Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Budapest Today
There have been some good, some bad and some ugly happenings in Bud-
apest in recent years. The city has welcomed all sorts of innovations, from
modes of transport to a whole new world of fun and games. The economy
coughs and wheezes, but it still breathes. And a national election has returned
the old guard with more power than ever.
Capital of Nightlife
They say that good things come to those who wait. Long in its gestation but quick in its de-
livery, Budapest is now the crowned king (or would that be queen?) of nightlife in Europe.
Clubs - especially the outdoor 'garden' ones - heave throughout the week in summer, 'ruin
pubs' (a Budapest phenomenon that has been imitated elsewhere but never feels quite the
same) are filled to the brim and everyone wants just one last shot of
pálinka
(fruit brandy).
Along with all the bopping and grooving, there's a new pursuit in town: the city is now the
undisputed nerve centre of live escape games, innovative pastimes in which teams of players
are locked into a set of rooms - often in disused apartment blocks - and attempt to set them-
selves free by working through a series of complex riddles. The choice of venues is amazing
and there's a wealth of different games on offer.
Old Guard, New Guard
In the current political environment, nay-sayers and whingers (and there are plenty of both
here - Hungarians are said to 'take their pleasure sadly'; the fact that there's a phrase for it
says it all) might be forgiven for conjuring up images of a fiddling Nero with a burning Rome
as backdrop.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was returned to power in April 2014 with just 45% of the
vote. But a series of changes in the election laws - including halving the number of MPs and
allowing gerrymandering - transformed this into a two-thirds parliamentary mandate. 'Viktat-
or' (as he is sometimes called in the opposition press) has been accused at home and abroad -
often by EU officials - of too much nationalism, of politicising the judiciary and the central
bank, and of stirring up ethnic tensions and suppressing media freedom.
Media reports show an increase in attacks on ethnic Roma people in recent years. In a sur-
vey conducted by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency, some 48% of Jews questioned in
Hungary said that they had considered emigrating because of safety concerns.
