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LOCAL GETAWAYS: TIPS FOR A ROMANTIC NIGHT IN BUDAPEST
PÁRISI UDVAR HOTEL – NEW EXPERIENCES
Experience an iconic monument in the heart of Budapest! Travel back in time through the passage of an elaborately decorated Paris courtyard. The Párisi Udvar revives the Art Nouveau shopping arcade into a palatial hotel where you will experience the spectacle of an architectural gem, an ideal location in the core of the city, as well as enchanted visions of the past, present and future.
This hotel offers different programs at different times of the month such as Champagne Brunch, Wine Tasting Day, Seafood Night, etc. Plenty of options to make your getaway a special day! Make sure to check their Facebook page for upcoming programs and book your romantic stay in!
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CORTILE HOTEL – A CASUAL WEEKEND
Cortile Budapest Hotel puts you right into the heart of the city. This very recently opened boutique hotel is the perfect choice for a tranquil urban escape. Feel the smell of novelty and fresh flowers scattered around the tropical greenery hall. The cheerful staff is ready to provide great personal service, 24/7. Relax in one of the lavishly designed, soundproofed, spacious rooms. Live the moment to the fullest by enjoying the rooftop pool, by the sparkling lights of Budapest.
We have hosted various HUMEN events at their rooftop and it is definitely one of our favorites for a casual drink by the pool with an amazing view. If you book one of their rooms, you won’t have a problem staying in all weekend long, disconnecting yourself from reality without having to leave Budapest.
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Afun weekend getaway with a spontaneous trip abroad, a nice hotel and a romantic evening in seems like some sort of fantasy these days. We bring you 5 LGBT friendly hotels in Budapest that can give you the same feeling, without suffering about border controls and mandatory quarantine. Not to mention you’d be supporting LGBT friendly businesses in Budapest! So why not take a chance?
Just make sure to keep your facemask on in common areas and take care of yourself and others.
SMART HOTEL BUDAPEST – A PLACE TO RELAX
If a relaxing weekend is what you are looking for, book Smart Hotel Budapest. You won’t even need to meet with many people as you can personalize your room with the help of your own smart phone or the located tablets. In addition, the smart wellness area is perfect for relaxation in total privacy, while at the wine and bar terrace you can taste the world-famous Juhász Brothers’ wines. A must-taste is their Egri Bikavér Selection, which is among the highest quality of red wines in Hungary.
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PEST-BUDA HOTEL – FOODIE HEAVEN
Opened first in 1696, Pest-Buda is the country’s oldest hotel in the Castle District. The 17th-century building still has its amazing original baroque roof structure. It served as an inn, tavern and restaurant, which has been open for several centuries. Pest-Buda is the perfect mixture of modern comfort and historical atmosphere, providing all the luxuries you need.
This hotel also has a bistro with quality products prepared through the most advanced culinary techniques, offering delicious traditional Hungarian and Italian dishes, both fine dining and bistro-style food in a glam atmosphere. Give yourself a night in with fantastic food!
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HUNGARY belongs to EVERYBODY – ROMA ACTIVISTS FOR EQUALITY
Dezső Máté, a social researcher and Roma LGBTQ activist, is currently finalizing his PhD, his research topic being social resilience and the values of different Roma generations. “I was curious about the values of the different Roma generations from the 1960s to the present for the visibility and for addressing the issues that affected them. Even today, only middle-class Roma people talk about LGBTQ Roma in public. Not only the Roma community, but also the majority society and the world had to ‘grow up’ to face the issue of Roma identity being a very heterogeneous reality. At present, the acceptance of identity may be the most imday, the emancipatory social movements they had developed portant thing for young Roma LGBTQ people. “Different social in different eras and the forms of social activism present in repressions affect us multiple times, both at Roma, LGBTQ and their lives.” society level. We have started talking about this and we feel
According to Dezső's research, the movement of first-gener- that the message is reaching more and more young Roma ation Roma intellectuals between the 60s and 80s was based LGBTQ people so as not to be ashamed, rather proud of their on cultural emancipation. At the time, the goal was for society Roma or LGBTQ identity. If they are able to do that, they can to recognize that the Roma were an equal part of society, and live a happier, more successful life. Upwards and onwards!” that the community gained visibility through the fine arts. In the case of second-generation Roma intellectuals and activists, cultural emancipation was transformed into political visibility, meaning that the issues of identity, visibility and social equality were brought to the political scene. Then came the third generation, who began to represent the hitherto more Hate is exclusionary, physical endurance and social responsibility in psychic re- destructive, sistance as well as in various forms of knowledge production. “Our generation is able to ask the questions that first- and second-generation Roma activists and intellectuals focused and a game for weak, frustrated people less on. They provided the base to criticize society today and to ask back about how non-Roma movements or academics of previous eras have created different identity policies towards Roma people.” According to Dezső, there are many kinds of activism. Civil law activism, for example, is a visible form of activism that also enters the physical space. But he tries to bring about change differently. “My activism is reflected in my Dezso Mátéefforts to produce and shape knowledge as a Roma person. I ask questions to make social progress happen.”
Dezső first read studies about Roma people at the university – he realized that in public education they do not pass on any knowledge about minorities and do not provide any positive example for Roma children. At around the same time, he also became aware that no one was talking about Roma LG-
BTQ people either in the social sciences or in public. “Our work is pioneering in this respect. We were the first in Hungary and internationally to ask questions about what is Roma LGBTQ identity. What social repression and exclusion do Roma LGBTQ people face? Why weren’t we seen in the past, in sociology or in the media?” The answer is complex. According to Dezső, members of the previous generations could not speak on behalf of the Roma LGBTQ people, as they were simply not prepared
Joci Márton has always been a Roma activist, but after a while he felt he needed to address the Roma LGBTQ topic as well. He was greatly helped in this by the workshops provided by the Central European University or the Uccu Association, where he actually realized that one's identity could comprise many parts and that you can be proud of all of them. “If you can identify with one part of your identity on the same level as I identify with my Roma identity, it helps to process all of your other identities: to see yourself better, clearer, more confidently. The fact that I speak so boldly today about my gayness is thanks to my Roma-ness.”
The visual representation of Roma people, according to Joci, is quite problematic: “When we are not representing ourselves, it is not up to us to decide how people portray us. When writing about Roma, they usually use photos where, for example, you see a Roma person standing in front of a crumbling house, or an especially dirty gas stove. There’s always a background that greatly controls the whole narrative.” That is why the goal of the project was to break the “tradition” of lamentation and victimizing, and instead show proud, strong and positive people – in a way we have not seen the Roma and LGBTQ people so far.
In fact, society sees Roma people in many different ways – the range of stereotypes is endless. Joci himself has encountered the belief that as a Roma LGBTQ man, he must have been mentally abused – or that he must be a sex worker. Another hurtful stereotype is that Roma families are less accepting of their LGBTQ children. He finds it fundamentally problematic to explain homophobia within the Roma community with Roma culture and traditions, as the only truth is that the Roma community is also a heteronormative society, and thus homophobia is rooted in it in the same way as in the majority society.
Moreover, in many cases, he believes Roma communities are actually more accepting. The parents of a Roma LGBTQ person know first-hand what it is like to be excluded, so they can identify with their child's situation, but there are
Joci Márton
also closed Roma communities where transgender people live safely, as community members can only count on each other to be accepted.
This, in turn, does not mean that the general situation of Roma LGBTQ people would be easier. “It is mostly casual racism that pervades the LGBTQ society, which I feel comes more from cis-gendered people and gay men.” According to Joci, it is clear that being a Roma LGBTQ person in Hungary today is more difficult than being a non-Roma LGBTQ person. Regardless, he doesn not think that it should be a competition of who is more opressed. It is important to pay attention to individual problems and difficulties, but it is also important to keep in mind that these are not individual, rather systemic issues. And that is what we, the members of society, need to change. Nonetheless, Joci does not think everyone should be an activist – just politically active. “I firmly believe that one day we will move in a better, more emphatic direction. However small the steps are, people are starting to turn towards each other.”
Boglárka Fedorkó first studied archeology and economics, and then became an activist as a Fellow of the Romaversitas program organizing youth exchanges and talks. After graduating, she began working for a sex worker advocacy organization. She is currently busy with a project on human trafficking and exploitation, working extensively with transgender women from various minorities who make a living selling sex. “We are working with twelve partner organizations led by sex workers on a study that provides a much more nuanced picture of the exploitation of human trafficking. In the mainstream media, it is presented as ‘poor brown women exploited by pimps’. However, there are greater nuances that aren’t addressed at the level of research, public policy, or even activism.”
In addition, this year she started a podcast with Márton Joci, titled Ame Panzh, in which Roma intellectuals, including LGBTQ people, respond to various public issues, trying to enrich activism with an anti-racist, queer, feminist direction. She has also been working for the Hungarian Roma fashion brand, Romani Design, for ten years now: “Here, too, we carry out a lot of storytelling projects, in which we try to change the stereotypical image of Roma people, especially Roma women, through visual images and fashion.”
Boglárka Fedorkó
According to Bogi, if someone makes a living from sex, it already reflects that that person has very limited options for survival, and their options are even more limited if they are Roma. The Roma community condemns sex workers in the same way as the majority society – the latter’s dynamics dominate the Roma or the LGBTQ community, too. Perhaps an even more serious problem is that the issue of sex workers is not really addressed by NGOs, social movements or other minorities either: “In LGBTQ society or feminist circles, there has been no improvement in the perception of sex workers or the consideration of their initiatives. These movements, in order to have a broader base, often choose more popular issues, be it marriage equality in the LGBTQ movement or the glass ceiling in the women’s rights movements. There is a growing ideological debate about the morality of sex workers – for some feminists, they cast a bad light on women and the LGBTQ community says they are not mainstream enough. There is a lack of solidarity.” In the long run, the goal would be to decriminalize the activities of sex workers, but it would also help a lot if at least police would stop harassing them.
And what can an individual do? As these are systemic problems both in the civil sphere and at the state level, it is obviously difficult for individuals to implement change, whether we are talking about Roma sex workers or Roma LGBTQ people – or any other minority. But still, everyone can do something for a better world. “If someone is a journalist, they can write articles that dignifiedly present these communities, their living conditions, needs, and life stories. There are possibilities everywhere. That’s why we also started our series of talks: to try to give people an idea as to how they can practice active solidarity to the best of their ability. It is not enough to lament with friends about the problems that surround us. Everyone needs to take action according to their abilities.”
Lolo B-Jones is a young Roma activist from England. She is spending eight months in Hungary, working together with a Roma activist group. Lolo is the co-founder of Traveler Pride, one of their greatest achievements being a unified presence of Roma LGBTQ people for the first time in history at the London Pride in 2019. At the age of 17, she became involved in several women’s rights movements and at the same time became an activist of Roma rights through events thematizing Roma genocides, such as Dikh He Na Bister (lit. Look at it and don’t forget), which commemorates the Roma victims of the Holocaust.
Like Bogi, Lolo expresses her struggle for freedom in fashion. Co-founded by her, the products of Dikhlo Collective are based on various traditional Roma folk costumes, the designers themselves being Roma artists. Lolo and her partners want to make traditional Roma clothing available to all Roma, making it easier for them to express their identities. So, everyone pays as much for the pieces as they want. If you don't have money, you can take them for free.
With the brand, Lolo also wanted to show that Roma LGBTQ people can contribute to Roma culture in the same way as heterosexuals. “People often think that if you dress traditionally, you can’t be an LGBTQ person. Well, I'm both. I am an LGBTQ person, yet I try to keep our cultural heritage alive.”
According to Lolo, it is important to see intersectional communities including LGBTQ Roma people in all areas of life, because if we see only one narrative about Roma people, we project a made-up ‘fairy-tale’ image on them. She thinks there are plenty of undiscovered values under the surface:
“I like that Roma fashion, for example, is not about sizes: as a plus-size woman, I can dress as colorfully as I want. All this cannot be said of the majority society.”
She doesn’t think it’s a problem if non-Roma are also buying from them since they support Roma designers. Rather, the problem is rooted in the fact that although many people love and use ‘Gypsy patterns’, they do not think about what is behind Roma culture and are unwilling to deal with Roma issues such as Roma victims of the Holocaust and social issues. Without a society-wide discourse, this topic will never be adequately processed.
Her first experiences in Hungary were not really good – in the first week, for example, taxis refused to transport her.
According to her, however, being a Roma LGBTQ person in
England is not easy either. Yet, we need to talk carefully about homophobia within the Roma community. “If you’re a Roma
LGBTQ person, the majority society likes to hear that your culture doesn’t accept you because it validates their racism.
And then they can say that they don't like Roma people not because they are Roma, but because they are homophobic or transphobic.” According to Lolo, the problems stem from the fact that Roma communities have 500-600 years of oppression behind them, so these groups try to get every privilege they can. And for this – since oppressed groups want to assert themselves by building their own system that can fit into the greater system – the path often leads through homophobia or transphobia. Lolo herself has never experienced homophobia from her family, but there are still communities and families where she sees it.
According to Lolo, a fundamental problem is that in many instances only privileged people are allowed to speak when it comes to human rights. “The question is whether you get a chair at the table – and apparently you don’t. When there is not enough space for everyone around the table… You gotta get rid of the table. Everyone deserves to be represented. No such tables should exist where only selected people can sit. I am tired of having an unattainable activism that says you have to be so and so educated to sit down at that table and talk about human rights. And you don’t even have to go out to the street with signs. Sometimes it’s enough to teach your kids to love who they want, and all will be well.”
AUTHOR: Ádám András Kanicsár l kanicsar PHOTO: István Bielik
BUDAPEST Day & Night
BARS
CRUSH BUDAPEST A new LGBT bar has emerged and it is now the place to gather with a couple of friends in the afternoon for a coffee, or in the evening to get some drinks. There are also drag shows with performers from the growing drag scene in Budapest. 1074 BUDAPEST, DOHÁNY UTCA 22-24. f crushbudapest D crushbudapest.hu
HABROLÓ CAFE & BAR Located in the heart of the downtown this bar hosts karaoke parties every Thursday and Sunday with a lounge-style space upstairs where you can feel free to stay for a chat, a drink or even a flirt. District 1053 BUDAPEST, SZÉP UTCA 1. f habrolo D habrolo.hu
WHY NOT? CAFÉ AND BAR Famous for its bustling crowd and its friendly, inviting atmosphere, Why Not? has a legendary status in Budapest and it is partially due to its amazing location overlooking Gellért Hill on the Danube. This bar is a very good place to start off your evening and to experience one of the major players in Budapest’s gay scene. 11056 BUDAPEST, BELGRÁD RAKPART 3-4. f whynotbudapest D whynotcafe.hu
CLUBS & PARTIES
ALTEREGO BAR & LOUNGE Slick, trendy club that serves as the essence of Budapest’s gay scene, while remaining a relaxed place to have a drink and dance into the early hours. We would recommend the Fri/Sat drag shows with brilliant performances by Lady Dömper and her troupe of fabulous drag artists followed by a late night chart hits party. Events schedule is available on the website. 1066 BUDAPEST, DESSEWFFY UTCA 33. f alteregobudapest D alteregoclub.hu
GARÇONS Garçons bills itself as “underground as well as glamorous” and offers “a new era in chic clubbing”. We agree. Appealing mostly to a younger crowd, the parties attract big name guest DJs and a busy crowd looking for a good time. f garconsbudapest
HELLO One of the coolest parties in town. A chic, young and fun-loving audience comes together to celebrate and dance however they want with whomever they want. Mostly pop music and chart hits. Keep an eye open for the club photographer and get yourself immortalized on the Facebook page. f hellopartybp
LUDUS A new party series, happening every Friday at one of the most popular party venues in town, Budapest Park! Ludus is the go-to place for a night of dancing and getting to know people, with the best summer feeling of an open-air party. 1095 BUDAPEST, SOROKSÁRI ÚT 60. f ludusbudapest D budapestpark.hu
OMOH OMOH is a small piece of Berlin in Budapest for technosexuals and house-loving queerdos. Absolutely no pop; muggy and dark beats dominate this serious clubbing zone. f OMOHbp
SAUNAS & CRUISING
COXX MEN’S BAR Discreet and cool, beneath a plain entrance room lies a hall of pure testosterone and male energy. The cellar has three full bars and a labyrinth fully equipped with cages, slings, cabins, glory holes, a prison sector, wet rooms and even a car. Look out for themed parties like military and gang-bang amongst others. 1072 BUDAPEST, DOHÁNY UTCA 38. D coxx.hu
MAGNUM Magnum is the largest sauna in Budapest and offers the following on two floors: jacuzzi, steam room, four kind of saunas, plunge pool, videos, cabins, sling, glory hole cabins, cruising labyrinth, gym, massage and free wifi. Sauna aufguss on Thursday at 5, 6 and 7 pm. Dark and naked party on Friday at 10 pm and Sunday at 5 pm. Open non-stop from Saturday 1 pm to Sunday midnight. Tickets include a towel, slippers and a condom and are valid for ten hours. 1085 BUDAPEST, CSEPREGHY UTCA 2. f magnumsauna D gaysaunabudapest.com SAUNA 69 A more conventional sauna. Finnish/infra sauna and steam room, jacuzzi, massage service, sunbeds and private rooms await your arrival. Café and internet access available. Towel and slippers are included in the fee. 1094 BUDAPEST, ANGYAL UTCA 2. f szauna69 D gaysaunabudapest.hu
SEX SHOP
BLACK DREAM The only fetish sex shop in the city where you can find everything from leather or rubber goodies to sportswear, underwear and toys as well. 1085 BUDAPEST, MÁRIA UTCA f blackdream D blackdream.hu
BUDAPEST HAS TWO DEDICATED GAY RESTAURANTS: CLUB 93 PIZZERIA (Vas utca 2.) and WHY NOT BISTRO BUDAPEST (on Belgrád rakpart, close to Why Not? Cafe & Bar). Both offer delicious dishes and excellent service. Moreover, Why Not Bistro is located directly on the bank of the Danube, offering an amazing view of Gellért Hill.
MORE INFORMATION: pinkbudapest.com
