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.
