...all of your social-media profiles turn into one big bragging showcase of enviable city scenes: artsy urban sunset shots, peculiar food photos at distinct eateries, and selfies with madcap nightlife scenes in the background – all of them taken in and around Hungary’s capital.
...your digital platforms are filled to the brim with random check-in activities from varied Budapest hangouts, including trendy restaurants, hip bars, outlandish exhibition locales, and monumental landmarks.
...you embark on an intoxicating night out, and your drink orders range from pálinka shots to glassfuls of fröccs wine spritzers to oddly named local artisanal suds.
...your mouth starts watering as soon as you hear the word “kürtőskalács” – and recently you have been associating the traditional chimney cake with ice cream, whipped cream, ratatouille, or meatballs.
...you are daydreaming about laying your hands on an artfully rebuilt vintage bike to use it for your daily commute (and if you already have one, you always find an excuse to pedal around town, whether it’s during the day or nighttime).
...you are totally convinced that Budapest’s District VII is the hippest neighborhood on Earth, and you are familiar with every nook and cranny around the area inside out.
...whatever it takes, you make sure to be in town during August to rock out at the Sziget Festival, and you are also among the first “szitizens” securing a weekly pass for the upcoming extravaganza as soon as the “add to basket button” is activated on the festival’s website.
...your life is not complete without a chocolate-coated cold cottage-cheese bar. Yeah, we are talking about the immensely addictive Túró Rudi.
...you want to melt in with the local crowd. If you are a man, you grow a beard, only because you need an excuse to get a cutting-edge trim at one of Budapest’s barber shops. If you are a woman, your manicure boasts vibrant hues as you are a regular at one of the city’s nail bars.
...the times you think about taking a break far, far away from the bustling urban lifestyle, Normafa atop the Buda Hills is the first destination that comes into your mind.
...you automatically order a glass of inexpensive sparkling soda water instead of a bottled beverage to wash down a meal at the city’s eateries.
...you find a bar too upscale if the walls are not crumbling and the interior lacks a random collection of antiquated knickknacks.
...at times when your family or friends come to pay a visit from outside of Hungary’s capital, being a Budapest insider you automatically transform into an “official” tour guide.
