Sixteeen students arrived in Hodmezovasarhely on 25th July from Fukusima, Japan. They are given the opporunity to have a holiday after tsunami destroyed their homes.
They are staying until 6th August and are going to be taken to different parts of Hungary. They will spend some time in Szeged and Opusztaszer too. To make their holiday more convenient some students were asked to help the Japanese group. Students learning Japanese language at Szeged University were willing to offer their help as beside helping them, it is a great opportunity for them to practise the language. They hope to provide them with a unique experience and that the Japanese students will be able to forget their tragedy during their holiday here.
If you like sports you have to be in Szeged between 17th and 21st August.
It is the time when the Kayak Canoe Flatwater World Championship will be held in Szeged for the third time after 1998 and 2006. The best sportsmen and sportswomen are going to be in Szeged at that time from around the world. It is a very important event as this championship is the most important qualification championship for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Over 2000 contestants from more than 90 countries are going to compete in Szeged Maty-er and it is going to be an unforgettable event.
These sports are very popular in Hungary as Hungarians are very successful in these sports so you can be sure the atmosphere will be extraordinary with lots of fans and spectators.
If you go by car you should turn at the 166 exit from the M5 motorway and it is only 3 kms in the direction of Szeged. You will get to a roundabout and from then ont here will be signs showing you the way.
You have to pay for the parking, for a car it is 1000 HUF. From the parking space look for the free buses which take you to the gates. Traffic is usually very heavy so the organisers ask everybody not to walk to the gates.
If you are staying in Szeged you can take the 40C bus which is free to use. In case you arrive by train there are also free buses between the main railway station and Maty-er. Tickets can be bought in advance in any Ibusz office.
Ticket prices are between 800 and 8.900 HUF or you can buy a season ticket which is valid for the whole length of the championship. Prices are between 3.500 and 24.900 HUF.
Szeged Maty-er
Kayak Canoe Flatwater World Championships Szeged 2011
Next weekend there will be a unique programme in Opusztaszer, only 26 kilometres from Szeged. Opusztaszer is the place where the Hungarian tribes arrived 1100 years ago with their leader, Arpad. They hold their first national assembly there and adopted the first laws. At this place you can see the National History Memorial Park which attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Feszty Cyclorama
The main attraction of the park is the Feszty cyclorama, the Arrival of the Magyars, painted by Arpad Feszty. You can also see many traditional buildings and instruments in the park and find out a lot about Hungarian history, traditions and culture. The park is also a place where programmes are organised in connection with how to preserve Hungarian tradition. Between 15th and 17th July the riding programme will be a very good example of that. It will be the greatest and largest cavalcade with horses in 2011 with more than 300 people arriving on horseback. Among them will be six Hungarians from Trasylvania, Csik county, who left for Opusztaszer on 25th June and after a three-week riding in Romania on 10th July arrived in Hungary.
And there will be many more proving that riding traditions are still alive. Lots of programmes are organised for young and old, there will be concerts, puppet shows, archery, traditional folk dance, arts and crafts and most of all anything related to horses and riding.
On Saturday morning you can see the procession of riders to the monument of Arpad and most of the day is dedicated to horse riding.
A unique part of the day will be a performance by Kata Pataky, the only Monty Roberts instructor in Hungary.
She will work with a foul without any previous training and at the end there will be a saddle and a rider on its back! I am sure it will be amusing.
If you are not free on Saturday you can see her on Sunday morning too, with a different foul, of course.
Hungarian people are extremely proud of their traditions and this weekend anyone can see how they are trying to preserve it for the future and for the younger generation.From Szeged you can go by car on road number 5, it only takes about half an hour to reach the National Memorial Park in Opusztaszer. You can also go on the motorway but you have to pay for that. Ticket prices are 2500 HUF and the tickets are valid for all three days. Children under five can visit the cavalcade for free.
Listen to Hungarian folk music just to set the mood!
There are compulsory programmes in Szeged like visiting Dom square or eating fish soupbut there are places an average visitor would not think of going to while on holiday. Such an example of that is visiting a zoo. You can say there are zoos everywhere in the world and if you go on holiday you don’t want to spend your money on that.
But there is a special programme in Szeged zoo. It is not really a zoo, it is more like a wildlife park, where you can see rare species as well, not far from the centre of Szeged. It was opened in 1989 and since then lots of new animals have found a home int he park. The main purpose of the wildlife park is to save endangered species and make their places as natural as possible.
There are no animals in small cages in Szeged. During the summer it offers night visits when you can observe animals after 7 p.m. Going to a zoo at night is very different from visits during the day and there are special programmes organised by the staff.
One of these programmes is the feeding ofanimals which is intriguing. The first animal is either the Siberian tiger or the wolverine around 8 p.m. They are usually very active so visitors can see some action.
Then at about nine you can see the most memorable part, the feeding of lions.
The third part is either the puma, the jaguar or the wolves. All the animals get more meat during the night feedings and usually they have to solve a challenge to get their food. For example the food is put in a sack and they have to find it. There is another event during the night and it is the touching and striking of animals people are usually scared of. Such animals are reptiles, arthropod or amphibian. The purpose is to see that they do us no harm and in many occasions people get over their fear. Children usually love this kind of programmes and enjoy touching animals they cannot meet in everyday life. So if you have seen all the sights or cannot sleep at night go to Szeged zoo and enjoy a late night visit there.
The next time you can visit Szeged zoo at night is 23rd July and after that on 13th August.
One of the most important and well known programmes in Szeged is the Open Air Festival in Dom Square. It starts on 1st July wit the Tragedy of Man by Imre Madach. Between 15th and 23rd July there will be The Merry Widow and on 29th and 30th July, Carmen. The performances are always of very high standard and those who visit any of the performances will sure to be delighted. Another festival in Szeged is the Castle Theatre and Festival which is organised the ninth time this year. There are programmes for both children and adults. Apart from plays and theatrical performances there are other events and activities for the whole family such as sport programmes, arts and crafts, concerts, archery, renessaince playground and much much more. For those who like folk dance and music between the 1st and 3rd July you can see dancers and musicians at the Martin Gyorgy National Folk Dance Festival. There will be performances on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and also folk concerts. If you like art we are happy to recommend you a Hundertwasser exhibition in Reok Palace. Between 13th July and 29th September you will be see about eighty of his works of art. Another traditional event in Szeged is the International Truck Country Festival and this year it will be the 21st, between 15th and 17th July. The programmes will include lots of concerts, competitions and programmes for the whole family. In the courtyard of the Town Hall between 25th July and 7th August you will be able to listen to unforgettable concerts by famous talented musicians. Besides classical music and opera you can also listen to jazz. If the weather is bad the concerts will be held in the smaller theatre.
At the very end of July, on 30th and 31st you can see the flowers of Indian Lotus in Szeged Botanical Garden. It is the only place in Central Europe where you can see this flower blossom. There will be programmes for the whole family and you can also find out more about Indian culture.
