Alcohol and Budapest

For adults only!

We think it’s weird that Americans can anytime fight for their country in an armed conflict but it’s illegal for them to drink a glass of beer, however we definitely believe that age restriction is important at the bar. Underage people are not trained for excessive alcohol consumption and also their lack of taste and care can make them pass out before bedtime. Typically they recklessly mix all kinds of drinks for the better and faster result. In worse cases legal and illegal drugs also dissolve in the plasticbottle, the outcome of which is many times crucial; even fainting, choking, dying are possible. Of course, sometimes boys without girlfriends decide to take advantage of young women adding the infamous GINA to their drinks. The transparent, scentless party-drug that can cause a complete memory loss. Undoubtedly an interesting way of falling in love.Prohibition in Budapest

Although

prohibition

in the

Hungarian

capital

is not as serious as it was in America during the 1920s, there are still a few rules when it comes to buying

alcohol . In many districts of

Budapest , it is illegal to sell

alcoholic beverages

between 10pm to 6am due to crimes committed under influence and complaints of the local residents. Those who break the law have to pay; the fine can be up to hundreds of thousands of

Hungarian money. That’s a lot!
The following districts have some kind of

prohibition

from 10pm: III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, XI, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVIII, XX, XXI.


There are also other

rules

that the

drunks

of

Budapest

have to accept. Shops may not sell, therefore you can’t buy alcoholic

beverages

close to kindergardens, schools, or churches, and those who want to trade with liquid happiness in any part of the city with an UNESCO World Heritage label must have a special permission. Sadly, even if we manage to take possession of our beloved

booze , we can’t drink it in underpasses, on the territory of official and educational institutions and on public streets, roads, and parks. You can’t run (anymore) but you can hide. If you are caught, you can either talk yourself out of trouble or pay a lot of money (about 50 000HUF) that you could have spent on more drinks.
It’s also illegal to serve

drunken

people in

clubs

and

bars , or offer a

drink

to seemingly

under 18 . This latter one is not very ethical either.Beer before wine, or wine before beer?

“Beer before wine and you’ll feel fine, wine before beer and you’ll feel queer.” At least that’s what the smart ones say. According to many experienced drinkers it’s true because the bubbles in the beer simply send the alcohol up to your head, but others believe that beer contains less alcohol than wine so it’s better to prepare your stomach for drinking. Of course everyone know the perfect recipe of a night out, however, none of them can be considered scientifically proven, they are more like opinions of people who have been fighting hangovers for way too long. The best we can do is drink carefully and not too fast, because that buzzing effect that we like so much (and what causes all the damage) depends on the amount of alcohol in our blood. That’s why it’s not a wise decision to drink a shot once in every 5 minutes, even if we had a steak before, because there is no bulletproof protection against drinking too much.On hands and knees Even walking home can turn into a disaster after a proper drinking, but for those who have to take public transportation the night can suddenly transform into a Die Hard movie with all the fights and accidents. Of course

drunkdriving

is always a no go!
The city’s night bus system is not bad at all, but there are a few

rules

drinkers

have to consider before getting on board: unfortunately it’s not allowed to drink alcohol on the vehicle and there’s no chance the security guards will let you on with an open

bottle,

even if you promise you won’t be

drinking . It’s better to think all this over before being asked to kindly get off.

All those wise (and wealthy) men who included the

taxi

ride in their party budget deserve some respect, however there are some friendly advices too: it’s not very cool to

sleep

on the

drivers

shoulder, forgetting your IDs and phone in the car results in serious dignity and money loss, and

throwing up

is also very uncomfortable and expensive.

Drivers

can make us pay 25 - 40 000 HUF if we are too proud to ask him to pull over before the bad thing happens. It’s also a bad idea to roll down the window and initiate sightseeing; the winds are pretty serious in a car going at 50km/h.One beer is not beer, but what's the limit?

People are

drunk

when their blood-alcohol concentration

is between 0.030% and 0.15%. The symptoms at this point are red cheeks, happiness and recklessness; this is when we feel like we are the children of Hulk and Pallas Athena. This divine state lasts until we reach the 0.15%-0.25%. These numbers are not really for showing off, we feel a lot differently when we get here: bad stomach, aggression, loss of balance and a big (negative) change in lovelife. Now it’s time to say good night and go home before something bad happens.
Of course, nobody ever does that. As we go above 0.25% we lose it, we fall asleep, drop things and in the worst cases even

alcohol

poisoning

can occur. What best friends do when this happens is calling the

ambulance

(104) or the

police

(107), they will know what to do. If the situation is really bad the party-prince/princess will probably be sent to detox where he/she will be forced to have a good, long sleep. Of course, nobody should ever experience this! Being tipsy and drinking with friends is totally okay, but we all have to be aware of our limits.