Erasmus Experience in Budapest, Hungary by Greg

Why did you choose to go to Budapest, Hungary?

I'm from the UK so I wanted to explore somewhere different and I took the opportunity to do so in a city where I knew there was a big student community.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I am here for 5 months and I received about £900 from Erasmus at my home university in the UK. Budapest is quite a cheap city (compared to London, and probably many other cities/countries too) so this was very helpful.

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What is the student lifestyle like in Budapest?

There's a large international student population in Budapest, which is great for meeting new people from all over the world. This semester there were weekly pub nights, where BME Erasmus students would meet, talk and have a drink (or more than one). I believe that for other universities (i. e. ELTE) there are similarly well-organised meet-ups.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Budapest to other students?

I would really recommend staying in Budapest, even if just for a semester (like I am doing). For me, it's fantastic to live in another place, experience a different culture and meet new people of a similar age. The architecture is great, everywhere you look there's a building with some cool design details. Although as a side note, beware that things aren't so well organised (at least compared to my home university in the UK); but this isn't a huge issue and it's all part of the different experience!

What is the food like?

I enjoy Hungarian food. It's largely meat-based, although as Budapest is a big city, it's always simple to find vegetarian options too. Many dishes are stews, of beef/turkey/chicken (eg the popular "goulash" which is a stew/soup of beef with different vegetables like potato and carrot). Stuffed cabbage is also popular here and is actually quite tasty. Generally I thought that the food was quite good, but as I said, because you will be living in a main city, it's always possible to find every kind of food (Indian, oriental etc. ) if you so wish.

Goulash

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Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Budapest?

I used the Erasmusu website to find my flat near to Deák Ferenc Tér, which cost a bit for a subscription fee for a month, but really not too much money.

How much does it cost to live in Budapest?

Living expenses are always relative. For me, compared to prices in the UK, living in Budapest is really quite cheap. For example, prices for fruit and vegetables at the supermarket are very low. Meat can be more expensive, but I suppose that is the same in most cities. Eating out at restaurants isn't very expensive - you can get a nice meal for 5 or 6 euro, or perhaps a bit more if you go to a fancier place.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

I found the language one of the most challenging things. It is a tricky language to learn (so I'm told by students who took courses at BME) but I didn't have any courses myself. If you're interested in learning some Hungarian, I'm pretty sure that there are courses available and I often see adverts for personal tutoring in Hungarian language, so that's an option too.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Budapest from your city?

As I'm from London, the easiest way is to fly (unless you want to take lots of trains, this is the best option).

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Budapest?

What I really like about Budapest is that there are so many cool bars and pubs.

• The very popular Szimpla Kert is I think one of my favourite "ruin pubs". It has multiple bars inside, lots of different rooms with interesting lights and is generally a really fun atmosphere.

As for clubs, there are also lots of these. Many places are both bars and clubs, for example:

• "Instant"
• "Fogashauz", which has a club attached called "Larm".

Other clubs which are good are:

• "Corvintető", which has a rooftop bar and different types of music depending on the night of the week.
• "A38 ship", which is boat near to Petofi hid (bridge) where you can find different local and international bands playing.

There are also club nights and touring DJs visit here. If you're into the electronic/drum and bass scene, "PRLMNT" is a cool place to go (I saw London Elektricity, Metrik and a few other DJs play here).

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And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Budapest?

Eating is also personal preference, but I really like going to "Zellar Bistro" (it's the 2nd top rated restaurant in Budapest on Tripadvisor). It's a bit more fancy than other places, so costs a bit more, but it's a nice place to go if you want to show some friends or family a family-run restaurant with good food and wine.

Other than that, I enjoy "Thai Wok Bar", which is a kind of fast-food Oriental food bar, with meals usually costing about 1600 HUF (just over 5 euro). The Burger market on Kiraly utca is also a nice place for a quick but tasty burger and fries. The cool thing about this city is that there's somewhere to eat almost everywhere you look.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Lots:

• The parliament building, which is a really impressive structure.
• The various synagogues in the Jewish District.
• All the bridges are quite interesting architecturally (I especially liked Liberty Bridge).
• Margaret Island, which has a park on and is also a good place to run (a rubber track runs around the roughly 5. 5km perimeter of the island).
• There are also museums.
• The palace buildings.
• The castle district I particularly enjoyed.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Budapest in the future?

If you would like an opportunity to meet new people from different parts of the world, be involved in a large student population, enjoy a city with a fun night-life scene but also amazing architecture, good food, and interesting culture; then Budapest could be for you. As with lots of things, it's a life experience... so why not?!