Before you visit a new country you check the most famous places that are worth visiting. These can be historical sites, museums, restaurants and many other different kinds of places. But sometimes a few facts and some information remains uncovered or can be stuck in our heads in the form of stereotypes. Probably everyone heard the stereotype that: “in England, everyone drinks tea” or “ in Russia even the bears are domesticated and people drink vodka instead of water” and things like these. What’s more - there are plenty of these. Some of them are funny, some of them may be a bit offensive, while the rest is based on true information with a little twist of course. Anyhow, Hungary is not an exemption & regardless of its small size, there are many things that foreigners don’t know about the country or know wrong. For this instance today I’ve decided to jump into the shoes of famous and well-known MythBusters: Adam Savage & Jamie Hyneman. So let’s destroy the biggest myth that foreigners created about Hungary.
1. Budapest or Bucharest?
Does it matter? Isn’t it the same? Why, what’s the difference?
Well… Probably it’s one of the most common mistakes that someone can make regarding Hungary. Hungarians can get pretty much pissed when foreigners mix these two cities. Bucharest is the capital city of Romania while Budapest is the capital of Hungary. Even if the pronunciation is very similar, these cities are nearly 900 km. away from each other. It’s good to know when you type in your destination on the airline’s website while planning your next holiday. You could end up in completely different places/countries.
2. Austro-Hungary or Hungary?
The Austro-Hungarian monarchy was the union of Austria and Hungary from 1867. This union was existing a little bit longer than a half-century. Although these two countries were related to each other politically & economically, they never had much more in common beyond that. Obviously there are some cultural similarities, overlaps in gastronomy and religion but ultimately these countries are still from different roots. Today, Austria and Hungary are neighbours but both countries are independent, free and sovereign states in Europe.
3. Chimney cake - Kürtőskalács or Trdelník?
I bet you know what I`m talking about. Maybe you’ve seen dozens of pictures on social media. Or maybe you’ve already tasted it. But maybe you just heard about it but don’t really know what it is. Whichever group you belong to you should know that this cake became truly international. It’s popular in Vienna, well known in Germany and advertised a lot in Prague. Can be prepared in many different ways with countless options with inside and around of it. However, probably you’re not completely sure where is it originally from and how in reality looks like an authentic chimney cake. Let me uncover for you:
The oldest remained referring document is from 1450 that describes the preparation process of this cake. The first famous recipe of chimney cake is from Transilvania. In reality its the most related to Hungarians of Transilvania in the first place.
At the moment the Hungarian government has initiated the process of recognising the chimney cake as a Hungarian heritage. Anyhow, long story short - the chimney cake is the heritage of all of us. Everyone should try it who likes sweets.
4. The legend of the Finno-Ugric language family.
Some historians and linguists claim that the Finnish and Hungarian languages are related. There are dozens of publications, books and essays that are protecting this theory on the one hand while on the other hand countless other works that say and state the opposite of it. Whatever is the truth, one thing is sure - Finnish and Hungarian do not look or sound similar.
And there are many more of course. Stereotypes, misinterpretations, unclear or twisted information. Learning about different countries for a traveller probably should be part of adventures and discoveries. And the end of the day - knowledge is power & its something that no one can take from you.
