Welcome to Budapest, this ever-changing city of ours that will be home for you for the next couple of years.
Let’s start with the facts. Budapest has three major parts: large and flat Pest, hilly Buda with the castle on top, and northwestern Óbuda. The city boasts 23 districts (the main CEU building is in the 5th), a relatively reliable public transport system with four subway lines (metró in Hungarian, usually referred to by their colors), a vibrant night life, thermal baths galore, spectacular 19th century architecture, and all the modern conveniences you expect to find in a Central European capital.
Before you get the hang of how Budapest works, here’s what you need to know to survive your first days here.
The men and women loitering at metro stations are ticket inspectors. There’s a good chance they don’t speak any English, so just show them your validated ticket or monthly pass and move on. Ticket inspectors (in plain clothes) will also board the metro or tram to check tickets during the ride. They affix their official armband and produce their badges after the tram/metro starts moving and usually check all passengers in the car in which they are riding. Fines are quite steep for riding without a validated ticket, so make sure you are always traveling with a valid ticket or monthly pass.
Budapest is increasingly more and more bike friendly with many rental companies and designated bike lanes in some parts of the city. If you don't want to purchase a bike, you can borrow one through CEU's bike-sharing program: http://www.ceu.hu/sites/default/files/attachment/basic_page/10919/ceubikesceubikeshare.pdf.
Your grocery bill at the supermarket might show an ordinary number ending in 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 9. However, you shouldn’t start searching for 1 forint coins, because they do not exist. Hungarian forints (Ft or HUF) come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 forint coins and 500, 1,000, 2,000, 10,000, and 20,000 forint banknotes.
Shops are either closed on Sundays or work with shorter opening times. Saturday hours are often limited too. Malls are generally open longer hours and sometimes even on holidays. On national holidays, almost all retail stores (with the exception of some small neighborhood convenience stores) are closed but museums and other cultural buildings are usually open. Service charges are sometimes included in restaurant bills in Budapest. However, if not, tipping recommendations are 10 to 15 percent
Hungarians use szia (sounds like “see ya”) and hello both for informal greetings and saying goodbye. It might be confusing at first, but you’ll get used to it.
The language, Hungarians call it and themselves “Magyar,” is challenging and Budapesters may not appear to be the most cheerful of folks at first glance, but they’re an ok lot, you’ll see. In a couple of days you’ll learn that although the amount or kind of cheese and cold cuts you think you asked for never exactly matches what you get at the deli counter of your local supermarket, the slightest attempt on your part to communicate in Hungarian (or in an internally accepted form of sign language) on your part will be greatly appreciated. Just try saying köszönöm (koh-soh-nohm) instead of thank you and you’ll be fine.
For more practical information on life at CEU in particular and in Hungary in general, see http://www.ceu.hu/oo.
