hungary , worlds most unfriendly place

moe_sizlak

im just back from my 2nd trip to budapest and the more i visit the place , the less i like it , while its a nice city albeit over rated in my opinion in terms of beauty and the fact that for a country who,s economy is on its knees is still very expensive , the hungarian people are without doubt thees most unfriendly people i have ever met , they are truly horrible , there are unhelpfull , they are cold , they dont talk to you at all ( not even the taxi drivers ) , its quite extrordinary really , the only upside is the women are incredibly busty

supermouse

Was there in Feb 07 as a surprise birthday present for Himself.

He's only started talking to me again lately

Nah not as drastic as that but its a disaster of a place, MINGING and the people are downright nasty!!

Karoma

moe_sizlak wrote: »

im just back from my 2nd trip to budapest and the more i visit the place , the less i like it , while its a nice city albeit over rated in my opinion in terms of beauty and the fact that for a country who,s economy is on its knees is still very expensive , the hungarian people are without doubt thees most unfriendly people i have ever met , they are truly horrible , there are unhelpfull , they are cold , they dont talk to you at all ( not even the taxi drivers ) , its quite extrordinary really , the only upside is the women are incredibly busty

Budapesti != Hungarian.

I spent a few months living in Budapest and some time spent in other parts of Hungary. I was of the impression that, in Budapest, the people there must be what foreigners in Ireland think of the Dubs albeit less annoyingly chatty.
Budapest: I've found that they tend to not talk to strangers unless they have to - this is city culture, not just Hungarians. They tend to be polite and helpful when you do get chatting to them, even if it doesn't seem like it (They don't tend to smile much.)
I think you have to keep in mind that by world standards Irish and English are excessively polite (Despite how it may feel sometimes...).


Outside of Budapest, people seem a lot friendlier. Although, there is an overwhelming sense of defensiveness, paranoia (They were a Soviet state - they grew up suspecting each other. I've found it to be a common trait of other former Soviet states too.), and at the moment - they do seem cheesed off at the cost of living and with their government... a lot of parallels between the Irish and Hungarians, TBH.

shepthedog

I was there recently and have very similar experiences.. The city is beautiful but the people are so rude.. They just stared at you. We were beginning to get paranoid by the end of the trip..

Karoma

shepthedog wrote: »

I was there recently and have very similar experiences.. The city is beautiful but the people are so rude.. They just stared at you. We were beginning to get paranoid by the end of the trip..

That was my first impression too, but I soon realised that they just look everyone in the eye/face.
There's no fear of offending some little scumbag like in Ireland by doing so. I've honestly never felt safer in any other city.

moe_sizlak

having gotten some feedback from other threads , the consensus is most definatley that hungarians are an extremly unpleasant people

as regards the comment that they were under the russian thumb and thats the reason for there personality , i once suggested that to someone , they replied , no no , its because there a germanic people

which makes sense really , anyway , poland was under the soviet curtain aswell and the poles are a lovely friendly people

moe_sizlak

Karoma wrote: »

Budapesti != Hungarian.

I spent a few months living in Budapest and some time spent in other parts of Hungary. I was of the impression that, in Budapest, the people there must be what foreigners in Ireland think of the Dubs albeit less annoyingly chatty.
Budapest: I've found that they tend to not talk to strangers unless they have to - this is city culture, not just Hungarians. They tend to be polite and helpful when you do get chatting to them, even if it doesn't seem like it (They don't tend to smile much.)
I think you have to keep in mind that by world standards Irish and English are excessively polite (Despite how it may feel sometimes...).


Outside of Budapest, people seem a lot friendlier. Although, there is an overwhelming sense of defensiveness, paranoia (They were a Soviet state - they grew up suspecting each other. I've found it to be a common trait of other former Soviet states too.), and at the moment - they do seem cheesed off at the cost of living and with their government... a lot of parallels between the Irish and Hungarians, TBH.

a lot of parrellels between the irish and hungarians

what tosh

mac123

budapest is expensive? certainly not!! i didnt find the people that unfriendly either, mainly talked to younger people over there though! i found most people fairly helpful when it came to directions and information, maybe i was just lucky though.

jrar

I was in Budapest as recently as December - yeah sure, some people can be a little brusque but you can say that about any group of people within any nationality. Certainly English isn't as widely spoken esp. amongst the middle and older generation so that doesn't help in terms of making contact, but I found younger people spoke good English on the whole and were more than happy to chat etc.

I don't think one can damn or praise a whole nation's people on their friendliness factor, purely on the basis of contact with a relatively small selection of people, many of whom cannot speak your language (English) !

Fozzie Bear

jrar wrote: »

I was in Budapest as recently as December - yeah sure, some people can be a little brusque but you can say that about any group of people within any nationality. Certainly English isn't as widely spoken esp. amongst the middle and older generation so that doesn't help in terms of making contact, but I found younger people spoke good English on the whole and were more than happy to chat etc.

I don't think one can damn or praise a whole nation's people on their friendliness factor, purely on the basis of contact with a relatively small selection of people, many of whom cannot speak your language (English) !

Same as that. Myself and my missus were there (Budapest) for a week last March and we found the people to be helpful and friendly. I was actually surprised by the amount of people who spoke fluent English. We bumped into some Jehovahs witnesses and it turns out the lady who approached us had lived in Cabra, Dublin for a number of years. Any restaurants or pubs we went to most of the staff could converse with us and were only to happy to recommend places to go and see. We also went to a Supermarket and a cake shop and despite the lady having no English she persevered with us as we tried to order and smiled all the way....

I think its extremely harsh to not just condemn an entire city but an entire country as unfriendly because of some bad experiences. You can come across ignorant and unfriendly types in any part of our own country but would you classify Ireland as unfriendly?

Polar101

Surprised to read this, really. The few Hungarians I know are very friendly, and some of my family like visiting Budapest because they find the people very nice.

jdivision

Was in Budapest about three years ago and everyone there was extremely friendly. gotta go to a few kerts. Staff in more touristy areas were a bit more standoffish but those are types of places I'd want to avoid anyway. Staff in underground were rude alright but that was it

missingtime

Was there aswell and to be honest its only the people who have to deal with tourists day in day out who seemed to be cranky.

I had a blast there...really good fun. The women are well hot too

gibbon75

I just wrote a huge reply,but than I deleted it...the OP would call me unfriendly and unpleasent after reading it (as I'm a hungarian)

Just a few thoughts:
People don't talk to you beacuse only the younger generation speaks english.
By the nature of the hungarian history most people HAD to learn german or russian.And bear in mind the irish accent isn't the easiest to understand.
People don't stare at you just looking for eye contact.This is an eastern european thing,just like the firm handshake.We don't generaly speak or greet strangers who we met on the streets.Although you would experience the opposite of this behaviour in villages,rural areas etc. (just like in Ireland...)
We smile and laugh a lot indeed,but only when it comes natural and honest.
You don't have to fake a smile to be polite,nice or professional with a customer/tourist/visitor etc.I hate the "How are uuuu" and big grin combination (I think this an american thing which seems to be more popular over here too...)
But as Karoma wrote:lot of paralells between Irish and Hungrians.
As my buddy Kieran said the other day:"You are the closest thing to a paddy I ever met"

ps:Sorry if my thoughts didn't come through,but english is only my fourth language,as I HAD to learn german and russian before

zenzen

hey all, just had to chip in with my experience in hungary! i must say it was the thing that struck us most over there, was just how sound and friendly everyone was! i found the people to be really friendly and so helpful. the amount of people that went out of their way to help us was unreal. we arrived at the airport & an old guy got the ticket from the bus vending machine etc without us asking because we couldnt work it out... on the bus from the airport an old man with no english showed us where to get off for the tube station, without us asking or anything. lovely lovely people in my experience! it was just the small guestures really, its nice.

would love to go back for this reason. friendliest place i've ever been i'd say!!! its funny how experiences differ...you can have a bad experience too i guess. but hey its a big place so many different people and experiences out there!

steo123

was in budapest c0uple years ago and would never go bk!never

people were downright ignorant and tense atmosphere and somewhat dangerous

no thanks

however the hungarian women are savage but no irish lads have a chance

we are an awful ugly race in comparison

gibbon75

@zenzen

I'm happy you liked the place

@steo123

Could you explain please what made you feel unsafe over there
By the way we are the same race,only different nation

dbrazil

Hungary is a greta place , have been there possibly 20 times in last few few years, Budapest is a great city, People are friendly and courteous, Paddys do in fact stand a chance with the women as I can preach about cause I married a very hot girl from Hungary, and 2 of my friends are engaged to 2 more great ladies from Hungary.

Maybe before Irish people start to judge people in other countrys think of how xenaphobic we have become in judging other nationalites who live amongst us here in Ireland. , perhaps ask the question how many of us ever try to speak the native tongue of a country which we visit, perhaps we irish want to be american, very false abrasive with fake smiles and happy just to appear nice but behind it all just cant wait for the person to walk on by so when can bitch and moan.

Raekwon

steo123 wrote: »

however the hungarian women are savage but no irish lads have a chance

we are an awful ugly race in comparison

+1

I was in Budapest a few summers ago and some of the women that I saw were jaw-droppingly beautiful & not wearing very much either

gibbon75

dbrazil
Where did you meet your wife at the first time:Hungary or Ireland?
Did she tell you about the crazy hungarian weddings ?

gibbon75

Raekwon wrote: »

+1

I was in Budapest a few summers ago and some of the women that I saw were jaw-droppingly beautiful & not wearing very much either

When I was in high school we couldn't wait for May,as this is the first real hot month when the girls starting to wear less clothes

steo123

reaekon:strip clubs dont count

dbraZIL:just because i found the peopleignorant that doesnt make me racist

the average irishman wouldnt stand a chance

pig ugly

return guide

moe_sizlak wrote: »

im just back from my 2nd trip to budapest and the more i visit the place , the less i like it , while its a nice city albeit over rated in my opinion in terms of beauty and the fact that for a country who,s economy is on its knees is still very expensive , the hungarian people are without doubt thees most unfriendly people i have ever met , they are truly horrible , there are unhelpfull , they are cold , they dont talk to you at all ( not even the taxi drivers ) , its quite extrordinary really , the only upside is the women are incredibly busty

Sounds good to me, it shows some bad things about you that the only good aspect of the whole country you could report back was that they had 'busty' women.

Raekwon

steo123 wrote: »

reaekon:strip clubs dont count

the average irishman wouldnt stand a chance

pig ugly

Ah will you behave! Go to Budapest in July and you will see plenty of stunners wearing summer shorts and bellytops.

Btw the average Irishman always has a chance............you must be the 'Rocky Dennis' looking exception

MarkPH

I was in Budapest recently and would only have good things to say about the place and the people. Found them very helpful and friendly and even though I was expecting more of a language barrier, any one we were in contact with was very good and made an effort to talk in English. My limits of hello, please, thank you and goodbye in their native tongue was about it, but still we got by without any hassle.

Did have a couple of taxi drivers who were dickheads, ranting and raving in Hungarian and couldnt explain what was wrong. i went back into the hotel to try sort it, and the porter guy just gave a look to another porter and went out and ripped into the taxi driver and got it sorted. Most rude people I found on the whole trip were Italian groups, especially old (50/60+) age groups who were incredibly rude and abrasive. But it doesnt mean the whole country is rude or unfriendly.

Anyway, highly recommend Budapest, wondeful city with some great sights and great food too.

gordon_gekko

ive been to budapest twice in the past 2 yrs on business and i agree with the OP , only i have a place there , i would never set foot in the joint

i agree that not even the taxi drivers will talk to you , ive no problem with people making eye contact , i do that myself
the food is also crap , besides hungarian cusine is know internationally to be pretty grim ,
the people are just cold in my opinion , was told by an irish man who lives there that there a germanic people and we all know how friendly the germans are
its not a cheap city by any means either
that said the women there have the best cleavage ive ever seen and there not shy about showing it

irish people are abover average along with english people in terms of friendliness so perhaps i need to keep that in mind
i would include italians and spanish too

gibbon75

gordon gekko

Our ancestors moved to Europe about 1100 years ago (one part of the tribe went up to North,they are the finns now...)They were living by the Ural Mountains.During our history and wars we mixed with turks,germans,russians and other surrounding nations.
So we are not germanic at all...

About the food:
Because the irish food isn't crap

PRman

What do people reckon about Budapest for a stags then? I'm getting mixed reports here!!

Royale with Cheese

Did an interrailing trip around central Europe a few years back. Budapest was definitely our least favourite city. Just didn't really like the place.

missmatty

I've been twice and I wasn't mad about it either time, unfortunately, and I've been all over Europe. Then again I can understand how people who work in touristy places can get grumpy and how a lot of the older people don't speak English.

Amazotheamazing

Was in Budapest last Jan and I thought it was class, really great time had by all. Would recommend it to anyone.

PRman

After the stags I doubt if Budapest could be called the worlds most unfriendly place. I thought it was a class city - some of the best bars in the world! One called buda beach which was on the banks of the danube was spectacular. Great place to watch the sun rise! We got a guided tour with www.budapestpissup.com which I would recommend especially for a stags. Didn't find the people overly friendly but felt at ease everywhere.... Would defo go back...

dudara

We were there for a weekend in February and while it wasn't unpleasant, it wasn't one of my favourite weekends away either. It just didn't open itself up to me or something (though having said that, the thermal baths are just fantastic and our hotel staff couldn't have been nicer and more helpful).

Samhain

I was there in February for 8 days as part of a mixed group of 7. Our hostel, although a bit rough and ready was cheap as chips (€6 per night) and we met some great people there. It was in a really nice area (Oktogon/Andrassy Street) We found the food & service in most places to be excellent, we ate in some fantastic restaurants for around €25 a head for 3 courses inc. drinks. The Thermal baths were fabulous and only about 4-6 euro for a 4 hour session with massages for about 12 euro per half hour. Some of the people were stern but you coudnt blame them when we didnt make any effort to speak their language. The only blatantly ignorant person we encountered was a barmaid in a scottish bar. I have never felt so safe in a foreign city, the public transport is brilliant and there is loads to do both daytime and night. TBH, I have experienced way worse bad manners in shops/pubs in Ireland than anywhere i have been overseas including Hungary.

I would recommend the following:
Gellert/Schezeyni Thermal Baths.
A38 (Permanently moored boat on the Danube with great food and gigs downstairs, wicked cocktails)
Szimpla Kurt but all the kurts are cool
Magdalena Merlo Italian restaurant on Kiraly St
Absinthe restaurant on Andrassy st
House of Terror
The Citadel on Gellert Hill

Avoid: Luigis restaurant (worst food and service ever and we reckoned the waitress was out of it on yokes)

jells bells

I visited Budapest in November and had a great time...no complaints about the people overall.

Only uncomfortable part was during a visit to Gellert Baths I booked in for a massage. The masseuse had me get fully naked, despite being on a table in the hallway of the dressing area with women AND men all around. There was no strategic placing of towels and sheets either--just full out nekkid, lying on my back, while she chatted with random men who came over to talk with her while she worked. If I remember correctly she was also eating a Snickers bar while she rubbed with one hand…

I wouldn't be particularly body conscious, but that was too much for me. Couldn't relax and the massage was useless.

Otherwise loved the city and the food...would definitely return.

sebastianlieken

I think Budapest was quite nice, no qwalms with the place. It was however our stop just after Prague, so I feel I didnt really appreciate it as much as I could of. Non the less, I found it quite a pleasant city. Come to think of it now actually, the restaurants on the main touristy restaurant street were quite overpriced and the waiters were rude and the food was terrible.

bratislava tough! OMFG, what a HOLE, the people there are the most depressing and unfriendly peolpe ive ever seen. It actually is as bad as it sounds. and the homeless people! FFS,

Funny story though; there was a waiting room at the trainstation in bratislava with approx 20 homeless people sleeping on the benches (smelly and musky room...wow), anywho, my friend THREW a flippin fistful of coppers into the middle of the room....holy mother of christ....THAT was FOOKIN FUNNY, didnt really see what happened though as we decided to leg it! funny non the less

[/nostalgic rant]

bills

I think budapest is a great city & would definetely reccomend it to people. There are loads of nice cheap restaurants & plenty of sightseeing to do. The baths are great too & just something so different from most cities. Also, went to an open air nightclub called buddha beach-really good fun & drink was cheap. We found the people really friendly & helpful so I dont know where people got that from but i suppose everyone is different.