Photo of the week: Field near Villany

Beautiful shot of a field near Villany, the famous Hungarian wine region.

Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism

One of the most interesting museums in Hungary happens to be also one of the less known, a great chance for residents and tourists for a different, original day at the museum. In fact the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest is the only museum of this kind in the world.

Originally founded in 1966, after many attempts and experimenting, only to collect memoirs from the catering industry, the museum started exhibiting trade history relics as well in 1970. In the catering history collection you can find furniture, equipment and tools from restaurants and confectioner’s shops, while in the trade history collection you have signboards, name-boards, store furniture and equipment, tools and scales, as well as of tools of trade administration, merchandise samples, merchandise boxes and bottles, souvenirs and promotion materials. Keep in mind that those are all part of the Permanent Exhibition, closed at the moment but due to reopen on October 19th.

If that was enough the Temporary Exhibitions are between the most original in the world. From now until the end of 2009 you can find:

Sacher: an exhibition telling you everything about the history of the famous cake and Austrian hotel.

Catering on the Hungarian railways in the 60s: memories of the blue logos on the railway stations of Lake Balaton, nice dining cars with Herendi porcelain plates, well-dressed conductors in the sleeping-cars.

The juice of lemon – Lemon squeezers: Who would have thought? Such an ordinary object can have incredible shapes and colors. You can see the most gripping pieces from the Swedish Anders Alvarsson’s collection of lemon squeezers.

We are opening… Posters in the socialism: Posters from 1945 to 1989 reflecting the various trends that characterized that era; also informing us on what products were advertised most, what kind of stores were typical, and what slogans were used in a given time.

More info:

Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism Home Page

Museum.hu: Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism

Cultural Budapest

Photo of the week: Balaton Morning

A beautiful morning on the shore of Lake Balaton.. pure relax!

Buda Castle Labyrinth

Did you know that just under the Buda Castle Hill there’s a complex of caves and cellars that goes for miles? A good part of it is called the Buda Castle Labyrinth, and can be visited joining one of the guided tours provided by the cultural association looking after it, Budavári Labirintus.

The labyrinth is indeed a fascinating place, and the tours don’t really take away any of the magic, as many of them take place during the night, with lanterns provided to the visitors as the only lights available.

Many passages, corridors vaults and halls are visible, all with fascinating names like The Prehistoric Labyrinth, the Shaman Passage, the Path of the Magic Deer and more. The Labyrinth is such an unreal and magic location that has also been described as one of the 7 Underground Wonders of the World.

If you’re looking for even more excitement you can book a personal tour, where you’ll go down totally on your own and in pitch dark, while if it is romance that you’re after you can book the Labyrinth of Love tour. It take place only at night, with the woman and the man going into two different paths that will eventually meet in a space with very special atmosphere. Sounds like a great place to propose!

Admission Fees

20% Off with Budapest Card