Question about the vibe of Christmas markets

I would say that the Budapest markets were similar to those in Berlin, but as we don’t speak German, we didn’t converse with people there.

In some regards, in the cities including Eger and Szentendre, it might be easier to find English speakers than you would think. You could live in a large thriving country like France or Spain for a lifetime and never need anything but French or Spanish and still meet all your personal and business needs. Now imagine a very small country of 10 million people who are part of the EU and must do cross border business daily to meet the needs of the country, but they have an incredibly obscure language; what do they do? They learn English.

I am not sure how to categorize the friendliness of Hungarians. Yes, a bit more reserved I guess, maybe like the US in 1970? And over time I have seen that loosen up quite a bit. Unfriendly? No. I have been traveling there for more than 20 years now and have almost as many friends there as here. To be honest, I have about the same comfort level with Hungarians as I do with people in my American neighborhood.

Thanks Mister E and Jennifer. Good point about the greater need for English, or some lingua franca--not a lot of opportunities to use Hungarian in any sort of international context!

So let me refine my question a bit--in your experience, does December, the pending holidays and the opportunity for a hot (probably spiked) beverage as you wander about the markets lend itself to a cosier, friendlier atmosphere than your average Thursday or Friday in the big city?

Go to anywhere that has alcohol-Biergartens and Weihnachtsmakts and Germans will be a lot friendlier:)

Ahh, so maybe we missed the chance at gemütlicheit during our May visit by not going to biergartens...noted!

I noticed in your report that you spoke with a lot of non-Germans. You could definitely expect the same in Budapest. In my 2 weeks in Budapest in October, I enjoyed a lot of short interesting conversations - many with other tourists and some with Hungarians. I had conversations with Israelis, Germans, Dutch, British, Swedish, Lithuanians, as well as Americans and Hungarians. In a busy restaurant, like many other places, you couldn’t expect your server to necessarily stop and chat (but I doubt that’s what you meant, although that happened occasionally also). I was never outside of Budapest, though, so can’t speak to other areas. And I was not there for Christmas markets, so I have no idea how that would be in a crowded and busy setting.

JoAnne, I think it has more to do with you then them. TexasTravelMommy could charm a tick of the back of a Rottweiler I am tad more reserved (but who isnt) so I dont do nearly as well.

Still, I was in Budapest this past December and met some charming tourist and Hungarians alike at the markets. Some imbibing, others not; although the more they drank the more they seemed to enjoy me.

I had a lovely evening with a few other RS people, built a good relationship with the check out lady at the local market (we laughed at all the tourist with no cash the night the internet went down and no one could buy food), got comped at two different wine bars, had my name placed on a bar above "my stool" (actually that was the prior trip, but it was still there this trip), there is a butcher that loves because I bought two of his 25,000 forint per kilo steaks; and I established a remarkable relationship with a local service provider.

I travel there frequently so I have some regular acquaintances (but had to meet them the first time) who hug and kiss when i arrive (guys kissing me creeps me out so fortunately its only the old farts that still do it); and I get the occasional invite home for dinner.

And that's from a socially clumsy guy.

I am still trying to figure out what to do with such an overwhelmingly positive visual image as a compliment….. 🤦🏻‍♀️

But if you wind up there for a few days, you should post on the forum. There are a lot of us who end up in various places at the same time and I have had a few really fun meet up meals with fellow travelers, in addition to the random short encounters.