Beyond Goulash and Plain – Impressions about Hungary

If you say the United Kingdom, I say tea. If it's Japan, it's sake and geishas. Okay, and samurai too. Czech Republic? Beer! Italy? Pasta! Every country and every nation has its own stereotypes, cliches that come to everyone’s mind first. There is often some truth in these, but at the same time, they never show the whole picture. Hungary itself is also much more than the holy trinity of goulash, plain, and pálinka.

In honor of our national holiday let's play a little association game to show it. We asked the domestic and international team of United Call Centers to let us know the first few words that come to their mind when they think of Hungary. We also obtained some less common explanations in addition to the predictable responses. Here are their answers.

Amanda: patriotism, development, diversity
Anja, Slovenia: The eyes of Hungarians, melancholy, the best literature in Europe.
Lívia: good Hungarian products, our counties, land, the "Hungarian sea"
Györgyi: Danube, forests, monuments, baths.
Virginia: confidence, strength, freedom
Mónika: peppers, onions, purple
Gabriella: beautiful, discoverable, regressive
Gréta: spas, pálinka, bean goulash
Joanne, Republic of South Africa: Stunning and friendly people - and it’s very cold!
Late, Latvia: Warm.
Rita: Lake Balaton, Lake Tisza, Hortobágy
Klaudia: togetherness, calmness, love
Ákos: fish soup, sausage, sausage, Tokaj, Danube, Hortobágy
Anna: Lake Balaton, various, excursion places
Bettina: diverse, interesting, extreme
Gabi: spas, medicinal waters, tourism, lakes, Lake Balaton, Budapest
Árpád: Kékestető, Danube, Tisza
Dani: Lake Balaton, goulash, pálinka, and of course the gyros at square Blaha Lujza
Attila: home, blood, hills of Bükk, „we solve it smartly”
Simon, Northern Macedonia: Food, entertainment, pálinka.

After the hopefully funny and interesting image associations, let us share with you a snippet of poetry that is perhaps worthy of today’s glorious day.

"I cannot know what this land means to other people.
For me, it is my birthplace, this little nation embraced
by flames, the world of my childhood rocking in the distance.
I grew out of her like a tender branch from a tree
and I hope one day my body will sink into her.
I am at home (…)”

(Miklós Radnóti, 1944 – English translation by Gina Gönczi)

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