’s because the
truckers were stranded outside the country.
Thomas Schauer, CEO of the mid-sized
logistics company Gebrüder Weiss Kft.,
would be OK with the new system: “It would
be acceptable for us, the financial aspects
as well as the administrative aspects, if it
will run smoothly at some point,” he said.
“There have been several problems, such
as miscalculations of routes and payments.
My colleagues are busy dealing with
complaints since last Monday.”
“Paying a toll isn’t anything special,
people have to see that using the highway
system in Hungary was simply way
cheaper compared to other countries. We
had, however, only a month to adjust to this
new system. The preparations for the introduction
of the new system weren’t sufficient,
some test runs didn’t even take place
at all.”
MTI
Chinese trade visit
raises export hopes
A long-term, calculable cooperation with
China is one of the pillars of Hungary’s
“opening to the East” foreign trade policy
state secretary Péter Szijjártó said at a
Hungarian-Chinese business forum in
Parliament on Wednesday.The session was
held as part of a European tour of the stateowned
Assests Supervision and
Administration Committee of the city of
Tianjin (population 13.5 million) and was
attended by 60 executives of 41 Chinese
state companies.
“Hungary wants to expand its exports to
China as well as the volume of Chinese
investment in Hungary, and plans to
become a transit country for goods coming
to the European Union,” said Szijjártó,
noting that Hungarian exports to China
increased by 12 times in the last decade
and now had a value around USD 2 billion
(EUR 1.55 billion) a year.
Chinese Embassy trade counsellor
Wang Hongliang (pictured) said there are
still plenty of opportunities to improve bilateral
relations and this is aided by a number
of state institutions and chambers of
commerce.
MTI
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
Petrol fuels rise
in retail sales
The volume of retail sales rose 2.5 per
cent in May year-on-year, the Central
Statistical Office announced on Wednesday.
There was a 0.9 per cent rise in food, drinks
and tobacco stores, 2.1 per cent in non-food
retail trade and 6.8 per cent in petrol sales.
Clean start at
Henkel factory
German chemical products manufacturer
Henkel completed a two-year, HUF 4.6
billion (EUR 15.54 million) investment in its
Körösladány factory this week, which will
allow the company to produce a new Persil
high-quality detergent. The investment
created jobs but Henkel did not disclose
how many.
Tiny dent in car sales
The number of registered passenger
vehicles increased by only 19 to 4,975 in
June compared with June 2012 and the
comparison of the two first halves of 2012
and 2013 revealed a decline of 2.2 per cent
this year, industry researcher Datahouse
said this week.
Town may buy
biomass plant
State-owned electricity company MVM
will spend HUF 6.3 billion (EUR 21.28
million) to build a biomass power plant in
Bokod, which will supply the district heating
in the town of Oroszlány. The town will have
the option to purchase the plant in 2020 at
the book value of the time, mayor Károly
Takács told state news agency MTI.
Developing high-performing teams
Genuinely regard all employees as talent
and staff will see that high performance
is not the preserve of the privileged few
INNOVATION IS OUR FUTURE,
SERVICE IS OUR PASSION
Top talent needs nurturing but is
targeting the rest of the employee population
a better strategy to improve
performance overall? The latest Hays
Journal explores how the debate has
raged in the human resources community about
how best to invest in developing and managing
high-performing teams.
Focusing on the top performers can be satisfying
in terms of providing high-level and high-profile
achievements, but many HR professionals argue
that nurturing the average band of workers making
up the body of any organisation would prove a more
effective investment.
In addition, defining performance can be a minefield
and it can be difficult to distinguish between
mid- and top-performing people. Many mid-performance
staff stay at that level not because they lack
potential, but because those defined as the top
maintain their own level by not providing information
that might help others to follow in their footsteps.
Line managers also contribute to the problem by
creating a culture in which the top level are
promoted, regardless of whether they are adding
value in reality or keeping to the company’s value.
Setting targets acts as an incentive for everyone but
striving for the unachievable is disengaging and can
lead to extreme behaviour, such as increased risktaking.
Meanwhile, those at the top are likely to
under-perform, even on easy goals, if their only
reward is likely to be setting harder goals.
Tammy Nagy-Stellini, managing director of Hays
Hungary, says: “Good performance is not just about
getting the best results. How people behave within
an organisation also plays an important role.
“On occasions, bad or damaging behaviour can
be overlooked if the individual is high-performing. If
all employees are genuinely regarded as talent,
then staff will see that high performance really is
something for everyone and not the preserve of the
privileged few.
“With such a message at their heart, organisations
might hope to create a performance culture
that will help them survive and grow into a
successful future.”
– For the full feature see pages 34-37 on
http://www.hays-journal.com/issue5/
–To access Hays Journal Issue 5 visit: www.haysjournal.com
About Hays
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the Group employed 7,810 staff operating from 240
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– the Group reported net fees of £734 million and
operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £128
million;
– the Group placed around 55,000 candidates into
permanent jobs and around 182,000 people into
temporary assignments;
– 33 per cent of Group net fees were generated in
Asia Pacific, 36 per cent in Continental Europe and
the rest of the world, and 31 per cent in the United
Kingdom and Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 56
per cent of net fees and the permanent placement
business represented 44 per cent of net fees;
– Hays operates in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
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THE BUDAPEST TIMES
5 July – 11 July 2013
07
Philips expansion
HUF 1.1bn
Philips IPSC – a Hungarian LED
lighting manufacturer subsidiary of the
Dutch multinational – will spend HUF
1.17 billion (EUR 3.97 million) on the
refurbishment of two halls and the
construction of a testing laboratory as
well as two new production units, the
Tamási-based company announced
this week. The development is
expected to be completed before the
end of the year.
National debt up
despite rhetoric
The National Bank of Hungary has
revised its earlier estimate by +0.2
percentage points and now says the
country’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at
82.4 per cent at the end of March. This
is 3.2 points higher than at the end of
2012 and 0.4 points above the level of
2010, when the current Fidesz-KDNP
government took control, vowing to
lower national debt.
Slovak imports up
11% last year
Relations between Hungary and
Slovakia are based on political and
personal trust, Prime Minister Viktor
Orbán said following a summit of officials
from the two governments in
Budapest on Tuesday. “Hungary and
Slovakia are following the same path
and it is up to the two countries how
they utilise Europe’s broadening opportunities,”
Orbán (right) said. His
Slovakian counterpart, Robert Fico,
said that despite the global economic
crisis, Slovak exports to Hungary had
increased 11 per cent in 2012, proof
that the two countries are capable of
close cooperation. “Successful years
for both Hungary and Slovakia are
coming but countries in the Central
European region will need to strive for
an even closer cooperation than
before,” Fico said.
Malta, Hurghada
on Wizz Air radar
Low-cost airline Wizz Air will keep
Malta in its winter line-up and it will fly
between the Egyptian holiday city
Hurghada and Budapest from 2
November, the company announced on
Wednesday. From October Wizz Air will
start to offer vacation packages – flight
and lodging for now – via its subsidiary
Wizz Tours.
Quicker security
checks expected
BA, the operator of Budapest's
Liszt Ferenc International Airport,
has started its own security
company, which will provide jobs for
workers previously leased from
employment agencies and should cut
queues and waiting times before
departure.
MTI
Hungary acts as bridge for China’s companies
The Fujian Brand Trade Center, which
provides space for 200 Chinese firms,
covering two floors in a wing of Asia Center,
was inaugurated last week, and the sixth
China Brands exhibition opened with a
forum involving representatives of various institutions of
the Central and Eastern European region. The Budapest
Times spoke to Rudolf Riedl, CEO of the Asia Center in
District XV, who promotes business relations between
Hungary and China with great enthusiasm and seems to
be more successful in doing so than the Hungarian state.
What role does China play in the government’s
economic policy programme of opening to the East?
China is a traditionally important trading partner of
Hungary. it should be noted that the programme of
opening to the East is not a new one. It was initiated
under former prime minister Péter Medgyessy [in office
2002-2004]. China has since been a strategic partner of
every Hungarian government, although Viktor Orbán
himself earlier protested against China. Hungary also
acts as a bridge for Chinese companies in the region.
Hungarian companies are also looking increasingly
towards China. The hot topic in the media of the sale of
Hungarian state bonds to Chinese people granting
them Hungarian citizenship is really a secondary topic,
because they are not the only ones able to acquire
such bonds. Nevertheless, it presents an attractive
opportunity for entering the European region. Most of
the Chinese people living here have long been
Hungarian citizens. We can’t speak here about the risk
of a Chinese wave of immigration.
How do the Chinese view Hungary as a trading
partner? And can you comment on the current
Hungarian strategy concerning trade with China?
With regard to Chinese people living abroad, Hungary
is the largest “colony” in Central Europe. The Chinese
people living here are so well integrated already that
they are almost more Hungarian than Chinese. Those
who are new to Hungary are looking for new markets
and find a lot of opportunities here. I always recommend
that they become brand producers in Europe and
the USA, instead of nameless producers – as they
were used to being, from China as exporters – because
that creates confidence in the West and automatically
leads to higher turnover. The Chinese government sees
this the same way and provides these enterprises with
financial support. It needs to do that because the
Chinese are not so enthusiastic about moving abroad.
However, since production costs in their home country
are by now almost at the European level, they need to
do that at some point. The EU also provides support to
such enterprises in some cases, for example if a
company establishes itself in eastern Hungary. If they
have the products produced here they automatically
gain the “made in EU” label as a selling point. Hungary
offers the Chinese major logistic advantages. For
example, in terms of transport links it’s the best-positioned
country in the whole of the CEE region.
What are your aims in connection with the China
Brands exhibition at the Center?
The exhibition is part of the long-term strategy of
establishing the Center as the Asian trade centre of
the CEE region. We want to promote trade between
the two regions, for example by helping Chinese
traders to set up business in Hungary. The idea is for
them to see on the ground how the market functions
Top Manager in Discussion: Rudolf Riedl, CEO of Asia Center
Country has good location but poor political strategy
here and how they can enter it with the help of the
Asia Center. It’s the largest exhibition of its kind in the
region. In this respect Budapest is the CEE centre. Ten
million Hungarians, and as many as 150 million CEE
citizens, can be targeted from here. The exhibition
takes place twice yearly, once at the end of
June/beginning of July and once at the end of
November/beginning of December. Following their
successful presentation at the exhibition, the next step
is for the traders to be encouraged to have their products
produced in Hungary too. The market here
presents a lot of opportunities with regard to production
and labour and is continuing to develop. Hungary,
for example, offers a good, low-cost labour force and
relatively low production costs.
In other words, as a private businessman you are
almost performing the tasks of the Hungarian
Investment and Trade Agency (HITA).
Yes, you could say that. We have a similar concept.
However, here at the Asia Center we don’t develop a
general policy of getting companies to set up business
here. Instead we have access directly from the business
sphere. We seek to encourage Chinese companies
to establish themselves in Hungary. Our task is to
show companies which products they can sell and
how, and to support them in marketing and sales.
HITA’s task is to offer companies the best possible
place in Hungary and to make also possible state
support available to them. Our activities complement
one another, since we have different approaches to the
same goal.
The Asia Center celebrates its tenth birthday this year.
How would you sum up its development to date?
We celebrated the anniversary in April with our
employees and customers, and further festivities will
follow in September. On the one hand, I’m satisfied
that we’ve already been able to implement a lot of our
strategies. You could almost say that the 2008 financial
crisis “came to our aid”. A lot of Chinese people seized
the opportunity and made their way to Hungary, in
particular to the CEE region and Hungary. The Asia
Center has been a loyal partner to them over the
years, enabling them to use our infrastructure and our
network. Otherwise they would have had to go to great
lengths to build up business here themselves – which
certainly would have meant considerable initial difficulties
for the Chinese with their somewhat different
commercial and economic culture. On the other hand,
I’m dissatisfied because we wanted to achieve a lot of
goals significantly earlier. I would like the Hungarian
government to create a better image of Hungary as a
business location. Currently there are still too many
superfluous political battles.
What kind of superfluous political battles are you referring
to and how do they hinder you in achieving your
goals?
Under the concept of “Hungary’s unorthodox economic
policy” there is permanent wrangling with the EU to the
detriment of the population and foreign investors. A lot
of reforms, which were certainly necessary and some
of which have even been implemented, have been
ignored. All investors, regardless of their country of
origin, would like to have a predictable business environment
and legal environment. These firms need to
generate profit, which is extremely difficult if the basic
conditions keep on being changed.
In an interview with us in 2008 you said that you intended
to stand down by 2012 at the latest and place management
of the Asia Center in Asian hands. You are still
active here. Do you find it difficult to hand over the reins?
The Asia Center is one of my many projects. I could
happily spend less time here (laughs). However, there are
still sufficient tasks that I need to perform personally. I
can’t simply delegate maintaining relations in China to
somebody else at short notice. That would likely create an
awkward situation. I will probably hand over management
of the Asia Center to my team, when it gets to that stage,
rather than to somebody from Asia. I would like the Asian
firms here to play a more active part in business and
business development and be more active on the
European market. After all, traders need to offer their
wares to customers, rather than expecting customers to
run after traders for their wares. That’s one of the differences
between China and Europe. I need to convey that
and a lot more to our customers, while acting as a mediator
between the 12 nations that are under one roof here.
My substantial experience abroad helps me in avoiding
conflicts between the nations, while also being responsive
to their regional characteristics. I’m proud of that.
Dedication to such a task is important.
You also said in the interview that you would like to see
solidarity between Hungary’s political camps and that
Hungary should adapt proven solutions of others instead
of always stubbornly doing things its own way. Do you still
stand by those comments today?
Unfortunately the rifts between the political parties haven’t
become any smaller, and I’d still like to see solidarity
between them in the interest of everyone. In my view, for
almost every problem in the world there’s already a
country with a proven solution. However, wanting to find a
unique solution in every case seems to be part of the
Hungarian mentality. If a businessman behaved like that
they would go bankrupt sooner or later.
You thought in 2008 that increasing the tax burden on
companies was no longer feasible. What is your view of
the special taxes that have been introduced in the meantime
and to what extent do they affect your business?
I’m certainly affected by the special taxes. The government’s
strategy doesn’t work because the more taxes it
aims to collect, the more people try to avoid them. The
more barriers are put in place that hamper the economy,
the more alternative paths are sought and found, for
example via abroad. The whole economy is suffering from
that strategy, which seems to be a side effect of the flat
tax, since it’s necessary to compensate for the lower tax
revenues paired with higher salaries. The government’s
approach of coming up with more and more types of tax
and higher tax rates isn’t the right one. Instead the
Hungarian state needs to be efficiently structured and
offer taxpayers something in exchange for the taxes that
they pay. You don’t even need to look to Asia for good
examples. There are plenty of good examples in Europe,
including in Germany and Austria, where you get good
value for the high taxes, for instance in the form of good
infrastructure, good education and training possibilities
and a good social network. However, as an investment
location Hungary offers very good general conditions.
Budapest is also among the leaders in terms of quality of
living in international comparison. That’s why I would
certainly recommend Hungary to Chinese companies as
an investment location despite the issues I mentioned.
– Daniel Hirsch
ECONOMY/BUSINESS

08 5 July – 11 July 2013 THE BUDAPEST TIMES
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THE BUDAPEST TIMES
5 July – 11 July 2013
09
Special
guests:
Che and
Sophia
TRAVEL
Review: Kempinski Palace Portoroz, Slovenia
CHRISTOPHER MADDOCK
Ablown-up photo of Che
Guevara puffing on a
man-size cigar hangs in
the smoking room at the
Kempinski Palace
Portoroz, in Slovenia. It’s a bit of an
enigmatic portrait: the great revolutionary
is keeping an eye on something
out of shot. The same image is
printed on all four pages of the
room’s Cigar Menu, which offers 24
selections from Cuba and the
Dominican Republic. If Che were in
the room now, which might he select
from the humidor? The cheapest, the
Macanudo Caffe Ascot from the
Dominican Republic (EUR 9,
smoking time 10 minutes), the most
expensive, the Arturo Fuente Opus X,
again Dominican Republic (EUR 88,
smoking time 45 minutes), or something
in between?
And what might be his choice of
drink to go with the throat-burner?
Smoking room choices include Remy
Martin fine champagne cognac,
Mount Gay Rum from Barbados, The
Glenlivet single malt (aged 18 years),
The Macallan Fine Oak (12 years) or
perhaps one of the Johnnie Walkers:
Black Label (12 years), Gold Label
(18 years) or Blue Label (a blend of
Johnnie Walker’s finest). Who knows?
Even a Marxist guerrilla used to
operating from mountain hideouts
must have appreciated some luxury
now and then.
Another famous figure (and
“figure” is the operative word), the
wonderfully voluptuous Italian actress
Sophia Loren, adorns another room at
the hotel, the Sophia Gourmet
Restaurant, where a series of her
photos gazes from the wainscotting
onto the diners. The display is an
affectionate tribute commemorating a
holiday at the hotel by a young Sophia
and her parents. What’s the betting
she was a plain, gawky girl then, who
showed no sign of blossoming into the
stunning temptress who strips off her
stockings before a dribbling Marcello
Mastroianni in the 1963 film Ieri, Oggi,
Domani (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow)?
See this scene on YouTube; half a
million other people have.
Unlike Guevara, Miss Loren is still
alive. If she too were here right now,
what might she choose to eat in the
beautiful namesake restaurant
(pictured above) with four ornate
concrete pillars supporting a wooden
ceiling, or outside on the terrace,
where a breeze blows from the Bay of
Piran, less than 100 metres away. The
Piran sea bass or the Black Angus
cheek and filet, perhaps.
It’s intriguing too, while
daydreaming, to imagine Miss Loren,
in her curvaceous prime, getting the
full treatment in the hotel’s Rose Spa.
Even with their Turkish, Finnish and
infra-red saunas, pedicures, manicures,
facials, massages, solarium,
relaxation areas, designer cosmetics
and the connecting indoor and
outdoor sections of the saltwater pool
- how to improve on female bodily
perfection?
Slovenia has 46 kilometres of
Adriatic coastline for sea-seeking
Hungarians. Squeezed between the
Italian port Trieste to the north and
the straggling popular Croatian
coast, Slovenia has one of the sea’s
nicest coastal towns, namely the
Venetian-style Piran, and both Koper
and Izola have smaller old centres
with narrow Mediterranean streets.
Portoroz (Port of Roses) is home to
the imperious five-star Kempinski,
which they claim is the grandest
waterfront hotel between Venice and
Dubrovnik. On the other side of the
bay is Croatia’s Istria, where lofty hill
towns vie with the beaches and ports
for tourists’ attention.
After the Kempinski Palace
Portoroz’s Habsburg-era birth in
1910 as an upmarket health spa, it
suffered pillaging in the Second
World War and a decline in opulence
until closure in 1990. Renovation
began in 2005 and the hotel
reopened in 2008, mixing tradition
and modernity.
The gilt and mirrored splendour of
the Crystal Hall, where breakfast is
served, recalls those days of
monarchy. Under the chandeliers, a
huge rug is bigger than the average
Budapest flat. Did Miss Loren breakfast
here? No dribbling, please.
Kempinski Palace
Portoroz
Obala 45, 6320 Portoroz, Slovenia
Tel. (+38-6) 5692-7000
www.kempinski.com/en/portoroz/pal
ace-portoroz/welcome
reservations.portoroz@kempinski.com
Getting there
M7 motorway to Slovenian border
joins A1 motorway to Koper.
Coast road to Portoroz.

10
5 July – 11 July 2013
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
BOOKS
You can dump us at the North
Pole and we’ll still survive
We continue our series of excerpts from Jaap Scholten’s Comrade Baron. A Journey through the Vanishing World of the
Transylvanian Aristocracy, recently released in English by Corvina Kiadó. Comrade Baron is Scholten’s first non-fiction
work. It traces the lives of members of the Transylvanian aristocracy before and after March 1949, when the collectivisation
of agriculture under the new communist regime included the expropriation and deportation of all large landowners.
Kolozsvár, September 2009
On his walk from the Hook of
Holland to Istanbul in 1934,
Patrick Leigh Fermor passed
through Kolozsvár. He wrote
about it in his introduction to
one of the volumes of Miklós Bánffy’s trilogy: ‘It
was in the heart of Transylvania – in the old
princely capital then called Kolozsvár (now Cluj-
Napoca) that I first came across the name of
Bánffy. It was impossible not to. Their palace
was the most splendid palace in the city, just as
Bonchida was the pride of the country and both
of them triumphs of the baroque style. Ever
since the arrival of the Magyars ten centuries
ago, the family had been foremost among the
magnates who conducted Hungarian and
Transylvanian affairs, and their portraits, with
their slung dolmans, brocade tunics, jewelled
scimitars and fur kalpaks with plumes like
escapes of steam – hung on many walls.’
The Bánffy palace in Kolozsvár.
Seventy-five years later, I’m about to visit Béla
Bánffy in Kolozsvár. I’ve already met his son and
after some urging the father is now willing to
receive me. His son has told me about him and
the strict upbringing he and his brothers and
sisters were given: an appointment is an appointment
and you must always stick to your agreements
to the letter. If the son turned up a minute
later than arranged, his father would give him a
dressing down, since any form of misconduct was
unacceptable. ‘He taught us to keep our backs
straight. We bore the name Bánffy, which
conferred obligations. Even without any possessions
we had a duty to behave with dignity. We
had to do our work well and be honest under all
circumstances.’ Every Sunday the family would
gather for lunch in the modest little house where
his grandparents lived. It provided continuity, as
if the grandparents still lived in a castle.
I drive through a district of 1970s apartment
blocks. In the car park are long lines of Trabants
and Dacias, plus a few Mitsubishis. Now that I
finally have an appointment I don’t want to
arrive late. I know what gentlemen of rank from
the old times are like. Béla Bánffy senior is
seventy-three, born in 1936, and he no doubt
grew up with strict governesses and tutors. The
Prussian and Hungarian school system is still
evident in gentlemen over seventy. There’s a
military discipline to everything they do. It’s as if
they’re trying to preserve all the honour, class
and integrity cast aside by the rest of postcommunist
society. In short, I’m in a hurry, trying
to avoid immediately acquiring a reputation for
Dutch insolence.
I’m in a jumble of long blocks of flats four
storeys high with a maze of streets between them.
They all look the same. There’s little to help you
get your bearings. At last I find the street and the
flat. I’m a quarter of an hour late. In Budapest I
filled the boot of the car as a small grocer might,
with bottles of Hungarian wine and chocolates
from Szamos, the patisserie named after a river
that winds through Transylvania.
I put a bottle of red wine for Béla Bánffy into
my shoulder bag, along with an audio recorder
and notebooks. It’s a decrepit structure, like
many residential buildings in the former
Eastern Bloc, built decades ago with substandard
materials by men judged on quantity
rather than quality. The collapse of communism’s
planned economy, in which all anyone
worried about was the production quota, was
inevitable. The bankruptcy of that system can
still be seen all over Eastern Europe. Tiles are
missing from the shared stairwell; the metal
entrance gate no longer shuts; the handrail has
come loose.
Béla Bánffy is an extremely amiable man, it’s
just that I’d imagined him very differently.
Dressed in tracksuit trousers with a lumberjack
shirt and white pointed shoes, he has a hefty
paunch and thick glasses. In the living room the
television is turned up to high volume, showing
Formula One with a Hungarian commentary.
It’s not clear to me whether the race is live or
happened some time ago. Just as these countries
are fobbed off with unmarketable batches
of textiles and furniture from Western Europe,
local television broadcasters are sold old football
and boxing matches by the dozen. In the
concert venues and football stadia you can
watch entertainers who were put out to pasture
in the West years ago and if there’s a major
tennis tournament, Lendl and Wilander will
play each other once again.
I greet his wife, who is also wearing a tracksuit.
On a long table between the television and a
three-man settee of an indeterminate colour, an
ashtray overflows with cigarette ends. There’s a
low veneer sideboard and little else in the room.
I can’t see anything that points to an aristocratic
past. The family seems to have been successfully
severed from its history. On the sideboard are
cartons of Viceroy, filter cigarettes sold these
days only in countries with heavy smokers: the
Middle East, Chile, Turkey. Romania is the only
place in Europe where you can buy them.
I sit down on the settee next to Béla Bánffy
and switch on my audio recorder. The television
with Formula One is making too much background
noise. Béla Bánffy turns the sound off
but leaves the set on. The interview takes place in
Hungarian. Béla’s wife brings black coffee in
gleaming little fluted cups. He sits slumped
relaxedly, using the stub of each cigarette to light
the next. There are Bánffy counts and Bánffy
barons. The baron branch was repeatedly
offered the title of count by the Habsburg
emperors but refused every time. The family is
also divided between Bánffy pipás and Bánffy
kupás: a branch of smokers and a branch of
drinkers. The quantity of cigarettes on the sideboard,
enough to get you through a short war,
leads me to suspect that Béla senior belongs to
the former.
Béla tells me his story. His father qualified in
Vienna as a forestry engineer and managed the
Bánffy forests near Hadad. Throughout the
Second World War the family lived in Hungary
and after the war they returned to their estate in
Transylvania, but it was taken from them by the
Romanians. Béla’s father accepted the communist
revolution as inescapable. He moved to
Kolozsvár with his family and opened a wine
warehouse. He had five children to keep. As far
as the family was concerned, not much
happened on 3 March 1949. The change came
later, when the wine warehouse was nationalized
and Béla’s father was forced to work in a crate
repair shop to keep his family fed. They moved
to a small house in the Donát út, outside the city
on the banks of the Szamos. Béla was barred
from attending school. He became a gatekeeper
at a factory, leaving at four every morning to get
to work on time.
Béla Bánffy later worked for a while as a locksmith
and then trained to be a truck driver. He
drove trucks for twenty-five years, mostly tentonners.
As a class enemy he wasn’t allowed to do
any runs abroad, but he could work all over
Romania. He never had any trouble from his
workmates, only from the bosses, all of whom
were party members.
As a child Béla did not have Domiciliu
Obligatoriu. His father did, though, and he was
under constant political supervision. Béla’s father
had a problem with his eyes. Whenever he needed
to make an appointment with an eye doctor in
Marosvásárhely, he first had to go to the
Securitate. If they were feeling well-disposed
towards him, they would issue a document giving
him permission to leave Kolozsvár for five days.
Apart from that he always had to stay within the
city limits. The Securitate kept an eye on him. His
phones were bugged, letters opened.
‘Everyone had to watch what he said and what
he wrote; you couldn’t say anything stupid in a
letter. The aristocrats used to meet every week on
Sundays in the Donát út and sometimes on a
weekday evening as well. We played bridge until
eleven or twelve o’clock, and before leaving we
always agreed with our bridge partners what to
say if we were interrogated by the Securitate,
because after almost every meeting someone
would be picked up and questioned. The men
agreed to say they’d talked about women, whores
and sport.’
‘So the Securitate would be waiting for you after
an evening of bridge?’
‘Usually, yes. They liked to pick on people
who’d been convicted of something, who could be
blackmailed, which included anyone with
Domiciliu Obligatoriu. Those detained were often
released after they’d signed a document saying
they would cooperate with the Securitate the next
time. But it was pointless, because nothing important
was ever discussed. When we were with the
family, we deliberately avoided talking about politics,
so that no one would be in any difficulty if
interrogated. There were people who said things
on the street that they’d have done better not to
say; they disappeared.’
When I ask how the traditions were upheld,
Béla tells me that the older generation explained
which country estates had been in the family and
the ins and outs of each one. I ask him whether he
still has any photographs. He stands up and
searches in a cupboard, coming back a little later
with a beautiful worn leather photograph album.
It’s an object from another world, right there
amid the veneer and the cartons of Viceroy. The
pages are of black card, with wafer-thin transparent
paper between them. The album turns out
to be a subtle record of decline.
It starts with black-and-white photos with scalloped
borders: fathers and grandfathers with
impressive faces and imposing grey moustaches;
admiring locals in the background; babies in
princely lace dresses; country estates with gardens
full of blossoming peonies and lilac. The photographs
from the interwar years are in tones of
grey and have an aura of exclusivity: relaxed men
in plus fours, hunting attire or riding gear
standing beside their horses, with clematis- and
ivy-covered walls as a backdrop. The country
estates, the parks, the companionable dogs, the
well-tended mounts and the long white dresses no
longer feature.
Halfway through the book, simple square snapshots
are suddenly in evidence, with a cheap gloss
to them. The medium is the message. The decor
shifts to nondescript houses and gardens. They
show the family in the 1950s at the little house on
the Donát út. The older generation is still
elegantly clad in tweed jackets, the women in skirts
and silk shawls, all radiating a kind of dauntlessness.
In the later photographs that too is gone.
When the pictures switch to the polychrome
of the 1970s, the colour slowly goes out of the
older generation. They become frail, their
jackets threadbare, but even so they preserve an
air of distinction. Only the elderly who have left
the country, photographed in front of Argentine
museums and mediaeval French churches, still
exude the natural ease with which life should be
faced – a handkerchief sticking nonchalantly out
of the breast pocket of a chequered jacket. The
young lack such elegance. They wear shapeless
Comintern clothes. They have grown up. They
have turned inwards. They no longer have that
air of distinction.
I ask Béla senior how he sees his family’s
future. Béla: ‘The name Bánffy means something
again now. When I go to the market to buy
a string of onions they address me as “Baron”.
The man who sells me onions calls me that. The
title of baron is honourable. Under communism
the aristocrats worked hard to survive. The
communists did nothing. They were the weak
ones. Others had to work hard and keep their
mouths shut, otherwise they’d be taken away to
the Danube – Black Sea Canal.
‘I’m trying to get as many family possessions
back as I can, but it isn’t easy. Property deeds
have been stolen and lost; the judiciary is full of
Securitate and former party members. But the
Bánffys have preserved their honour. My children
are doing better. They work hard. People
who work hard will always manage. It’s said of
the Bánffys that you can dump us at the North
Pole and we’ll still survive.’
I thank Béla Bánffy for his time. The Grand
Prix continues. I walk down the shabby stairwell
and make my way off under the scrawny trees
between the blocks of flats. The sunlight falls
through the yellow-green foliage above me.
Buy the book
Comrade Baron. A Journey through the
Vanishing World of the Transylvanian
Aristocracy
by Jaap Scholten
Corvina Kiadó, 2013
404 pages, HUF 3990
The book is available at Bestsellers (District V,
Október 6 u. 11) and at Massolit (District
VII, Nagy Diófa u. 30).

THE BUDAPEST TIMES
Friday 5 July
Classical entertainment
INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH OF ST
MICHAEL AT 2PM: Choir of St Francis (The
Netherlands) with Geert Verhallen (organ)
perform works by László Halmos, Lotti,
Nikolai Kedrov, Stanford, Fauré, Mozart,
Elgar, Handel and Rutter.
PALACE OF ARTS AT 7.30PM: El Camino
Youth Symphony Orchestra (USA)
conducted by Camilla Kolchinsky performs
Rossini's The Thieving Magpie - overture,
Sibelius' Violin Concerto (violin: Yujin Ariza)
and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 in F
minor.
Popular entertainment
DISTRICT III, FÕ TÉR AT 7PM: Tango
Apertura with Quartett Escualo, Occam, DJ
Bootsie, Mezõ Misi, Óbudai Danubia
Orchestra.
PETÕFI LITERARY MUSEUM AT 7.30PM:
Kistehén Orchestra.
INTERCONTINENTAL BUDAPEST AT 8PM:
Erika Náray (pictured) sings jazz.
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB AT 8PM: Winand
Gábor and Oláh Kálmán Duo; AT 10.30PM:
Rozsnyói Péter Trio.
A38 AT 8PM: Uzgin Üver (world music,
folk); AT 8PM: The Silver Shine (rock); AT
10PM: Spanish Wax (electronica, hip hop);
AT 10PM: Takaaki Itoh (Japan), Isu, Dork,
electronica.
BUDAPEST MUSIC CENTRE AT 9PM: Arura
Trio with Viktor Tóth, Miklós Lukács and
György Orbán.
Saturday 6 July
Classical entertainment
LISZT FERENC MEMORIAL MUSEUM AT
11AM: Anastasia Seifetdinova (piano)
performs Muzio Clementi's Sonata for Piano
in F sharp minor, Schumann's Carnival Jest
from Vienna and Mussorgsky's Pictures at
an Exhibition.
INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH OF ST
MICHAEL AT 7PM: Magyar String Trio with
Viktória Szilvásy (violin), András Rudolf
(viola) and Marcell Vámos (cello) perform
works by Haydn, Rolla, Zellner and Mozart.
Perfect
summer
sounds
setting
BÉNÉDICTE WILLIAMS
Vajdahunyad Castle open-air concerts
Longer days and balmy evenings make for as
good a combination as one can get in Budapest
when it comes to open-air concerts. These
abound in the summer, from the jazz and world
music emanating from the nearby zoo (www.zoobudapest.com),
to the more eclectic mix displayed in
District III's Óbuda Summer Festival (obudainyar.hu), to
the broad range of styles and locations of Budapest
Summer Festival (www.szabadter.hu).
Vajdahunyad Castle Music Fest
Where City Park stands out from the crowd is in the
backdrop it offers to its yearly Vajdahunyad Castle Music
Festival, with the mock walls, turrets and arches of this
late-19th-century medley of Romanesque, Gothic,
Renaissance and Baroque architectural styles now
housing the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture.
It also - or rather its courtyard - plays host to regular
concerts on Mondays and (occasionally) Thursdays. The
programme is mostly classical, starting this Thursday
with the Szent István Király (King Saint Stephen)
Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky classics
such as the Waltz of the Flowers, Violin Concerto in D major
and Symphony No. 5.
Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra continues on 15
July with a crossover mix of Latin and classical music for
guitars and string orchestra.
Sonny And His Wild Cows are among the acts this Saturday.
More strings, this time on 22 July with Budapest
Strings, bring up an evening of symphonies and cello
concertos by Mozart and Haydn.
On 5 August the Hungarian Virtuoso Chamber
Orchestra performs Baroque music including works by
J.S. Bach and Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.
Not always classical
The few exceptions to the classical rule are on 18 July
(Budapest Klezmer Band with Mariann Falusi), 29 July
(Budapest Bár) and 1 August (an evening of operetta
tunes by prolific composer Imre Kálmán). The festival
ends on a glorious note on 8 August with the 100
members of the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra
performing a selection of works by Rossini, Brahms,
Radics, Sarasate, Ferraris, Strauss and others, and of
international Gypsy music.
Concerts start at 8.30pm but will be postponed for 24
hours if it rains.
The ticket
Vajdahunyad Castle Open-Air Concerts
Mondays and occasionally Thursdays from Thursday 11 July to
Monday 8 August
Tickets HUF 2,900-5,500 depending on concert, available
www.jegymester.hu, www.ticketportal.hu via email at
info@vajdahunyad.hu or by phone at (+36-1) 363-4201 or
(+36) 30 954-4866.
www.vajdahunyad.hu (in English)
Stomach some blues
The ill-named
Gastroblues
Festival in Paks
wraps up this Sunday.
Check out their website for
the daily line-up of entertainment.
This Sunday
chefs and winemakers will
feature at ESZI Park for
the annual cooking
contest. Musical entertainment
will be provided on
the open-air stage.
The ticket
20th International
Gastroblues Festival,
Paks
1 to 7 July
Tickets HUF 500-6,900
www.gastroblues.hu
5 July – 11 July 2013
PALACE OF ARTS AT 7.30PM: Calvinist
Hymns with choirs from the Carpathian
Basin.
DUNA PALACE AT 8PM: Duna Symphony
Orchestra conducted by András Deák with
Gergely Oláh (dulcimer) perform works by
Berlioz, Erkel, Delibes, Bartók, Haydn,
Liszt, Strauss and others.
Popular entertainment
MILLENÁRIS PARK BETWEEN 9AM AND
11PM: Gastro Picnic, Night Market and children's
fishing competition.
A38 AT 8PM: Zselenszky, Tape
Underground (rock, reggae, dancehall); AT
10PM: Bergi, Sirmo (electronica).
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB AT 8PM: Borbély
Mûhely; AT 10.30PM: Egri János Trio.
KOBUCI KERT AT 8PM: Veronika Harcsa
(vocals) and Bálint Gyémánt (guitar).
MARGIT ISLAND WATER TOWER AT 8PM:
FolkSide (jazz).
MÜSZI ARTS CENTRE AT 9PM: Biodub
(Germany, techno, electronica).
Sunday 7 July
Classical entertainment
INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH OF ST
MICHAEL AT 7PM: Savaria Baroque
Ensemble with Krisztina Jónás and Nóra
Ducza (soprano), Nóra Kallai (viola da
gamba), István Gyõri (lute) and Pál Németh
(harpsichord) perform works by Monteverdi,
Grandi, Caldara, Legrenzi and Sances.
Popular entertainment
MILLENÁRIS PARK BETWEEN 9AM AND
11PM: Gastro Picnic, Night Market and children's
fishing competition.
KOBUCI KERT AT 7PM: Polski Drom; AT
8PM: Cabaret Medrano.
Monday 8 July
Classical entertainment
ÓBUDA SOCIAL CIRCLE AT 8PM: Open-air
concert with Liszt Ferenc Chamber
Orchestra conducted by János Rolla
performing works by Bach, Mozart, Rossini,
Bartók, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Brahms and
Weiner.
Popular entertainment
A38 AT 7PM: Karma to Burn (USA), Shapat
Terror (rock, heavy metal).
IF CAFÉ AT 7.30PM: Váczi Eszter Quartet.
Tuesday 9 July
Popular entertainment
HUNGARIAN HERITAGE HOUSE AT 8PM:
Hungarian Rhapsody by Hungarian State
Folk Ensemble.
A38 AT 8PM: Random Trip (hip hop, funk,
electronica).
PETÕFI LITERARY MUSEUM AT 8PM:
Söndörgõ Orchestra with Attila Buzás, Áron
Eredics, Benjamin Eredics, Dávid Eredics
and Salamon Eredics.
ZÖLD PARDON AT 8PM: Suicidal Tendencies
(USA).
11
TEN-DAY GUIDE
W H E R E I T ’ S A T
A38: Boat moored on Buda side of
Petõfi Bridge. Tel. (+36-1) 464-
3940. www.a38.hu
BENCZÚR HOUSE: District VI,
Benczúr u. 27.
www.benczurhaz.hu
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB: District XIII,
Hollán Ernõ u. 7. Tel. (+36) 70
413-9837. www.bjc.hu
BUDAPEST MUSIC CENTRE: District
IX, Mátyás u. 8.(+36-1) 216-7894.
www.bmc.hu
BUDAPEST PARK: District IX,
Soroksári út 60. http://budapestpark.hu/
BUDAPEST ZOO: District XIV, Állatkerti
krt 6-12. Tel. (+36-1) 273-4901.
www.zoobudapest.com
DUNA PALACE: District V, Zrínyi u. 5.
Tel. (+36-1) 235-5533.
www.dunapalota.hu
DÜRER-KERT: District XIV, Ajtósi
Dürer sor 19-21. Tel. (+36-1) 789-
4444. www.durerkert.com
HUNGARIAN HERITAGE HOUSE:
District I, Corvin tér 8. Tel. (+36-1)
225-6056. www.heritagehouse.hu
IF CAFÉ: District IX, Ráday u. 19. Tel.
(+36-1) 299-0694.
www.ifkavezo.hu
INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH OF ST
MICHAEL: District V, Váci u. 47/b.
(+36-1) 337-8116. www.szentmihalytemplom.hu
INTERCONTINENTAL BUDAPEST:
District V, Apaczai Csere u. 12-14.
Tel. (+36-1) 327-6333.
www.budapest.intercontinental.com
KOBUCI KERT: District III, Fõ tér 1.
Tel. (+36) 70 205-7282.
www.kobuci.hu
LISZT FERENC MEMORIAL MUSEUM:
District VI, Vörösmarty u. 35. Tel.
(+36-1) 322-9804 www.lisztmuseum.hu
MARGIT ISLAND OPEN-AIR STAGE:
District XII, Margit Island. Tel. (+36-
1) 375-5922, 356-1565.
www.szabadter.hu
MARGIT ISLAND WATER TOWER:
District XII, Margit Island. Tel. (+36-
1) 375-5922, 356-1565.
www.szabadter.hu
MILLENÁRIS PARK: District II, Fény u.
20-22. Tel. (+36-1) 438-5335.
www.millenaris.hu
MÜSZI ARTS CENTRE: District VIII,
Blaha Lujza tér 1, third floor of
Corvin Shopping Centre, entry
from Somogyi Béla u.
www.muszi.org
PALACE OF ARTS: District IX, Komor
Marcell u. 1. Tel. (+36-1) 555-3300.
www.mupa.hu
PAPP LÁSZLÓ BUDAPEST
SPORTARÉNA: District XIV,
Stefánia út 2. Central Ticket Office
(Ticketpro) Tel. (+36-1) 422-2682.
www.ticketpro.hu
PEST COUNTY HALL (PESTI
VÁRMEGYEHÁZ): District V,
Városház u. 7. Tel. (+36-1) 215-
5770.
PETÕFI LITERARY MUSEUM: District
V, Károlyi Mihály u. 16. Tel. (+36-1)
317-3611. www.pim.hu
SECESSIO CAFÉ (HOUSE OF
HUNGARIAN ART NOUVEAU):
District V, Honvéd u. 3. Tel.
(+36) 20 285-1207.
www.secessio-cafe.hu
VAJDAHUNYAD CASTLE: District
XIV, Vázsonyi Vilmos sétány 2.
Tel. (+36-1) 364-0072.
VÁROSMAJOR OPEN-AIR STAGE:
District XII, Városmajor.
www.szabadter.hu
ZÖLD PARDON: District XI,
Pázmány Péter sétány at the
Buda end of Rákóczi bridge. Tel.
(+36-1) 279-1880. www.zp.hu

12
5 July – 11 July 2013
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
TEN-DAY GUIDE
Wednesday 10 July
Popular entertainment
BENCZÚR HOUSE AT 7PM: Benkó Dixieland
Band with Sándor Benkó (clarinet), Béla
Szalóky (trumpet), Iván Nagy (trombone),
Pál Gáspár (banjo, vocals), Vilmos Halmos
(piano, vocals), Gábor Kovacsevics (drums)
and Miklós Csikós (double bass).
KOBUCI KERT AT 7PM: Blues Festival with
"Sir" Oliver Mally (Austria); AT 8.15PM:
György Ferenczi és a Rackajam; AT
9.30PM: Deitra Farr's Rhythm and Blues
Explosion (USA).
ÓBUDA SOCIAL CIRCLE AT 8PM: Éva Vári
and Péter Axmann perform music by Edith
Piaf.
A38 AT 8PM: Live Large (indie, rock); AT
8.30PM: Crystal Castles (Canada), Dictator
and Hussar (electronica); AT 10PM: LóriPoP
(punk, rock, heavy metal).
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB AT 8PM: Enyedi
Sugárka Jazz Tett.
BUDAPEST ZOO AT 8.30PM: Open-air
concert, Eszter Bíró and Mariann Falusi.
BUDAPEST MUSIC CENTRE AT 9PM: Neda
and Vytautas Labutis Quartet (jazz).
Thursday 11 July
Classical entertainment
INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH OF ST
MICHAEL AT 7PM: János Pilz (violin), Ulrike
Engelke (recorder), Nóra Kallai (viola da
gamba) and Judit Varga (harpsichord)
perform Baroque music by Guillemain,
Leclair, Bach and Telemann.
PEST COUNTY HALL AT 8PM: Concerto
Budapest conducted by Gábor Csalog
performs Mozart's Serenade in C minor and
Quintet in E flat major for piano and winds
and Poulenc's Sextet.
Popular entertainment
KOBUCI KERT AT 7PM: Blues Festival with
Pély Barna Trio; AT 8.15PM: Ripoff
Raskolnikov (Austria); AT 9.30PM: Big Daddy
Wilson Trio.
A38 AT 8PM: Kozmosz, Super Starsky (rock,
punk); AT 10PM: DJ Garfield and Ordiman
(hip hop, funky, soul).
HUNGARIAN HERITAGE HOUSE AT 8PM:
Hungarian Rhapsody by Hungarian State
Folk Ensemble.
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB AT 8PM: Babos
Gyula, Attila László and Tibor Tátrai Guitar
Trio.
BUDAPEST MUSIC CENTRE AT 9PM:
Smárton Trio 10th anniversary concert.
Friday 12 July
Popular entertainment
MILLENÁRIS BETWEEN 9AM AND 11PM:
Gastro Picnic and Night Market with artisanal
beer tastings.
DISTRICT III, FÕ TÉR AT 7PM: Djabe (jazz,
world music).
KOBUCI KERT AT 7PM: Blues Festival with
Jambalaya; AT 8.15PM: Muddy Shoes; AT
9.30PM: Little G Weevil Band (USA).
SECESSIO CAFÉ AT 7.30PM: Mátyás Tóth
(guitar) and Márton Soós (double bass) play
jazz.
INTERCONTINENTAL BUDAPEST AT 8PM:
Erika Náray sings jazz.
BUDAPEST PARK AT 8PM: Pannonia Allstars
Ska Orchestra (ska, dancehall, reggae).
Karma to Burn "a true legend of stoner rock" (stoner rock: a slow- to mid-tempo subgenre
of heavy metal). You’re welcome.
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB AT 8PM: Trio
Midnight; AT 10.30PM: Balázs József Trio.
MARGIT ISLAND OPEN-AIR STAGE AT 8PM:
Oliver!, musical.
DÜRER-KERT AT 8.30PM: colorStar, The
Carbonfools (electronica, rock).
BUDAPEST MUSIC CENTRE AT 9PM: Gayer
Mátyás Trio (jazz).
Saturday 13 July
Classical entertainment
LISZT FERENC MEMORIAL MUSEUM AT
11AM: Randall Scotting (counter tenor).
Renoir, a 2012 drama on film director Jean Renoir (son of painter Pierre-August Renoir) will
be shown on Monday 8 July.
French cinema
French outdoor screenings. Mondays, 8.45pm
Holdudvar, Margit Island
The films – all premiering in Hungary – run with English subtitles, will be screened
inside Holdudvar’s hall in case of rain, and can be seen for a HUF 900 fee available
on the door from 7pm.
www.franciaintezet.hu (French, Hungarian. No English)
Heavy metal
(yet light on the death grunts)
A38 serves up a night of rock
and heavy metal this Monday
with the main slot occupied by
Karma to Burn, from the US,
supported by Hungary's Shapat Terror
band.
In an on-and-off existence since
2002, Karma to Burn (K2B for friends)
currently consists of William Mecum
on guitar, Rich Mullins on bass and
Evan Devine on drums, though in the
past it's also had a number of vocalists.
Branded "a true legend of stoner rock",
the band has released five studio
albums, the latest, V, in 2011 with
vocals by Daniel Davies.
The ticket
Karma to Burn
Monday 8 July at 7pm
Tickets HUF 2,000 from www.a38.hu or
the A38 ship box office, open daily 11am
to midnight (until the end of the concert
on performance days).
A38 Boat moored on Buda side of Petõfi
Bridge
INNER CITY PARISH CHURCH OF ST
MICHAEL AT 7PM: Alta Cappella Krakow,
Szczawnica Chamber Choir, Musica Aeterna
Bratislava, Zoltán Megyesi (tenor) and
Nicholas Spanos (countertenor) conducted
by Agnieszka Zarska perform Bach's
cantatas BWV 129 "Gelobet sei der Herr,
mein Gott" and BWV 29 "Wir danken dir,
Gott, wir danken dir" and Handel's Chandos
Anthem No. 6 B "As pants the hart for cooling
streams".
DUNA PALACE AT 8PM: Duna Symphony
Orchestra conducted by András Deák
performs works by Berlioz, Delibres, Bartók,
Haydn, Liszt, Strauss and others.
Popular entertainment
MILLENÁRIS BETWEEN 9AM AND 11PM:
Gastro Picnic and Night Market with artisanal
beer tastings.
KOBUCI KERT AT 10.30AM: Concert for children
with Alma Ensemble.
FRENCH INSTITUTE AT 6PM: French national
holiday celebrations with music by Le Train
Fatal, Presszó Tangó Libidó and DJ Palotai
(Hungary).
A38 AT 6PM: Flash-f@sztival with Zsuzsi Ujj
and Kristóf Darvas (rock); AT 8PM: Flash,
Lopunk, C.A.F.B., Vidámpark (rock); AT
10PM: 101 Depeche Mode Club (electronica).
VÁROSMAJOR OPEN-AIR STAGE AT 8PM:
Budapest Bár.
BUDAPEST JAZZ CLUB AT 8PM: Hajdu Klára
Quartet; AT 10.30PM: Gáspár Károly Trio.
BUDAPEST MUSIC CENTRE AT 9PM: Gábor
Subicz (funk, soul).
Sunday 14 July
Classical entertainment
PAPP LÁSZLÓ BUDAPEST SPORTARÉNA AT
8PM: David Helfgott and Hungarian Virtuosi
Chamber Orchestra perform Rachmaninov's
Piano Concerto No. 3.
Popular entertainment
MILLENÁRIS BETWEEN 9AM AND 11PM:
Gastro Picnic and Night Market with artisanal
beer tastings.
A38 AT 8PM: Cabaret Medrano, A.K.T.
(jazz); AT 8PM: White Fence (US, rock).
MARGIT ISLAND OPEN-AIR STAGE AT 8PM:
Oliver!, musical.
DÜRER-KERT AT 8.40PM: The Casualties
(US, punk, rock).
DOWN THE ROAD
MONDAY 5 TO MONDAY 12 AUGUST: Sziget
Festival
MONDAY 16 SEPTEMBER (7.30PM):
Evgeny Kissin at Palace of Arts
SUNDAY 22 DECEMBER (7.30PM): Jordi
Savall, La Capella Reial de Catalunya at
Palace of Arts
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THE BUDAPEST TIMES
5 July – 11 July 2013
13
Ambassador
says aloha
T
he United States’
Independence Day
celebration in Budapest
on Wednesday doubled as a
farewell to Ambassador to
Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos
Kounalakis (right), who will be
leaving in a few weeks.
It was the fourth and final
Independence Day in
Hungary for Tsakopoulos
Kounalakis, who took up her
post in January 2010 and
spoke to guests on
Wednesday of three-and-ahalf
“extraordinary” and
content years. Her successor
has not been named.
Tsakopoulos Kounalakis
extolled the American virtues
of liberty, equality, democracy
and self-determination on the
237th anniversary of the birth
of the US in 1776.
Hundreds of guests mainly
from Budapest’s diplomatic
and governmental circles
attended the Hawaiian-themed
event in the grounds of the US
Embassy residence in District
XII. They heard the Légierõ
Zenekar Air Force Band,
watched Hungarian hula
dancers and consumed
American staples of burgers,
hot dogs and potato salad.
Hungarian Foreign
Minister János Martonyi (left),
who was accompanied by
Minister of the Interior Sándor
Pintér (second from left), said
America was a dream and
inspiration for Hungary with
its universal values, liberty,
pursuit of happiness, democracy,
rule of law and national
independence.
“Look me up in San
Francisco,” the outgoing
Ambassador told the throng.
MTI
Last Canada Day, eh?
The Embassy of Canada held a reception
on Tuesday at the Ambassador’s
Official Residence to celebrate
Canada’s 146th birthday (main photo below).
In her speech, Ambassador Tamara
Guttman (right), who is finishing her posting
this summer, listed recent successes in
Canada-Hungary relations, including an
increase in Canadian investment, with
Hungary now tied for the 8th place among
Canada’s leading destinations for foreign
investment abroad.
Ambassador Guttman thanked the government
and people of Hungary for their strong
support in helping to strengthen bilateral
ties. Over 300,000 persons of Hungarian
ancestry live in Canada. In the wake of the
1956 Uprising some 200,000 political
refugees left Hungary, 35,000 of whom made
their way to Canada.
Embassy of Canada (2)
DIPLOMACY
Exit the Australian Embassy
The Australian Embassy in Budapest, which announced
recently that it will close due to budgetary reasons, said on
Thursday that its final day of operation will be next Friday, 12 July,
closing at 4.30pm.
From that date the Australian Embassy in Vienna will provide
Hungarian customers with consular and passport services. The
contact details in Vienna are: Australian Embassy, Mattiellistraße
2-4, A -1040 Vienna. Phone: (+43 1) 506 740. Fax: (+43 1) 513
1656 (not for visa matters). Website: www.austria.embassy.gov.au
The general
manager of the
Corinthia Hotel
Budapest,
Thomas Fischer,
and executive
chef Joel Khalil
present the
"Pommes
Marton".
Corinthia goes sweet
on singer Éva Marton
The birthday of chamber
singer Éva Marton on
18 June was celebrated
in the menu at the Corinthia
Hotel Budapest by a dessert
called the "Pommes Marton",
created exclusively by Todd
Rogers, the executive chef of the
Ritz Carlton Hotel in Houston,
Texas.
The Corinthia Hotel, on
District VII's Erszsébet körút, is
the cooperation partner of the
GLOBALARTS4PEACE
Foundation, which sets out to
promote young singers from
Liszt Ferenc Music Academy in
Budapest, where the
International Éva Marton
Singing Competition will be
held for the first time next year.
A gala in honour of Marton
by the State Opera House was
shown live on a large screen in
front of Szent István Basilica.
International stars such as
Grace Bumbry and Jonas
Kaufmann were given a
standing ovation and Marton,
born in 1943, treated the audience
to a beautiful rendition of
the Vissi d'arte aria from Tosca.
Éva Marton as "Elizabeth" in Richard
Wagner's opera Tannhäuser.

14
5 July – 11 July 2013
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
MUSEUMS
MUSEUMS
AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM: Covering life in a
medieval village, viticulture, plants and more
with a temporary exhibition on turn-of-thecentury
agriculture minister Ignác Darányi.
Open Tues.-Sun., 10am-5pm. Tel. (+36-1) 363-
1117. District XIV, Vajdahunyad Castle in City
Park. www.mezogazdasagimuzeum.hu
AQUINCUM MUSEUM: Archaeological findings
from the remains of the Roman military
garrison and trading settlement Aquincum. The
exhibition Tales of Finds, Archaeological Finds
from a Different Perspective is open until 15
April. Open daily 10am-6pm except Mon. The
outdoor ruins are open from 9am. District III,
Szentendrei út 135. Tel. (+36-1) 250-1650.
www.aquincum.hu
BÉLA BARTÓK MEMORIAL HOUSE: Concerts
in one hall and a memorial room with original
furniture and Bartók's folk art collection,
photos, letters and notes on his life. Open
Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm. District II, Csalán út 29.
Tel. (+36-1) 394-2100. www.bartokmuseum.hu
Budapest from 1944-1945, who saved up to
15,000 Jews by handing out protection documents.
Flashlight tour daily at 7pm in quest of
lost treasures of Count Gorgey. Open Tues.-
Sun. 10am-8pm. District I, Lovas út 4/C. Tel.
(+36) 70 701-0101. www.sziklakorhaz.hu
HOUSE OF HUNGARIAN ART NOUVEAU:
Secession-era furniture, objects, instruments
and paintings in contemporary house. Mon.-
Sat. 10am-5pm. District V, Honvéd u. 3. Tel.
(+36-1) 269-4622. www.magyarszecessziohaza.hu
HOUSE OF TERROR MUSEUM: Secret police
headquarters during both the fascist and
socialist periods, with an exhibition on
Cardinal Mindszenty. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-
6pm. District VI, Andrássy út 60. Tel. (+36-1)
374-2600. www.terrorhaza.hu
HUNGARIAN JEWISH MUSEUM AND
ARCHIVES: Religious and historical collection
at the Great Synagogue in District VII,
Dohány u. 2. Tel. (+36-1) 317-1377.
www.dohany-zsinagoga.hu
Kapisztrán tér 2-4. Tel. (+36-1) 325-1600.
www.militaria.hu
MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS: Permanent
collection of works of applied art in an Art
Nouveau landmark. Art from the Monastery of
Clay, exhibition of collections of the Kecskemét
Contemporary Arts Workshop. International
Ceramics Studio runs until 2 September. The
exhibition The Bigot Pavilion on Art Nouveau
ceramics from Paris is open until 15
September. Masters of the Secession, works
from the collections of the Museum of Applied
Arts, is open until 15 September. Open Tues.-
Sun. 10am-6pm. District IX, Üllõi út 33-37. Tel.
(+36-1) 456-5107. www.imm.hu
MUSEUM OF ETHNOGRAPHY: Covering traditional
customs and clothing. The exhibition
Objective Case - Subjective Ethnography is
open until 10 July. The exhibition "I was a
humble filmmaker" on László Keszi Kovács
(1908-2012) runs until 1 September. Véménd
1916-1920, photographs by a village teacher,
runs until 8 September. History in Photographs
of Danube Schwabians runs until 8 September.
MADI Universe - 20 Years of the Mobile MADI Museum
The primary precursor of the
MADI (Movement -
Abstraction - Dimension -
Invention) was the South American
school of "constructive universalism".
The MADI movement itself started in
Buenos Aires in 1946. They set out an
artistic programme whose main
elements were polygonality, the
coherent representation of motion
and systematic construction in every
sphere of art. The exhibition in the
Kassák Museum (Branch of Petõfi
Literary Museum) is open until 8
September. District III, Fõ tér 1
(Zichy House). Open Wed.-Sun.
10am-5pm. Tel. (+36-1) 368-7021.
www.kassakmuzeum.hu
on Sándor Weöres run until 31 December and
1 June 2014 respectively. District V, Károlyi
Mihály u. 16. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm. Tel.
(+36-1) 317-3611. www.pim.hu
PIETY MUSEUM: Items connected to funerals.
District VIII, Fiumei út. 16, Building C. Open
Mon.-Thur. 10am-5pm, Fri. 10am-1pm. Tel.
(+36-1) 323-5132. www.nemzetisirkert.hu
POSTAL MUSEUM: Relics of Hungarian post
and telecommunications history. District VI,
Benczúr utca 27. Open Tuesday-Sunday
10am-6pm. Tel. (+36-1) 269-6838. www.postamuzeum.hu/indexa.html
STAMP MUSEUM: Items from around the world.
Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm. District VII,
Hársfa u. 47. Tel. (+36-1) 341-5526.
www.belyegmuzeum.hu
UNDERGROUND RAILWAY MUSEUM:
Commemorates the continent's first underground
train line, the "Földalatti", which opened
in 1896 (now Metro 1, the yellow line). In an
original stretch of the tunnel at Deák tér metro
station in District V. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-
5pm. Tel. (+36-1) 461-6500. www.bkv.hu
GALLERIES
ACB GALLERY: The exhibition Sense of Time
by Gyula Várnai is open until 26 July. Open
Tues.-Fri. 2pm-6pm or by appointment. District
VI, Király u. 76. Tel. (+36-1) 413-7608.
www.acbgaleria.hu
BÁLINT HOUSE: The exhibition Chipped Mirror
by Dániel Fehér runs until 31 August. Open
daily 9am-8pm. District VI, Révay u. 16. Tel.
(+36-1) 311-9214. www.balinthaz.hu
BARABÁS VILLA GALLERY: The exhibition by
András Várkonyi runs until 13 July. Open Mon.-
Fri. 10am-6pm, Sat. 10am-12noon. District XII,
Városmajor u. 44. Tel. (+36-1) 457-0501.
http://www.hegytortenet.hu/galeria
DEÁK ERIKA GALÉRIA: The exhibition Why do
not you say hello ever again? by Alexander
Tinei runs until 3 August. Open Wed.-Fri.
12noon-6pm and Sat. 11am-4pm. District VI,
Mozsár u. 1. Tel. (+36-1) 201-3740. www.deakgaleria.hu
DOVIN GALLERY: The collective exhibition My
Little Cloud runs until 31 August. Open Tues.-
Fri. 12noon-6pm and Sat. 11am-3pm. District V,
Galamb utca 6. Tel. (+36-1) 318-3659.
www.dovingallery.com/
exhibition of photographs by Helmut Newton
runs until 14 July. The exhibition Egon Schiele
and his Age runs until 29 September. Open
daily 10am-6pm except Mon. (ticket office
closes at 4.30pm).Ticket desk open Tues.-Sun.
10am-5pm, and on second Thursdays until
9pm with a Museum + events ticket. District
XIV, Hõsök tere. Tel. (+36-1) 469-7100.
www.szepmuveszeti.hu
STUDIO GALLERY: The exhibition Here comes
the folk science! by Tamás Kaszás and Anikó
Loránt runs until 30 July. Open Tues., Thu. and
Fri. 10am-6pm, Wed. 12noon-8pm. District VII
Rottenbiller u. 35. Tel. (+36-1) 342-5380.
www.studio.c3.hu
VAM DESIGN CENTRE: The 3D exhibition of
paintings by Van Gogh runs until 30 November.
Open daily 9am-6pm. District VI, Király u. 26.
Tel. (+36-1) 666-3100. www.vamdesign.hu
VASARELY MUSEUM: Large permanent collection
of works by Hungarian-French artist Victor
Vasarely, the founder of op art. The exhibition
Grauwinkel Collection, Berlin Concrete Art
1982-2012 runs until 1 September. Open daily
10am-5.30pm except Mon. District III,
Szentlélek tér 6. Tel. (+36-1) 388-7551.
www.vasarely.hu
VÍZIVÁROSI GALLERY: The exhibition
Paintings, Collages by Éva Sebõk, Katalin
Székelyi and László Ottó is open until 24 July.
Open Tues.-Fri. 1-6pm, Sat. 10am-2pm. District
II, Kapás u. 55. Tel. (+36-1) 201-6925.
www.vizivarosigaleria.hu
ERNST MUSEUM: The exhibition On the Shore
by Eszter Csurka runs until 28 July. Open daily
11am-7pm except Mon. District VI, Nagymezõ
utca 8. Tel. (+36-1) 413-1311. www.ernstmuzeum.hu
BUDAPEST HISTORY MUSEUM: Covering the
history of the capital. The exhibition The
Capital's Treasury - 125 years of the Budapest
History Museum is open until 31 August. The
exhibition Votive Rituals, Ancient Feasts is
open until 8 September. The exhibition on
Armenian culture in the Carpathian Basin runs
until 15 September. Open daily 10am-6pm
except Mon. Buda Castle building E, District I,
Szent György tér 2. Tel. (+36-1) 487-8800.
www.btm.hu/
EVANGELICAL NATIONAL MUSEUM: Covering
the Protestant faith in Hungary. The exhibition
A century of tolerance - Protestant church life
in the first half of the 19th century runs until 31
October. Open Tues.-Sun., 10am-5pm. District
V, Deák Ferenc tér 4. Tel. (+36-1) 317-4173.
www.evangelikusmuzeum.hu
FERENC HOPP MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN
ARTS: Works collected by the traveller Ferenc
Hopp with an exhibition on Land of the Morning
Calm, Korean Art in the 18th-19th Centuries.
Open Fri.-Sun. 2pm-6pm. District VI, Andrássy
út 103. Tel. (+36-1) 322-8476. www.imm.hu
(Museum of Applied Arts website)
FERENC LISZT MEMORIAL MUSEUM: A reconstruction
of Liszt's last Budapest flat
containing his original instruments, furniture,
books, scores, personal objects and memorabilia.
The exhibition Liszt and the French
Musicians of his Time is running until 19
October. In the Old Music Academy, District VI,
Vörösmarty u. 35. Open Mon.-Fri. 10am-6pm,
Sat. 9am-5pm. Tel. (+36-1) 322-9804.
www.lisztmuseum.hu
GEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF HUNGARY:
Collection of rocks and fossils in a building by
architect Ödön Lechner. Open Thurs., Sat.,
Sun. 10am-4pm. District XIV, Stefánia út. 14.
Tel. (+36-1) 251-0999. www.mafi.hu
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTRE: Open
Tues.-Sun.10am-6pm. District IX, Páva u. 39.
Tel. (+36-1) 455-3333. www.hdke.hu
HOSPITAL IN THE ROCK: Formerly secret
underground air-raid hospital and nuclear
bunker, with an exhibition about Friedrich
Born, Swiss delegate of the Red Cross in
HUNGARIAN MUSEUM OF TRADE AND
TOURISM: Catering industry relics based on
the private collection of Frigyes Glück and
extended to include posters, scales, furniture
and a numismatic collection. The exhibition
Realised and Unrealised Dreams runs until 14
July. The exhibition Hortus Conclusus by Gyula
Wegrosta runs until 28 July. The exhibition on
Hungarian camera design Pajtás runs until 15
September. The exhibitions "The good
merchant is the benefactor of the world" - Two
hundred years in the history of Hungarian trade
and "I have never had a home..." - Scenes
from Gyula Krúdy's Budapest Life run until 31
December. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm.
District III, Korona tér 1. Tel. (+36-1) 212-1245.
www.mkvm.hu
HUNGARIAN RAILWAY MUSEUM: Train buff's
paradise with many steam engines and
carriages, operational turntables, the largest
roundhouse in Central Europe with interactive
programmes such as a self-powered rail car
and engine driving. Children's miniature rail
line. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm. District XIV,
Tatai út 95. Tel. (+36-1) 238-0558. www.vasuttortenetipark.hu
KODÁLY MEMORIAL MUSEUM: Instruments,
documents and original furnishings on display
in Kodály's former flat. Open Wed.-Fri. 10am-
12pm and 2pm-4.30pm by appointment.
District VI, Andrássy út 89. (+36-1) 352-7106.
www.kodaly-inst.hu
MEDIEVAL JEWISH HOUSE OF PRAYER:
Collection shedding light on the life of Jews
during the Middle Ages. Open Tues.-Sun.
10am-6pm. District I, Táncsics Mihály u. 26.Tel.
(+36-1) 225-7816. www.museum.hu
MEMENTO PARK: Communist statuary
shunted out of the streets and into a field on the
edge of town. Direct buses leave from Deák tér
at 11am daily. Open from 10am-dusk. District
XXII, corner of Balatoni út and Szabadkai út.
Tel. (+36-1) 424-7500. www.mementopark.hu
MILITARY HISTORY MUSEUM: Permanent exhibitions
on the Hungarian military from 1815
through the world wars and the fall of the Iron
Curtain. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-4pm. District I,
The exhibition on Finnish Ryijy textiles
between 1707 and 2012 runs until 5 January.
Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm. District V,
Kossuth Lajos tér 12. Tel. (+36-1) 473-2400.
www.neprajz.hu
MUSEUM OF ÓBUDA: Permanent exhibition on
Óbuda - Three faces of a town. The temporary
exhibition "So the last will be the first." The
Salesian Wonder runs until 8 September.
District III, Fõ tér 1. Open Tuesday-Sunday
10am-6pm. Telephone (+36-1) 250-1020.
www.obudaimuzeum.hu
MUSEUM OF TRANSPORT: Covering the history
of road and rail transport in Hungary. The aerospace
collection is in the nearby Petõfi Csarnok
(Zichy Mihály u. 3). Open Tues.-Fri. 10am-4pm,
and Sat.-Sun. 10am-5pm. District XIV,
Városligeti körút 11. Tel. (+36-1) 273-3840.
www.mmkm.hu
NAGYTÉTÉNYI CASTLE MUSEUM: Eighteenthcentury
castle restored to former splendour
featuring a permanent exhibition on the art of
furniture making from the Gothic to the
Biedermeier. Open Tues.-Fri. 10am-6pm.
District XXII, Kastélypark u. 9-11. Tel. (+36-1)
207-0005. www.nagytetenyi.hu
NATIONAL MUSEUM: Covering the whole of
Hungarian history, from the ancient origins of
the Hungarians, their journey to the Carpathian
Basin and events until 1990. The exhibition
Affinities and Transformations on 18th and 19th
century painting runs until 21 July. The exhibition
on Ancient Burial Masks is open until 13
September. Open Tues.-Fri. 10am-6pm. District
VIII, Múzeum körút 14-16. Tel. (+36-1) 338-
2122/327-7749. www.hnm.hu
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: Covering botany
and zoology. Open daily 10am-5pm except
Tues. District VIII, Ludovika tér 2-6. Tel. (+36-1)
210-1085. www.nhmus.hu
PETÕFI LITERARY MUSEUM: Named after the
poet Sándor Petõfi (1823-1849). The exhibition
on photographs by Ferenc Berko is open until
30 September. The exhibition Southern
Adventures. Hungarian writers' experiences of
Italy 1890-1950 runs until 31 October. The
memorial exhibitions on Frigyes Karinthy and
HUNGARIAN NATIONAL GALLERY: Hungarian
Art Photography in the New Millennium is open
until 28 July. The exhibition Monet, Gauguin,
Szinyei Merse, Rippl-Rónai runs until 13
October. Open daily 10am-6pm except Mon.
Wings B, C and D of the Royal Palace. District
I, Szent György tér 2. Tel. (+36) 20 439-7325 or
(+36) 20 439-7331. www.mng.hu
KASSÁK MUSEUM (BRANCH OF PETÕFI
LITERARY MUSEUM): Mainly works of Lajos
Kassák (1887-1967), leading figure of the
Hungarian avant-garde. The exhibition MADI
Universe - 20 Years of the Mobile MADI
Museum is open until 8 September. District III,
Fõ tér 1 (Zichy House). Open Wed.-Sun. 10am-
5pm. Tel. (+36-1) 368-7021. www.kassakmuzeum.hu
LUDWIG CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM
(PALACE OF ARTS): The exhibition The Naked
Man on the male nude in art from 1900 to the
present runs until 30 June. Pieter Hugo - This
Must Be The Place, Selected Works 2003-
2012 runs until 11 August. The Other Half of
the Sky. Selection from the Ludwig Museum's
Collection is open until 1 January 2014. Open
Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm. On the last Sunday
each month entrance is free for visitors under
26, and up to two adult relatives accompanying
a child under 18. District XI, Komor Marcell u 1.
Tel. (+36-1) 555-3444 www.lumu.hu
MAI MANÓ (HUNGARIAN HOUSE OF
PHOTOGRAPHY): Shows works by Hungarian
and foreign photographers. The exhibition
Codes of Reality/Observations/Relations,
Series by twelve young photographers from the
recent past is open until 22 September. Open
weekdays 2-7pm, weekends 11am-7pm.
District VI, Nagymezõ u. 20. Tel. (+36.1) 473-
2666. www.maimano.hu
MOLNÁR ANI GALLERY: The exhibition Syntax
of Parallels by Tanja Koljonen, György Szász
and Beatrix Szörényi is open until 6
September. Open Tues.-Fri. 12noon-6pm.
District VIII, Bródy Sándor u. 22. Tel. (+36-1)
327-0095. www.molnaranigaleria.hu
MÛCSARNOK/KUNSTHALLE: The exhibition Art
lives! by Tamás Körösényi runs until 8
September. District XIV, Dózsa György út 37.
Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-6pm except
Thurs.12pm-8pm. Tel. (+36-1) 460-7000.
www.mucsarnok.hu
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS: Huge collection of
Hungarian and international paintings. The
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The Suspended Coffee movement
allows you to buy a warm
beverage or food in advance
for someone in need.
There are more than 100 participating
restaurants, cafés, service providers
etc. that are identified by this sticker on
the door, making it easy for anyone
who wishes to “pay forward” an item.
The list of businesses can be found on
the Facebook page of “Suspended
Coffee Magyarország”.
See an article on the movement here in
Hungary at http://tinyurl.com/csqtskx

THE BUDAPEST TIMES
5 JULY – 11 JULY 2013
15
V. Zoltán u. 16
(next to Szabadság tér)
Reservations:
331-4352
...then call Rob
on 06-30-552-0840
or visit
www.primecuts.hu
EATING OUT
Julián S. Montoni (2)
Arany Kaviar Restaurant
Lunchtime traditional Russian Bistro:
5.900 Ft (20 EUR) - 3-course lunch with 1 glas (1dl) of wine,
mineral water and coffee!
Every day from 12pm to 3pm!
1015 Budapest, Ostrom u. 19 Open every day: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-12am
Tel.: (+36 1) 201 6737 reservation@aranykaviar.hu www.aranykaviar.hu
Pass the hookah, please
ANAÏS LYNN VOSKI
Shiraz opened in 1995 as the first authentic
Persian restaurant in Central Europe and
whose owner, of Iranian origin, decided to
name it after the country’s fifth-most-populous
city. In retrospect he did so successfully.
Upon entry the visitor is immediately transported to
another world. The decoration is every bit authentic
and creates a truly oriental getaway in the middle of the
Hungarian capital. There’s even a small parrot in the
corner beside the entrance, who from
time to time charmingly sings the song
of his people. The sweet smell of the
shisha, or waterpipe, creates a homey
but exotic atmosphere.
Altogether the guests can choose
from six rooms: five differently themed
rooms and the VIP room. The Apanda,
the Eram, the Paszargad and the
Seherezade rooms are all for smokers
and shisha-friendly, while the Prince of
Persia room is non-smoking. The VIP
room is free of charge, however
welcome drinks, champagne, caviar
and all other extras are paid
depending on consumption.
It is especially recommended to
reserve a seat for Friday and Saturday
nights because the restaurant fills up
quickly. However, even when at its fullest, food and
drinks take no longer than 25 minutes to serve, which is
quite impressive.
Those merely dropping by should try the shisha, a
special flavoured tobacco smoked in a hookah. It costs
HUF 1,490, comes in many different flavours and can
be smoked on the terrace as well, which is especially nice
during warm summer evenings.
The authentic teas are also a pleasurable choice,
especially the kardamon and the rose teas. They can be
ordered in jugs for those wishing to share.
Those coming to eat, however, will have a hard time to
choose, as everything is made from spices imported
directly from Iran and is as delicious as oriental food gets.
For drinks, the rose water is made fresh with seeds and
sugar and tastes as if you could bite the smell of a rose bud.
As for the appetisers, the mastebademjan (eggplant and
sour cream) and the mirza ghashami (eggplant and tomatoes)
are a must and are served with home-made pita
Review: Shiraz, District IX
bread. The mirza ghashami bears some similarity to
Hungarian lecsó but tastes twice as good.
The kebab kubide is a must for someone looking to try
the most authentic dish of the house. It can be served
from beef or lamb and even those who normally don’t
enjoy beef should love it. This can be ordered in a kebab
menü, which serves three to four people and contains all
kinds of meats and sides for HUF 12,500.
Those still wishing to stick to wings should try the
kebab morgh, a chicken dish sprinkled with homemade
pomegranate syrup and baked in saffron. However, the
kebab jouje chicken’s plain taste is quite underwhelming
in contrast to other dishes. The khoreshe
sabzi is also a great choice, especially for
Hungarian pörkölt lovers, with a twist and
a unique taste.
For the side the zeresk polo accompanies
the spicy dishes excellently; rice with
red raisins also imported straight from
Iran. If available, definitely ask for the
highly popular tadik, the leftover rice
from the bottom of the cooking pot,
which, when dried, becomes an excellent
and tasteful side to the more watery
mains such as the khoreshe sabzi.
Despite their humble looks it is worth
leaving space for dessert. The halva, an
authentic dessert made of tahini, dates
and sesame, brings the perfect finish to
the tastebuds. The homemade saffron
ice-cream is a must, while the homemade
pomegranate ice-cream is less impressive when the two
are eaten together but still satisfying.
Price points
Starters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . around HUF 920
Salads: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . around HUF 1,400
Main courses: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HUF 1,850-4,050
Platters:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HUF 12,500-14,500
Desserts: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HUF 850-1,400
Shiraz
District IX, Ráday u. 21
Open every day 12 noon to midnight
Tel.: (+36-1) 218-0881
www.shirazetterem.hu

16
WHAT LIES BENEATH FAITH MATTERS
5 July – 11 July 2013
MARY MURPHY
THE BUDAPEST TIMES
Trust in God freed her from unhealthy obsession
BRADLEY BELCHER
Supersized me - po'girl carrying excess baggage
Walking down the
aisle on the
airplane en route
from Chicago to
Munich, I found it
difficult to keep my distance from
those occupying aisle seats. At first I
thought it was the design - another
space-saving measure dreamed up by
an airline to add more seats to an
already cramped plane. But three
weeks ago I’d made the same journey
on a similar plane flying in the opposite
direction and hadn’t impinged
on anyone’s personal space. Then the
light came on. I’d grown - literally -
into a bigger person - in just three
weeks.
A food odyssey
Kentucky and its southern BBQ
had started off the expansion. Add
the burgers in Nashville and the
po’boy sandwiches in Memphis and
there’s a couple of Tennessee kilos
accounted for. Moving across into
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New
He didn't know what to do. He
loved his wife Lisa so much but
her behaviour was becoming
more and more erratic each
passing day. What to do when
the one you love more than anything becomes
impossible to live with? What had gone wrong?
Why had she become so deranged and confused?
Years before, Lisa was a nurse in an emergency
room hospital in a large town in the US
Midwest. It was her first job right out of nursing
school. She quickly became immersed in it,
having to deal with all sorts of patients with all
sorts of ailments.
It seemed as if she had seen it all in a very
short time: shooting and stabbing victims,
people mangled in car accidents, domestic
abuse wounds, broken bones, cuts and lacerations,
accidental poisonings and the ongoing
parade of the chronically ill all made their way
into her emergency room.
One evening a man came in with an unusual
and unrecognised ailment. He wasn’t all that
old but his breathing had become very shallow
and it just seemed he was fading away. No one
had a diagnosis. They kept running tests to find
out what was wrong but each came back negative.
All the while his condition deteriorated.
As a last-ditch effort to save the man’s life, the
young doctor on duty instructed Lisa to administer
some medication intravenously. She
followed the doctor’s instructions. As she
stepped out of the room for a moment, the man
went code blue. He never regained consciousness
and shortly after quietly succumbed to his
mysterious ailment and died.
Accidental death
A guide to piling on the pounds stateside
Mexico and Arizona, a steady diet of
carne asada burritos and well-dressed
nachos washed down by copious
margaritas added a couple or three
more to the mix (yes, I really did eat
Mexican seven days on the trot).
California was relatively sane -
something bordering on healthy in a
vain attempt to reacquaint myself
with vegetables; I’m not sure though
that a six-pack of avocados was the
way to go. What was saved in Palm
Springs was more than spent in the
all-you-can-eat buffets in Las Vegas.
A food heaven
All you can eat - the sign said - for
just $22. Or get an all-day pass good
from 7am to 10pm for $35. With a
neat little wristband showing you as a
paid-up member of the buffet
brigade, you could start eating at 7am
and not stop until 10pm, and all for
$35. Can’t beat that for value. We
were a tad more restrained, settling
for the dinner version - two nights
running.
Buffets are great when you have
two people incapable of making a
decision about where and what to eat.
Wholly Matrimony – Part V
Lisa took it very hard that she was unable to
save the man’s life. She slipped out and found a
place to cry privately. She had never lost a
patient before.
Later that evening other nurses and technicians
started to speculate whether the meds Lisa
had given were the best choice based on his
condition. Finally it was determined that the
doctor had made a poor diagnosis and had
really prescribed a lethal dose that in all likelihood
had killed the man.
Lisa was horrified. Instead of helping she
had actually killed the man through administering
what the doctor ordered. As the months
and years rolled by, this incident would play in
her mind over and over. She believed she had
killed a man. She would never ever let that
happen again. It wasn’t long after this that Lisa
stepped away from the medical profession.
A few years later she married a wonderful
young man. At first the marriage seemed
delightful. They loved each other. They went to
church. They professed Christ as Lord and
Saviour of their lives. They were surrounded by
great friends and family. They had their whole
lives together in front of them. The future
looked bright.
Unusual behaviour
However, as time went by, Lisa’s husband
began noticing some unusual things about her.
She seemed to be overly concerned about her
interaction with people. In some ways it seemed
that she couldn’t just drop things she was
concerned about. She would worry if there was
something she might have said or done that
could have hurt others.
He noticed that she was constantly washing
her hands and applying lotion to them because
they had become almost raw from washing.
She would ask him strange, almost irrational
questions about their friends and family. She
seemed to be obsessed with the concern that
somehow, someway her actions were causing
harm to others. It was becoming clear that Lisa
was dealing with OCD, Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder.
Pastoral support
As her husband met with his pastor, he
explained what was going on behind the scenes
in his house. The pastor tried to console him
but he was beside himself. Through his tears he
relayed that things were getting out of hand.
Lisa was slipping into a world of irrationality.
What was he supposed to do? Nothing
seemed to help. If he brought up her obsessions
she would just deny things and become angry
and bitter. Their marriage was in trouble. He
had not bargained for this. He feared that he
was losing his wife as she was slowly slipping
into a world of uncontrollable paranoia and
We’d used up all our decisions by the
time we crossed into New Mexico and
were running on empty by the time
we got to Vegas. The buffet was an
easy option… and the food was good.
A food obsession
What is it about buffets that makes
us lose sight of reason, ignore our
stomach’s screams of “no more, no
more” and continue to load that plate
until we’ve tasted just about everything
on offer? What is it about the
human psyche that turns mercenary
at the sight of a food-for-all? Is it
about eating every last cent of that
$22? Is it about eating just because
it’s there? Is it about greed or gluttony
or piggery?
For the first time ever I’ve considered
why gluttony made it on the list
of the seven deadly sins. Why this
need to make pigs of ourselves? Why
can’t we just settle for one plate of
what we like and leave the rest? And
even if we attempt to walk away, our
carbohydrate-laden weaker wills are
called back by the buffet devils whispering,
“Go on, you have room for
just a little more”.
irrational behaviour.
He explained to his
pastor that he and Lisa
had met with a psychologist.
However,
instead of helping,
the psychologist had
only made things
worse by giving a
label to Lisa’s
condition. The
psychologist
made all sorts of
technical claims
as to the root
causes for her
condition but was
really no help at
all. Now she seemed
even more obsessed
with the fact that she
was dealing with her
obsessions. Now that it
had a name, she could
justify her behaviour.
Biblical counselling
A food attack
Over the course of two evenings I
watched my fellow diners return to
the line three or four times to load up
their plates with food, food and more
food. And, to my shame, I was right
there beside them. All of me. In fairness,
they usually started with a salad
and then moved on to pasta and then
to the carvery and finally to dessert.
And don’t Italians do more or less
the same very day, I told myself, in an
effort to convince my conscience that
I hadn’t become yet another victim of
buffetitis. They do, yes, but not in
these quantities.
Taking refuge from the scorching
heat and the smoke-filled casinos, I
took to watching cable TV. Ad after
ad showed all-you-can-eat ribs, allyou-can-eat
chicken wings, all-youcan-eat
seafood. All you can eat… is it
any wonder America has an obesity
problem?
A food problem
But then I remembered the last
time I was in Verandah - a great little
The
counsellors
pointed out to her the
reality that whatever had
happened had not been her
fault. They explained to her that if
God is sovereign over all things
including this incident, then there
was really nothing different she could
have done. The whole matter was
clearly in God’s hands and not hers.
The counsellors encouraged Lisa
with the biblical truth that “God
causes all things to work
together for good to those who
love God, to those who are
called according to
His purpose”.
The pastor suggested that they meet a couple
in the church who were experienced and welltrained
biblical counsellors. Her husband
approached Lisa with the idea but she was
reluctant. Eventually she agreed and they began
working through her issues with the counsellors.
They were able to trace her erratic behaviour
right back to the incident in the hospital
where the man had died through Lisa’s efforts
to save him.
In her mind it was her fault and she could not
get over it. The counsellors pointed out to her
the reality that whatever had happened had not
been her fault. They explained to her that if
God is sovereign over all things including this
incident, then there was really nothing different
she could have done. The whole matter was
clearly in God’s hands and not hers.
The counsellors encouraged Lisa with the
biblical truth that “God causes all things to
work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His
purpose”.
restaurant in Budapest’s District IX.
It, too, has an all-you-can eat buffet
lunch. And there, too, people heap
their plates high - something of
everything. They might not go back
for second and third helpings,
instead making sure that their first
go around captures it all. A false
economy methinks.
The main visible difference in
Budapest is that the holder of the
laden plate is usually a svelte, size 8,
which is in sharp contrast with the
chubby size 18s and even 28s on
show in Vegas. When I see slim
young things put away so much
food, I’m left wondering just how
long a union break the food gods
get.
And the non-Christian part of me
snickers and thinks to myself: just
you wait. One day, you’re going to
wake up fat and forty. Try then to
squeeze yourself down an airplane
aisle without bumping anyone off.
- Mary Murphy is a freelance writer
and public speaker, who has developed a
whole new appreciation for the concept of
“in moderation”. Read more on
www.stolenchild66.wordpress.com
Problem solved
They explained that even though a
horrible thing had taken place,
God was still in control and had
allowed it to take place for His
purposes. They explained
that not only was God in
control of all things, but
He is loving and good
and is ultimately out to
bless and help her.
All Lisa really
needed to know was
how much God loved
her and how much
God wanted to help
her through putting
away these obsessions.
It was the knowledge of
God’s perfect love for
her that would cast off all
her fears and anxieties.
All she needed to do was to
trust Him with her life and
future.
The tears poured out as she
heard these things. Could she
really be set free from all this just
through trusting God? They prayed
together and asked God to help her.
Soon and with continued help from her
pastor and counsellors, Lisa began to turn away
from her dysfunctionality. Her bouts of obsession
became fewer and further between. All the
while her husband remained by her side as he
had promised on their wedding day: “In sickness
and in health.”
Happy ever after
Today Lisa and her family are doing very well.
Every now and then those old thoughts creep
back but she has learned to make every thought
captive to the obedience of Christ. Through
trusting God she now sees how richly He has
blessed her, and she now knows with certainty
that her future is safe and secure with Him.
– Reverend Bradley S. Belcher is the senior pastor
with the International Baptist Church of Budapest,
www.ibcbudapest.org. Should you have a question or
comment regarding this column, email
editor@bzt.hu.