Have you ever wondered what hungarian people are like? What describes them?
I asked several famous travel bloggers who have visited Hungary at least once, to share their views.
I simply asked them: If you had to describe the hungarian people with only 3 words, what 3 words would you use?
The answers quite surprised me, because… I’ll tell you in the end. Until then, see it for yourself!
The answers are organized chronologically, those who answered first are at the top. I included their whole answers.
1. Dr Paul Johnson, Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog.
“Smart,
Friendly,
Resourceful.”
2. Candice Walsh – FreeCandie.com
“It’s been awhile since my visit, but from what I remember, Hungarians are:
Honest,
Friendly,
Proud.
I’m not sure how to elaborate on those, I just had the sense that Hungarians had a really good sense of “self.”
3. Matthew Kepnes – NomadicMatt.com
“Helpful,
Serious,
Warm.”
4. Norbert Figueora – Globotreks.com
“I would describe Hungarians as
jovial,
welcoming,
social-minded.”
5. Erin Bender – Travel with Bender
“Warm,
Inviting,
Cheerful”
6. Justin Carmack– TrueNomads.com
“Really Difficult Language.
Really Pretty Girls.”
7. Alexander Richard Hoskinson – Alex Will Travel
“Welcoming
Stubborn
Unique”
8. Barbara Weibel – Hole in the Donut
“I think the residents of rural Hungary exhibit different qualities than the city dwellers. However, after giving it some thought, I think the following three words would pertain to all Hungarians:
Generous,
stoic,
hopeful.
What I see is that residents of Budapest are in much better shape economically.
I visit far Eastern Hungary, almost all the way to the Ukraine border. It’s a very poor, rural area, inhabited mostly by elderly people, as most of the young ones have moved to the city. There are few available jobs, and their once-sustainable lifestyle has been negatively affected by the very stringent rules promulgated by the European Commission, which they must abide by in order to maintain membership in the EU.
Even with all this, I find residents in the rural areas to be incredibly warm, welcoming, and giving. So it’s not personality traits as much as economic situation.”
9. Ryazan Tristram – Everything Zany
“Friendly,
Fun,
Caring
Actually, I think 3 words are not enough to describe the Hungarian people. You guys are amazing! The friendliest bunch I met! And you definitely know how to have fun and party.”
10. Abigail King – Inside the TravelLab
“Resilient,
bold,
risk taking.”
11. Joy – My Traveling Joys
“We met many Hungarians while living in Poland and travelling to Budapest. My 3 words would be:
hospitable,
jovial and
pragmatic.
Our Budapest friends invited us over for homemade goulash and we drank some delicious Hungarian red wines together. On other occasion, they gave us some Hungarian paprika and palinka glasses to take home with us. Hungarians may not seem so jovial at first, but share a few glasses of beer or palinka together, and you quickly make friends. In general, I’d also say that Hungarians are a pragmatic bunch and this characteristic could date back to WWII and Communist era times.”
12. Kristin Francis – Souvenir Finder
“Kind
Authentic
Light-hearted”
13. Anita – Travelita
“Proud,
Creative,
Enrooted.”
These responses shocked me a bit… Why, you may ask.
There’s not a single negative answer in them! Foreigners see hungarian people in a positive way! Isn’t that great? 🙂
At this point I had the idea: why not ask hungarians the exact same question?
So I posted a question on my facebook account.
Well, I had to admit that it’s harder to answer such a question if you’re hungarian. Still, I could see a huge difference:
The majority of hungarian people describe themselves with negative words… I got answers like:
“Bitter, family-centric, responsibility-adverse
Disappointed, neglectful, unbelieving
Beautiful, strong, hard-working
Pessimist, smarty
Tough, unlucky, strenuos
Persistent, prejudiced, mask-wearers.”
Not exactly all that positive… Here’s a screenshot, if you speak hungarian:
The conclusion for me (as a hungarian man):
Just a reminder for them:
Have you ever been in Hungary, or known any hungarians? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Hungarians as a people have a strong need for psychological therapy. Delusions of grandeur combine with feelings of persecution. There is a general pessimism about life and a feeling that nothing g
ood can happen in Hungary. Hungary has no heroes, no universally admired public figures. Few professions are respected or trusted. All in all, pretty sad.
Sadly enough, I partly agree with you. Hungarians should believe in themselves more and they need to think way more positively. On the contrary, we have many fabulously creative people here.
As this writing proves, anybody who comes here see us positively – so we should see ourselves too!
NO Magyar HEROES – YOU’RE INSANE!
Cynical would be another description.
Some education may be in order: http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/FamousHungarians/nobel.htm
http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/FamousHungarians/filmartsandmedia.htm
http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/FamousHungarians/sports.htm
http://www.biography.com/people/groups/hungarian
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/made-in-hungary-andrew-l-simon/1121696687?ean=9780966573428
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hungarian_Americans
There was a time in the USA (60s) when ALL the major symphonic orchestars had Hungarian conductors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Hungarian_conductors_(music)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hungarian_painters
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/nationalities/Hungarian.html
I think some stunning Hungarian woman broke your heart. How else can you explain your vitriolic and clearly unfounded mouthing off?
I have been travelling and living abroad for 3 years and experienced many different cultures. For the the last 5 weeks I have lived in Budapest, Hungary. I lived outside of the tourist area, as i enjoy experiencing the real country, not the shiny bits that make tourists happy. I am saddened to say my experience here is the opposite of the travel bloggers quoted above. Overall I found Hungarian people unfriendly and very narrow minded. A welcoming smile or hello from me was rarely returned – A smile is a rare thing in this city. Unless you meet a Hungarian who works in tourism, they are generally unapproachable and will rarely, if ever, strike up a conversation on their own accord.
I asked some Hungarians I know why the people here are like this and the common answer was ‘oh, it’s just a culture shock’ but unfortunately in my case I have experienced many cultures and Hungarians are at the top of the most unfriendly list.
The city (Budapest) is stunning, but what makes a country great is the people and sadly the beauty of the city is not enough to overcome the general cold attitudes of most here.
The three words i would use to describe Hungarians are cold, stoic, and unapproacable.
I’m not trying to bash or be controversial. Just expressing my experience and what it was like. I highly suspect all the ‘travel bloggers’ above stayed in the shiny tourist areas.
I’m sorry you had an unpleasant experience with us. The sad truth is that I agree with you…
If you go outside of the touristy areas, people are not open to foreigners.
That’s why, when I traveled to Australia, it was a culture shock to me that strangers on the street started conversations with me!