Free 30+ page travel guide about Budapest, Hungary and bits of Central Europe. Enjoy!
Information correct as of summer 2020. If you find anything incorrect or would like to make requests, suggestions (or just want to say hi), please do that here! You should also drop by in /budapest to see past questions and to get advice from multiple people.
I would also greatly appreciate your post-trip feedbacks about whether my recommendations worked out for you or not! Restaurants, clubs can undergo radical changes and it's not always possible to keep track of every single one.
The local charity I support is the Hungarian Food Bank Association. For every €1 donated they are able to save €30 worth of perishable food and have it reach underprivileged Hungarian families. If you find this guide useful, please consider donating to them!
Some links use URL-shorteners, so I could track how many of you are using this guide. Nothing fishy waiting for you behind them.
See my suggestions in the comments below about:

• Restaurants – Where to eat in the city
  
• Clubbing, cultural and sports events – Beautiful people, pub crawls or dive bars?
  
• Shopping, services, health care - Good excuses to part with the last of your Forints
  
• Off the beaten path – atypical activities – if you have the time!
  
• Countryside tourism, regional travel – getting familiar with the rest of the country and more
  

===CORONA RESTRICTIONS===
The situation is subject to change momentarily, this information is current as of September 2020. Eastern Europe as a whole has largely been spared from the worst of it, including Hungary, and the risk of transmission is low.
Presently foreigners are banned from entry altogether. Exceptions are in place for people with ties to the country (family members, studies, work, those holding residence permits), and people transiting by car on designated highways.
The situation will be revised monthly, with experts saying the second peak is expected for December-January.
In the country, you need to wear a mask on public transport, inside shops, malls, cinemas, museums. You don't need to wear them inside restaurants, cafes, bars, but they must close by 23.00. Social distancing rules are in place, but largely ignored.
===END OF CORONA RESTRICTIONS===
Hungary has a continental climate with 4 seasons. Summer is the main season, a slightly less busy time to visit is April to mid-June and September to October, but the weather is less predictable. Those uncomfortable with 30+C (>85F) temperatures should visit around then as 35+C (>95F) is not uncommon in the summer. November through March has -5 to 10 (20-50F) and possibly gloomier weather – but fewer tourists.
Currency: the Hungarian Forint (HUF, Ft). Fair exchange rates for Euros is around 330-335Fts, for US Dollars around 300. Only use currency exchanges where the buy/sell spread isn't greater than 5-6Fts for these two currencies!
Citizens of 62 countries do not require a visa to enter the Schengen Area and can stay for maximum 90 days within a rolling 180-day window. See here if you don’t know what that entails. EU member countries that are not members of the Schengen Area are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania, and the United Kingdom, visits to these do not count toward your 90 days. Non-EU countries part of the Schengen Area are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, visits to these do count toward the cap.
Because we both know you want to do your own research, use:

• WeLoveBudapest, the definitive city magazine in English, from top lists to current events,
• Offbeat Budapest, a new site with the author’s finger very much on the city’s pulse,
• Spotted by Locals, for even more local insight. Their offline city guide is worth $3.99.
• TripAdvisor, a small number of reviews might be bought, but no other site competes with their sheer volume of input. Be skeptical of places with unbalanced (90+% 5-star) reviews, the remaining ones should be accurate.
• Foursquare, with more local input than on TA,
• Wikivoyage, for your encyclopedic knowledge needs,
• Most threads on budapest and a couple more on hungary, which you can search like this,

See the city in 4K, or with Rick Steves.
However nothing beats having a physical guidebook in your hand! Lonely Planet has the best and most recent issue.
Read up on the concept of coconut and peach cultures, as sometimes the reserved and distant behaviour of locals can be misinterpreted by ‘peach’ visitors as rudeness – nope!
This is a comprehensive itinerary, but leaves out the best museum of the city: the House of Terror, a solemn museum of the Nazi and Soviet occupation and crackdowns (get the audio guide or be prepared to peruse dozens of pamphlets). There's an attendance limit, so you might need to wait up to 30-45 minutes to get in when it's the busiest. When you are around Deák Ferenc tér, drop by in the Tourinform office (Sütő utca 2., the small street near the church) to stock up on free maps, printed guides of the city. WeLoveBudapest prints a comprehensive and free one every year around June.
I suggest 4 full days to discover Budapest, or 3 faster paced ones. Make it 5-7 if you'd like to make a few daytrips (Szentendre - open-air ethnographic museum, cobblestoned, quaint center, Esztergom - Central Europe's largest cathedral and religious center, Visegrád - medieval castle, Eger - medieval castle and wine region). Most of Hungary’s highlights can be visited in 2 weeks. For more details on countryside and international trips, see my comment below.
Meal times and habits are typical to central Europe: breakfast is usually done at home, not much of a culture of eating out in the morning. But a large number of new wave breakfast places have popped up in the past years, which offer ample opportunities for visitors, normally from 8am. Lunch is at midday, after 1pm most places are going to be fairly empty and many will stop serving lunch after 2pm. The standard time for dinner is 7pm, bookings for later than 8pm are unusual. Lots of restaurant kitchens close at 10pm (with the restaurant following suit 30-60 minutes later), finding a meal after that hour is challenging for anything other than street food.
Baths
Gellért is the most aesthetic, Széchenyi the largest and most popular among foreigners (Sparty can get crazy with lots of drinking, puking and sex going on in the pools, but it is wildly overpriced and 100% aimed at visitors). Rudas is a Turkish hamam with swimwear optional, single-gender weekdays (women-only on Tuesdays, coed and swimwear-mandatory on the weekend). Lukács is plain and personally I’m not a fan of it – tourists only visit it because it’s included free with the Budapest Card. For more details on the baths, see this.
For off the beaten path sights, ride the D11 or D12 public boat lines for a cheap alternative to paid cruises (travelcards only valid on weekdays, otherwise 700Ft), check out the Pinball Museum, Hospital in the Rock or check out this section for a lot more off the beaten path ideas.
Shopping
Hungary has the world’s highest effective VAT (=sales tax) at 27%. Non-EU/EEA tourists are eligible for VAT refund on their qualifying purchases if they complete the paperwork (min. €175 value per transaction, passport+reclaim form stamped by customs official).
The most popular and best accessible mall of the city is WestEnd on Nyugati tér. Arena Plaza is larger by floor area and carries a couple brands that can’t be found elsewhere, but is less centrally located (10min walk from Keleti train station). Don’t expect to find bargains on clothing or electronics, prices are similar to Western Europe and over North American or Asian ones.
For more information on shopping and VAT refund, see here.
Paprika Market is a decent souvenir shop in the sea of overpriced, terrible quality crap on Váci utca.
Magma Gallery for contemporary and affordable jewelry, ceramics and home decor items by local designers is just one street over on Petőfi Sándor utca.
Check out the antique bookstores alongside Múzeum körút between Astoria and Kálvin tér, some have Socialist-era posters available for sale from 30€ and up, that could be a unique gift/home decor to take home. Ecseri road flea market for more antiques, go early on Saturdays.
Hungarian cuisine is hearty and filling, with a heavy use of meats. Must-try foods are:

• goulash: a beef soup with potatoes and carrots!
  
• Hortobágy crêpes: Hungary's more sophisticated answer to enchiladas, these savory crepes filled with either stew or minced meat covered in creamy paprika sauce make excellent starters or even entrée.
  
• pörkölt/paprikás: a thick stew without or with sour cream mixed in and what the rest of the world incorrectly believes goulash is – my favorite is catfish with curd cheese&dill noodles, though beef, chicken and the inferior pork are more commonplace
  
• roast sausage and blood sausage (hurka-kolbász): the breakfast of champions! Ideally eaten at an authentic butchershop like Pinczi or Balla with a side of pickled veggies, mustard (or horseradish) white bread and cold beer at 8am on a Saturday.
  
• everyone’s favorite street food, lángos: Hungarians only eat it with salt, garlic, sour cream and/or cheese, the Frankensteinian concoctions with sausage or kebab toppings are 100% aimed at tourists
  
• Somló trifle: a scrumptious walnut sponge dessert with chocolate sauce and whipped cream
  
• Chimney cake: a sweet, spiral pull-apart bread baked over charcoal, rolled in the topping of your choosing (typically nuts, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, cocoa, coconut flakes)
  

For authentic recipes, recommendations for recipe blogs or cookbooks, tips for cooking traditional Hungarian meals, see here
For edible souvenirs to bring home with you:

• Pick winter salami: only choose the original, typically ~6000/kg, comes in sizes of 380, 800 and 1250g and in trays (100 and 250g). The brand has a deli & store (working with regular prices) on Kossuth tér, next to the Parliament, open from 7am on weekdays for breakfast and lunch.
  
• Tokaji dessert wine: aszú being the premium product with the at least 4 puttony varieties suggesting quality, but they make regular whites as well, so check the label. Should cost at least 3-4000 per bottle. Suggested wineries: Disznókő, Oremus, Dereszla. Avoid: Royal Tokaji
  
• Premium pralines in lovely, traditional packaging from Stühmer.
  

Grocery stores include Spar, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl. Avoid CBA and Coop, low quality for high prices. Small convenience stores, many 24/7, also dot the city at higher prices.
The most popular and best accessible mall of the city is WestEnd on Nyugati tér.
Alcohol is sold at every one, but some (mostly residential) districts enact a ban on the sale between 22.00-06.00. The central Pest districts don’t have such limitations in place.
Tobacco is sold at tobacconists (‘nemzeti dohánybolt’ ). These shops are also exempt from the evening alcohol sale ban if you find yourself in such a district. Flavored cigarettes are banned in Hungary, so no Black Devils or Sobranies.
Budgets (per person)
For reasonable comforts, I would suggest aiming for at least €50 per day excluding accommodation. Hotel prices significantly vary in and outside high season.

• Shoestring: <€50 (hostel dorm €10, attractions €5+, meals and entertainment €10+)
  
• Mid-range: €75-150 (1/2 of hotel room or great Airbnb €30+, attractions €20+, meals and entertainment €25+)
  
• In comfort: €150+ (1/2 of comfy hotel €75+, attractions €30+, meals and entertainment €50+)
  

Getting around
Do not buy the Budapest Card, it is not a bargain, even if every travel blogger seems to think otherwise! You would need to visit at least 3-4 museums a day to break even and the free visit to the pretty plain Lukács Baths could mean you’d deny yourself going to the much more interesting mainstream alternatives, such as Gellért or Széchenyi. The discounted museums are second-rate and typically not what most visitors choose to hit up on their own.
Do buy a public transport travelcard, the 1, 3 or 5-day unlimited options require no validation or ID (common reasons for fines). For week-long stays, the 7-day travelcard needs an ID number and that you have the document on you at all times. Please do not try to get around by using single tickets!
The travelcards are economical (from €5/24h to €15/week) and easy to use: no validation, you just show it to the controllers. Validity starts immediately by default, or you can select a later starting date (always from midnight). 7-day and monthly passes require an ID/passport number, and you must have the ID on you whenever you travel, otherwise you risk getting fined! Groups of 4 or more can also buy the even more economical '24h group travelcard', but all persons must travel together using that.
Common reasons for fines

• Forgetting to validate single or transfer tickets
• Entering the subway station without a valid ticket
• Not having the ID on you for the 7-day travelcard or monthly passes (if you are fined for this, you have 2 business days to present it to the central BKK office for a reduced fine)

Ticket inspectors (must have an anonymized badge and armband) are notoriously brash, speak subpar English. Paying on the spot lets them give you a discounted fine of 8000 instead of the regular 16000 through postal order or wire transfer, they aren't looking to scam you if they offer you that. Fines are pursued internationally through collection agencies, multiplying the original amount once their fees are added.
Cheapest way to get to the city from the airport is by public transport. I suggest paying the 900Ft supplementary ticket for the 100E bus. The southern portion of the M3 subway is under reconstruction, during that period the 200E buses go beyond their usual terminus, Kőbánya-Kispest and take you to Nagyvárad tér station, where the subway runs from. The purple ticket machines at the airport and all over the city take chipped cards. Shuttle bus is a good compromise between price and comfort and depart when full or close to.
Ignore touts walking up to you offering cabs in the arrival hall, use the official Főtaxi booth immediately outside the building. Rates are centralized: flagfall 700Ft, 300Ft/km, 75Ft/min waiting. The fair price to the centre is around 7-9.000Fts. Rides inside the centre are typically under 3.000. All taxi companies have passable reputations with a few horror stories about each, Főtaxi (+36-1-222-2222), 6x6 Taxi (+36-1-666-6666), City Taxi (+36-1-211-1111) are a few. There are some stories of even company cab drivers trying to rip off naive-looking tourists, especially around train and bus stations, so consider legal Uber-alternative Taxify/Bolt (Android, iOS). Uber is banned.
Most companies have apps, but they have terrible design and might set an unchangeable pick up location 5-10 minutes away from you. It’s much better to order by phone, they have English-speaking operators. If you must use an app, choose Taxify.
Scams
Cabbies are the only ones eclipsing the ticket inspectors in notoriety. I cannot emphasize enough: DO NOT USE THE ONES WITH ‘FREELANCER’ ON THE FRONT DOORS!!! These drivers are nicknamed 'hyenas', work independently, they always have rigged meters and are known to sometimes assault customers who don’t comply with their ridiculous demands. If you hail on the street, be absolutely certain you’re getting into a company cab (logo on the front doors).
A known scam by the hyenas, fraudsters and illegal street exchangers is giving you worthless currencies with similarly high denominations as the Forint – namely the Indonesian Rupiah or the old Belarusian Ruble.
Bag handlers at the airport steal from unsecured luggage. Never put any valuables in your checked luggage!
Overly friendly, attractive women approaching you in broad daylight 'to practice their English' and taking you to scammy cafés where you'll be charged €300 for a bottle of bottom-shelf champagne are also to be avoided. Recently a Redditor reported the same happening to him through Tinder, so be very suspicious of anyone insistent on going to a particular establishment. The scam café was Hajós Café on Hajós utca. Another known scam location is Café Fidelité on Révay utca.
Otherwise general safety cautions should be exercised: watch your valuables in crowded spaces for pickpockets, be wary of overly friendly strangers approaching you and introducing the idea of going to a club or bar by their 5th sentence or of people pretending to be authority.
Policemen typically wear dark blue uniforms and white shirts , sometimes with a visibility vest and can be identified by the numbered metal badges on their chest and their separate police ID card which you can ask to inspect before complying with their orders. Scammers use fake police IDs to part you with your cash under the guise of inspecting the notes for counterfeits. Always ask to see it first: this is real, this is fake – notice where the real one has a serial number, the fake says POLICE. If the issue is anything halfway serious, ask to be escorted to the nearest police station – it will scare away scammers playing dress up.
The emergency number is 112 for police, ambulance or firefighters, there are English-speaking operators (works throughout the EU).
If you get pickpocketed, notify both the police and in case of losing your travel documents, your embassy. Thieves are usually courteous enough to leave papers near trash bins, so walk around in the neighbourhood to see if you can recover them. If you find someone else’s, hand in to the nearest police station.
Getting around
the city is easy, Budapest has one of the best public transport systems of the continent. Use Google Maps for orientation and getting around! Tickets and passes with rates are listed here.
All EU/EEA citizens aged 65+ travel for free on all Hungarian public transport, including trains, distance buses. Picture ID and administrative 0 Ft ticket required. Age 65 is not included.
Student discounts are available to full-time students in EU/EEA countries with a valid student ID. If it doesn’t have it, also carry a picture ID. EU citizenship not required, you only need to study there full-time (not applicable for exchange students unless they get ID issued). The monthly student pass (3450) is cheaper than the 72h travel card (4150) for identical benefits.
The 4 subway lines are coded by numbers and, unofficially, colour (1-yellow, 2-red, 3-blue, 4-green). The busiest, M3, is under renovation until 2021, but remains in partial operation, see details here. The entire line shuts down after 8pm and all day on weekends (replacement buses operate), and one section of the line is always out of service. For 2019 it’s the southern segment, between Kőbánya-Kispest and Nagyvárad tér. During this time the 200E airport bus will take you to the more central Nagyvárad tér stop (from where the subway runs) instead of its regular terminus of Kőbánya.
In Budapest driving is not recommended for the perpetual lack of parking spaces, congestion and because there's really no need to. If you must arrive by car, pick a hotel with parking, use the free parking lot at Kelenföld subway station, street-parking by StarPark at Podmaniczky utca at ~€8/24h, or opt for a more central location (such as one of CarE Park’s garages ) at ~20€/24h, €100/week and do not use it for getting around in the city. Public areas are metered in the entire centre, typically charging 1.5€/h with a cap of 3 hours on a ticket.
The Bubi city bike system is available for anyone’s use. The rates are very favourable (500Ft for 1-day, 1000 for 3 for the pass), but a deposit of €80 will be docked when you register and might take a few weeks to release. First 30 minutes are free, after it's 500Ft/30min on top of the daily pass' price.
Two e-car sharing systems compete in Budapest. I suggest using MOL Limo, as you can complete your licence verification remotely (do it before arrival, they might take a day or three if they are backlogged). Despite the name, the cars are tiny, automatic VW up!s, the majority electric and all automatic. Age limit 18, min. 1-year old national licence, foreign ones accepted, €20 registration fee and €0.25/min rate. Coverage includes basically every area of note to tourists in the centre, except the Castle and underground garages (as well as the airport). Expansion is planned for the future. You cannot park (leave the car) outside the coverage area, but you can drive through.
Sightseeing
The best rated tour bus company is Big Bus, Giraffe (aka. the red Hop On Hop Off ones) tends to get mixed-to-negative reviews. Segway tours also available.
Free thematic walking tours of the city depart in front of the lion fountain on Vörösmarty tér daily. A tip of 2000-2500Ft/person suggested, but they're are chill about it, you can give less if you're on a budget.
River cruises run during the day and the evening, including dinner (usually not great, save for one) or party in the latter case. The most popular is Legenda, partiers choose Boat Party.
One standout cruise is Pannónia Gastro Boat that goes above and beyond the standard quality of service of other operations and often host guest chefs from innovative countryside restaurants.
Public transport alternative is the D11 or D12 boat lines between Boráros tér going up to Népfürdő utca (or getting off at Jászai Mari tér or Margaret island 1 or 2 stops prior). Tram 2 between Jászai Mari tér and Boráros tér hugs the Danube on the Pest side and loops around the Parliament for a similarly nice experience. Seasonal operations, normally from March through October.
Money
The currency of Hungary is the Hungarian Forint (1EUR=330HUF, 1USD=300HUF in November 2019), but I’ve listed prices in Euros (€). Check for current rates here.
Don't exchange Forints at home, bring USD/EUGBP in cash or a chipped card with you – the withdrawal fee is far smaller than what you’d lose by the atrocious rates available to you at home (exception: neighbouring countries).
With cards, Visa, Mastercard are best, Maestro acceptable. Avoid Amex, Diners Club and other uncommon non-European issues.
CAD/AUD/JPY/CNY will be exchanged at slightly worse rates, but still much better than if you’d exchange Forints at home. I don't recommend bringing currencies other than the ones I've mentioned and those from neighboring countries, but if you do, Tichi Change exchanges almost every valid currency in the world at as good of a rate as you could realistically hope for.
When the ATM asks you if you want to be charged in your home currency, say no and opt for Forints or you'll lose up to 30% due to the poor conversion rate! Learn more about the rip-off of dynamic currency conversion here and steer clear of the ATMs operated by Euronet. Besides the dynamic currency conversion ripoff, they will also prompt you to withdraw ridiculously high amounts of money (equivalent of $500 or more) that you will not be able to spend in 3-4 days.
Don't exchange any money with bright orange Interchange they use ripoff rates (>30% spread). They hava e monopoly at the airport and are also present throughout the city in premium locations, such as Váci utca. Street exchange is illegal and a good way to get scammed.
Tons of fine currency exchanges around the city, the best USD and EUR rates are at Gold Change but use your eyes: the buy/sell spread shouldn’t be more than 1-3% apart for these, or 2.5-5% at banks. Exchange offices and banks do not take cards! You may only use them for ATM withdrawals.
Phones
Make sure to bring an unlocked phone, ideally a dual-SIM one.
The 3 main carriers are Vodafone, Telekom (T-Mobile) and Telenor. The best prepaid package is Telekom's Domino Fix with the 1/3/30-day unlimited 4G add-on, costing 990+9900Fts (€32) for the 30-day option. SIM cards need to be activated after purchase, so buy them at brand stores where help is available instead of supermarkets or gas stations.
Roaming fees within the EU have been abolished in 2017, you will be able to use your SIM in any EU member country, but not as if it would be local. I.e. a Vodafone Hungary-issued SIM will be roaming on Vodafone Austria’s network. Some 'reasonable' data caps remain in place, which are determined by the cost of your service.
Outside the EU there are punitive data rates. I once managed to rack up a $90 bill for 5MB by accident.
Sleep
Rates are for high season (late April through September, Christmas, NYE), might be 50+% lower on other dates

• For 0 hours (party hostels, from €10): Grandio, Retox, Carpe Noctem Vitae
• On a budget (well-reviewed hostels, dorm, private rooms €10-35, apartments €40-60): Lavender Circus, Maverick City Lodge, Pal’s, The Groove, Loft, standard Airbnbs
• Mid-range (€80-150): Mamaison, Cortile, Memories Oldtown, Casati, upscale Airbnbs
• In style (€150-250): Palazzo Zichy, Bródy Studios, Moments, Prestige, Corinthia, this palatial Airbnb
• Lavishly (€250+): Aria, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons (the gold standard), Kempinski

Location: if you plan on sleeping, the party district (VII., inside the ring road) should be avoided, as well as VIII. outside of it and around Keleti train station for safety reasons/because you can get nicer digs elsewhere. An under the radar gem of an area is VII. between Múzeum körút and the ring road. Buda is nowhere as dead as tourists collectively imagine it to be (especially around Széll Kálmán tér), don’t shun it if you find someplace nice there.
Eat at

• Rosenstein (best traditional Hungarian restaurant in the country)
• Két Szerecsen (cozy Hungarian)
• Olimpia (casual fine dining)
• Borkonyha (business casual fine dining, Michelin-star)
• Stand25 (Bib Gourmand bistro - don't miss the goulash and the layered potatoes!)
• Kispiac (modern Hungarian)
• Vén Hajó (restaurant ship with amazing panorama and well-done Hungarian food - touristy, but still memorable!)
• Petrus (French-Hungarian, Bib Gourmand)
• Dobrumba (Arabic)
• Tüköry (traditional Hungarian on a budget)
• Ruben (traditional Hungarian on a budget)
• Bors (soups & sandwiches with a cult following)
• Manu+ (authentic Neapolitan pizza).

For more detailed restaurant recommendations, see this comment. August visitors, check the restaurants' websites and Facebook to see if they aren't on holiday!
The quality of service is a common source of complaints, don't take it too hard if it happens to you. Tip is 10% most of the time, unless you’re really dissatisfied or find yourself absolutely elated. Many top end restaurants add a ~12% service charge to the bill, tipping on top of that is not expected, though naturally it will be appreciated.
Neither regular, nor ost fast food restaurants do refills. The only exceptions are all KFCs and a few Burger Kings.
Smoking is banned at all restaurants, bars and basically every facility open to the public. Designated smoking areas can be found outside on the street.
Try pálinka (~40% ABV fruit brandy), Unicum (herbal bitteaperitif, like Jäger), bikavér from Eger and Szekszárd (lit. ‘bull’s blood’, a full-bodied red), Tokaji aszú (similar to white Port, made of hand-picked berries with noble rot, named the "wine of kings, king of wines" from the 18th century) or fröccs (spritzer, white or red wine mixed with seltzer – a lifesaver in the summer)!
More details in the shopping section.
Or get really local and ask for ’fény’, carbonated vodka foam over raspberry syrup. You’ll see the fény (=light) at the end of the tunnel in no time!
Eat a freshly fried lángos at market halls (acceptable toppings: sour cream, garlic, cheese, perhaps ham and cabbage - certainly none of that tourist stuff with nutella, Hungarian sausage or kebab...) and fried sausage from a butcher shop such as 1951 establishment Balla Hús in Városház utca or the more contemporary Belvárosi Disznótoros eatery. The gallery of the Hold utca market hall hosts quality street food vendors, Karaván food truck yard right next to Szimpla.
Nightlife
For more detailed recommendations, including strip clubs, casinos and more, see this comment.
A casual evening

• Doblo - wine bar
• Élesztő - craft beer pub
• Csendes - bohemian hangout
• Nappali - neighborhood bar with great whiskies

Ruin pubs

• Szimpla
• Instant-Fogasház
• Mazel Tov
• Pótkulcs (low-key, occasional folk concerts)

Mainstream clubs

• Akvárium
• Ötkert
• Story
• HEAVEN
• Fröccsterasz
• Raqpart (seasonal only)
• BRKLYN
• BoB

Techno

• Lärm
• Aether
• Arzenál

Rock and miscellaneous

• Dürer Kert
• A38 (a converted Ukrainian barge – a unique experience)
• Barba Negra Track

Gay bars

• Alterego
• Why Not

Get out
See train schedules on Elvira, check for buses on menetrendek.hu (this site combines bus and train schedules, but has no English version, check for the orange or blue icon on the left side to see which is which).
Daytrip options include

• Szentendre: a bit different from its Scottish peer (lit. 'St. Andrews') quaint, cobblestoned artist town, chock full of galleries, art museums, restaurants – and tourists. The biggest attraction requires a short cab ride out of town, the open-air ethnography museum, Skanzen, with authentic recreations of functioning village clusters (open March through October). Best restaurant, oddly enough, cooks up a Caribbean fare at the hand of the Curaçaoan owner and his Hungarian wife: Mjam. Reachable by the H5 suburban railway from Batthyány tér (requires extension ticket for segment outside city limits - that's after Békásmegyer station, you need a 15km extension)
  
• Visegrád and Esztergom: a Renaissance castle with a panorama in the first, Central Europe’s largest cathedral in the second – and all this can be done on a scenic hydrofoil or boat trip in season!
  
• Eger: the location of a key Hungarian victory over invading Ottoman forces, this popular excursion destination is famous for its medieval castle, Baroque center, random museums (Beatles, firefighting and marzipan to name a few), its reputable wineries producing full-bodied, cabernet-like reds (bull’s blood, bikavér) and the limestone terraced natural spa of neighboring Egerszalók. Suggested wineries: St. Andrea, Tibor Gál, Demeter, Bolyki. Eat at Macok restaurant (by the castle entrance), they are excellent!
  
• Etyek: the nearest wine region to Budapest, they focus on whites. Although not as spectacular as the previous examples, it's a worthwhile visit for wine aficionados in the summer and autumn. Typical varieties include Irsai Olivér, királyleányka and Muscat Lunel (sárgamuskotály).
  

For multi-day excursions, including to lake Balaton and detailed information on car rental, countryside and international tourism opportunities, click here

I've machine translated an article from ResearchGate.net that is further research on the subject of Quadra Progression. I didn't change much of the translation here. It is a little rough at times, but the parts that really matter are basically clear enough to leave alone. When I note the presence of infographics, I'd recommend referring to the original link to see what the translation is referring to. The format of the source doesn't play well with machine translators so the content of the infographics I wasn't able to translate, but you can get the gist. It took much more effort than I was expecting to translate this article, but I think that it is worthwhile to see what the Socionics view of history is and how it compares and contrasts to Strauss-Howe. It is different, less neatly and clearly defined, but I think it adds some interesting dimensions, namely the differentiation between quadra epochs and quadra sub-phases. The article is too large to post here, so the second half will be in the comments. The following is the translation of the article.
LECTURES ON INTEGRATED SOCIONIC UDC 159.923.2
Bukalov AV FORECASTING SOCIAL POLITICAL PROCESSES
The application of the law of replacement of Bukalov-Gulenko quadras and the concepts of integral socionics analyzes the events of recent history in Russia, the United States, and Ukraine. The interaction of state leaders of different countries with national mentality is described. Various aspects of the world economic crisis are analyzed in connection with the integral type of the United States. Key words: socionics, intertype relations, ethnopsychology, integral type of ethnos, state management. There are a lot of components in this thread. I will try to dwell on some issues, in particular, I will consider in detail the law of removability of quadra [1]. Let's start from the beginning. Recall that we have socionics, that is, the theory of psycho-information structures, or the psyche - individual and societal. And any psyche processes 8 aspects of the information flow. The instrument for this is the type of information metabolism. There is a certain dynamics of processing information: information moves 4-tact, on two rings - the vital and the mental. We also know that there are 16 types of information metabolism, they form a society - a single integrated system. And within this system, types are interconnected by inter-type interactions-intertype relationships. And moreover, there are social order and control relations in the societal - from 1st quadra to 4th and back - from 4th quadra to 1st. That is, the direct transmission of information and control and return transmission.
As soon as there is a transmission of information from the quadra to the quad, the dynamics appears. From this follows what was later called the law of removability of the quadra. How did we find this? Considering an era, some phases of the development of society, the society as a whole.
First, we can begin an abstract consideration: there is a system that is described by a combination of 8 information aspects, and it has its own dynamics of processing information. It turns out that if we look closely at this system, then we can distinguish four phases in it – Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta - which replace each other. A certain period of development of society can be described by one of such phases. When the corresponding phase occurs, then on the wave of this phase, as they say on the crest of this wave, there are people with types belonging to the quadra corresponding to this phase. Thus, we can see that some social and political movement first arises, then it acquires some organizational forms, then these forms break down, then the socionics, mentology and personality psychology change, and finally the movement ceases, comes to a steady, steady state. This, for example, concerns political parties.
On the other hand, since the entire human civilization, in general, is also such an information system, and any culture can be so described, we can globally look at it. Classical history, historiography identifies certain phases of the development of society - primitive and savage, primitive communal relations, then class relations, then the development of capitalism, etc. And, according to historians, civilization begins with the emergence of cities and states. Actually, the beginning of writing, money, etc., is fixed by history as the beginning of civilization. This scheme is generally accepted, no one opposed it - neither in the West, nor even Marxists. This was the fundamental thesis: there is a state - the machinery of violence - and the class history of mankind begins. And before that there was prehistory.
The problem, however, is that states began to emerge not so long ago, historically, of course. The oldest, in Shumi, is the 4th millennium BC. E., And in other territories of the state appeared in 2,000 – 3,000 BCE. What was before then? Really before that there was prehistory?
It turns out that before that, well-known monuments of material and spiritual culture, say, the same Stonehenge in England, on the Salisbury Plain, were erected. And the pre-historic people who lived in communities, under the rule of the leaders, did not know writing, which did not have cities, it turned out, perfectly able to process stone and erect huge structures - wooden or stone, like Stonehenge. Moreover, they possessed the highest astronomical knowledge, I no longer speak of processing technology, the installation of multi-tonnages weighing tens of tons of stones, but that astronomical information, which is encrypted in the same megaliths, is so sophisticated ... It is now considered Proved that the rings of Stonehenge model the ten planets of the Solar System and many other astronomical objects and phenomena. Moreover, it turns out that in the place of Stonehenge even before the stone structure was wooden. And next to it there was one more -Woodhenge. Moreover, at this time, almost synchronously throughout the vast expanse of Eurasia, up to the Trans-Urals, similar structures were built, mostly of wood, of course. Again, the information that was encrypted in them is completely unique. The oldest such ring of megaliths was found in southern Egypt, one can say in Nubia, on the border with Libya, it dates back to the 6th millennium BCE. Of course, there were no states then.
If you take, for example, the temples of the island of Malta, and there are dozens of these temples, and, apparently, when the island sank under the water, many such temples disappeared under water - there are roads and stuff - it's again 4,000-3,000 BCE. A sophisticated technique of working with a stone, sophisticated solar coding, stellar. The orientation of all these structures, connected with equinox and other astronomical events ... Again, all this was created at a time when there was no written language, there was no state. Nevertheless, somebody organized these works, somebody did all this synchronously. That is, the society was undoubtedly sufficiently developed, but there was no civilization in the historical sense. There is a paradox ...
The existing historical paradigm in this sense cuts off a giant piece of human history. But this phase lasted, without exaggeration, for several thousand years. The first villages and even cities appeared very long ago: Jericho – 9,000 BCE., Chatal-Guyuk in Asia Minor, in the territory of modern Turkey - the 7th millennium BCE. Even the Sphinx, which stands on the Giza plateau near the pyramids, as geologists have shown, was hollowed out and made not simultaneously with the pyramids, not in the 3rd millennium BCE., But much earlier. It was created around at least 7,500 BCE. It turned out very simply. American geologists began to study it and found that the Sphinx is in a trench, where limestone was extracted, and deep furrows remained on the trench and the Sphinx. From what? They began to investigate: if sand had left them, then the furrows would be of the same species, and furrows with all others. Just the same as water does, more precisely - strong streams of rainwater. The problem is that throughout the well-known history of the Sphinx periodically swept the sand, it’s all the time, regularly dug up. There was a question: when did the rains and sand go? It turned out that the rains were between the seventh and fourth millennia BC. E. Those rains that could leave such traces ... And there was no sand, because this area was green, there grew grass ... People made the Sphinx 7,500 years BCE., A little later than Jericho was built. And next to it, right before the Sphinx, stands the Sphinx temple. This temple is made of that limestone that was taken out of the trench. Among the floors in this temple there are blocks of 50 tons. How do you raise 50 tons? The stones of Stonehenge are 10 tons, for example. And then they still wonder how they were raised. And how to raise 50 tons? Today, the whole world has two cranes that lift such a weight. In general, everything is very difficult to explain, but this temple has the same gates. And the most curious, which few people paid attention to, (but I was there in Egypt and specially photographed it) - this temple was so sacred for the ancient Egyptians, who in the third millennium BCE. They either erected or modernized the pyramids, making an internal granite cloak for this temple, they kept these furrows. And these are not slabs, but large, thick, massive blocks of red granite that cover the entire interior of the temple. So, the granite they blew up so that they closed the cavity (gully) in this temple. Granite is much harder than limestone and harder to process. But, apparently, it was so important and sacred for them that they did not even dare to rinse or rumble these gullies, but in their form, they drilled hard granite. So, these bogs have survived to our time.
What is this phase of history? You can argue a lot, put forward a variety of hypotheses, down to aliens. But in any case, since this process took place globally, that is, it was in Egypt, Eurasia, and other parts of the world, then, of course, there were some general characteristics of it.
When they began to understand the structure of societies, which, in particular, were associated with megaliths and other material remnants-the same Triplanskaya civilization, in the Balkans it is the culture of linear ceramics, and many others-it turned out that these societies existed for thousands years. They were governed by the leaders, they had a very developed religious and other ritual culture, but they did not have a state. What is this phase?
If from the point of view of socionics we look at the characteristics given by the modern historical paradigm, then the beginning of human civilization, that is, the presence of the state, writing, army, etc. - is that? These are typical manifestations of what we call the phase Beta. Then we can compare everything that we talked about a little bit earlier - and high knowledge and so on - and understand that it was a phase Alpha. And in phase Alpha, in fact, in contrast to phase Beta, organizational structures are very weak, but spiritual and other knowledge are very high, which are achieved intuitively.
Megaliths and other structures are surprising, in particular, "what high knowledge is encrypted in such a design." But if we look at a graph that was built by me long ago [3], we will see how the redistribution of free information in different squares is proceeding. In phase Alpha - a huge amount of free information, phase Beta - limiting information. Next, the next burst is the Gamma phase and, finally, some kind of stabilization - phase Delta. But at the same time there is an inverse process, let's say, materialization-Information. And it turns out that in phase Alpha it is weak, the largest peak reaches in the second phase, then a small dip in the Gamma phase, and finally a long phase of large-scale information materialization, that is, the phase of accumulation of material values-phase Delta, when ideas are little, but people live very well. This is how several countries in Western Europe, which have already reached this phase, live in it.
It is clear that then we can compare with the vast period of history, from about the seventh millennium BCE. Up to the second – third millennium BCE., The phase of Alpha. Almost five thousand years lasted phase Alpha. This is very long time. How many modern civilizations exist? From Christ's Nativity - only 2000 years. And the same Trypillian culture or related cultures in the Balkans existed for more than 5000 years. This is a completely different scale. Moreover, they existed without any major shocks - stably and calmly. Apparently, they tried to somehow live in harmony with nature and environment, all this was achieved through complex rituals, any action had some sacred meaning, etc. But these cultures were very stable: 4-5 thousand years is not a joke.
INFOGRAPHIC, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
Beta. The formation of a centralized, up to totalitarian, governance structure with the implementation of grandiose projects is accompanied by a sharp decrease in the circulation of free information in society-it is transformed into "construction projects of the century"
Delta. The stabilization phase: almost all free information is linked to the material, technological and other achievements of the society. The minimum number of fundamentally new ideas, conservatism.
Gamma. "Perestroika": the increase in freely circulating information is accompanied by the collapse of the administrative command system, its economic, social and production structures.
Alpha. The maximum of free information circulating in society, and the minimum of its implementation (materialization).
Circulation of free (ρ (I)) and materialized (ρ (E)) information in society.
Then, because of drought and other troubles, these cultures are slowly disappearing, dying, and new cultures are emerging, including in Eurasia, with Indo-Europeans, who at this time tamed the horse and began occupying these lands, practically without resistance. When they say that there were wars there, this does not correspond to archaeological data. There just happened a certain natural crisis, and the phase changed.
And the synchronism of this phase is amazing. Not only did Indo-Europeans simply occupy settlements, say, in the territory of Ukraine Tripolye and others. But if you take the same India, it was once thought that the fierce Aryans came with their flocks and horses to the territory of India and all began to destroy and destroy, including the civilization of Mohenjo-Daro. But later studies have shown that the Mohenjo-Daro civilization died of natural causes (droughts and floods) several hundred years before the arrival of the Aryan tribes. The fact that the arias in India were not conquerors and did not destroy the Dravidian tribes, but actually assimilated them, is even said by the structure of the Indian pantheon. There are also Shiva and other gods, many of them clearly Dravidian, South Indian. They were integrated, possibly together with religious and philosophical ideas, and thus Hinduism arose.
These protocivilizations, Alpha-cultures died under the influence of internal and natural causes. That is, they, as they say, just lived their own phase.
Since historians were inclined to see history as a process of continuous wars and conquests, they gave it some aggressive coloring. But in fact, not every culture can survive for several thousand years without much shock.
Knowing socionics, we can say that the historical paradigm should include not only the 2nd phase, but also the 1st, Alpha-phase ... That prehistory, in which people only learned farming, cattle breeding, etc.
It's another matter, that since these phases are very global, and now we see the development of capitalism, then, do we really have the third phase? Nothing like this. Since the world consists of states, the state according to Lenin is the "apparatus of violence", coercion, in fact, in the global sense, for the human civilization, there is a second phase. Only it lives its subphases: -Alpha subphase, Beta-subphase, Gamma-subphase. It can be assumed that now mankind is experiencing a certain Gamma-sub-phase, but within the framework of this global 2nd quadra. That is, such representations that "the state will wither and disappear", as the communists dreamed, are still very far from realization, the third phase has not yet come. Of course, some attempts are being made to unite with the destruction of interstate borders within the framework of the European Union and similar events. But nevertheless, if we think in phases of millennia, now we have a Gamma-subphase of the global Beta phase.
Socionics in a sense restores a whole historical layer in its rights. A significant part of the mythologies and other achievements of the second phase are based, of course, on the discoveries and knowledge of the Alpha-phase - those societies that were before them. Certainly, with the loss of part of understanding, some technologies, etc.
When we talk about the development of an ethnos, in the same way we can distinguish several sub-phases in its development. In general, the theme of the development of society or ethnos is well suited to analysis by the methods of socionics. For example, it was convincingly shown that all these phases described by Gumilev : the rise of passionarity, the ac- matic phase, the phase of the break, the obscuration phase, the decay phase, the memorial phase are very well modeled by the information Aspects. And, of course, if we move from such global issues to narrower ones, then, for example, we can analyze the world history of, say, the 20th century ... Let us recall the middle and the end of the 19th century, when a storm of technical and scientific discoveries began: Steam, the era of electricity, the discovery of X-rays, the novels of Jules Verne and other writers. A real hymn to human knowledge in its pure form. It seemed - a little bit more and humanity will enter the "golden age", all for it will make cars, all the unpleasant work, a person will live comfortably, his task will only be something new to do, discover, learn, etc. The whole end of the nineteenth - beginning of the twentieth century was saturated with such a feeling. A kind of Alpha-sensation: "Forward!", "Discoveries!", "Progress!". The discovery of the radioactivity of the atomic nucleus, the discovery of quantum mechanics, the discovery of the theory of relativity, is a continuous flow of development. It seemed, in just a little bit, humanity will enter into the "golden age". And suddenly - Bam! - The First World War begins. First, local conflicts, that is, the Anglo-Boer War, the Russo-Japanese War, other wars, but they are still far from Europe ... And suddenly, in the midst of archi- cy-armed Europe, there is a gigantic massacre.
What is the First World War? This is in fact the moment of transition from one phase to another, that is, when the old idea breaks down, the old structures ... And a new, imperialist order arises. As formulated by VI Ulyanov-Lenin: "imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism." There are new empires, new Unions, new formations, there are authoritarian and totalitarian states. Not only in Russia, instead of the Russian Empire, but everywhere: in Italy - the fascist state, in Hungary - the totalitarian regime, in some countries such authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes arise - one can recall Poland, that is, the government of Marshal Pilsudski. But not only almost all of Europe is governed by such regimes. Even in China, there are certain processes of militarization. In Japan, a new militaristic state is being formed. That is, globally the whole epoch, the whole world is turning, sliding into the 2nd phase - phase Beta. And wherever we look - everywhere we see a huge number of all kinds of authoritarian or frankly totalitarian regimes. They capture most of Europe. Let's just say that they struggled hard in England, although the sympathy for Nazism among the British establishment was very strong, it's enough to recall Lord Chamberlain (who, by the way, was a logical-sensory introvert ( LSI) and admired Hitler - ethical- Intuitive extrovert (EIE), considering that the Messiah) ... In France, there was an attempt ... And in the United States of America too. But, since Roosevelt was in charge there (SEE), this trend was stopped. However, it had roots: economic depression, a decline in production. And again, the recession was not only after the war of Germany, which was ruined by reparations, the Weimar world under humiliating conditions and so on. But in the seemingly prosperous America, the same thing happened - the crisis of 1929 ... The crisis is a crisis for them - they have a 20% drop in production. It was a gigantic catastrophe and depression of America and all those who were associated with it. Against the background of our 90's, we would say: "Ha! Is this called a crisis? Against the background of the fact that in the former Soviet Union, production fell by 80%, and nothing - survived! ".
The second phase: a whole conglomerate of Beta-regimes is created that are friendly to each other, they arrange some unions, but at the same time they do not mind (among themselves, again) divide the remaining territories. And in the end, the two largest regimes clashed. Japan occupied part of China, which was completely defenseless before it, and attacks the United States. Simultaneously Hitlerite Germany attacks the Soviet Union, which itself was preparing to attack, but did not have time. And the struggle of totalitarian regimes begins between themselves. We know how it ended. But the fact is that the 2nd phase lasted quite a long time. And if it was practically destroyed in the territory of Western Europe and Japan by means of military actions, in the Soviet Union, as in one of the victorious countries, it safely survived, despite all the reforms, until 1991. Before that, China experienced a similar transition. There, this phase ended with the death of Mao Tse Dong and Deng Xiao Ping, they began to "crawl" into the 3rd phase, that is, the γ-phase. If to take globally, then in the post-war period, the third square predominates, of course. And it's understandable why - because it's time. And the locomotive of all this was the United States of America, which, with the help of the Marshall Plan for Europe, with huge investments, breathed in the spirit of entrepreneurship, economic and financial management methods, individual initiative, personal success - the ideas of the Gamma-quadra - into consciousness and organization.
If taken globally, then in the post-war period, the third square predominates, of course. And it's understandable why - because it is their time. And the locomotive of all this was the United States of America, which, with the help of the Marshall Plan for Europe, with huge investments, breathed in the spirit of entrepreneurship, economic and financial management methods, individual initiative, personal success - the ideas of the Gamma-quadra - into consciousness and organization. Life in many countries of the world. The US not only restructured political regimes and, of course, economies in a number of countries in Europe and Asia, but also, due to their economic power, they actually made the dollar the world's reserve currency. After the Second World War, the dollar, not the gold security, began to play the role of world currency. This is a very serious moment. As a result, all countries began to copy or adapt to the economic template or criterion that was set by the United States of America.
The United States of America is described by an integral type of logical-intuitive extrovert (LIE, Entrepreneur). Let's look at model A of this type. On the 1st place There is a 4-dimensional business logic (Te), that is, "everything for business", "make money" 1. It is a country of capitalism, not of classical, but of little-restrained capitalism. Those laws and those institutions that exist in the United States provide every kind of encouragement for any business. Moreover, since logic is 4-dimensional, and the United States is an extravert structure, then, of course, the business and processes of the extrovert with business logic are business processes all over the world, that is, the entire globe. Dolbar is a continuation and an instrument of this 4-dimensional business logic. When the United States says in any developing country that "there must be a market economy in the country", they establish their own rules of the game. The problem is that, although by these rules everyone seems to be profitable to play - they encourage the benefits, but there is a downside - in this field, in these rules the United States automatically becomes the strongest. Because only this is their field of activity. If they had ethics in the first function, they would have ruled some ideological moments, but, as there is business logic, the circumstances develop exactly this way.
Further, this type is not only logical, but also intuitive. In the second place is the intuition of time (Ni), that is, the ability to predict the results of its financial, entrepreneurial actions. This intuition of time is also the intuition of risk: "whoever does not risk, he does not win." Therefore, this type is characterized by the desire to "flirt" with finances, with some other moments. And as a result, from time to time he "brings". And any speculative financial combinations lead to a financial crisis.
One economist described well what was happening in the United States of America: a person buys a house on credit, the house costs 100 thousand dollars. Further, since there is such a process where everyone buys something from each other, the house costs 200 thousand a year later, nominally. The owner is called from the bank, they say: "Look: you took a house on bail, it cost 100 thousand, and now it already costs 200. Do not want to take under these extra 100 thousand furniture, equipment, etc.?". - "Of course, I want". - "No questions". The price is still growing, the person still picks up ... That is, the fictitious price of a house, the fee for ensuring the standard of living increases several times. But for all this, a person collects loans: for entertainment, for new household appliances, etc. And then the banks become not that much, and they increase the interest on the loan. Only by 2-3%. But with this amount, a person is required to pay a month more than his salary, after deduction of taxes, after paying for utilities and so on. He says: "But I cannot." The bank has a reflex - it takes away the house. And it remains with nothing. Because when he takes away from everyone, it turns out that no one can pay. On the TV showed a village in Florida: thousands of houses are standing, thousands of houses, of which evicted residents who could not pay loans. The police are forced to somehow guard houses, because in them teenagers are disgraceful, tramps are populating them. And so, throughout America. This is speculation: "I thought that it costs 200, and put it here, and now it is already worth 300 ..." and again, and more ... And after several such speculations it turned out that such "money" by one estimate is 1.5 trillion, According to others - 10 trillion dollars "wound up". And what to do with it? Then it turns out that at one point, when people refuse to pay, and the house cannot be sold by the bank, and, in turn, has debts to other banks - what happens? It turns out a default, that is, a refusal to pay. And a chain reaction begins. It turns out that those assets that cost the imagination of financiers 5 trillion are not worth one trillion. And the dollar is the world's reserve currency. And the problems of the USA immediately become problems of the whole world. Extraverted approach. The introvert's problems are his problems. And the extrovert's problems are the problems of everyone around him. In this case, financial problems. And the whole world is beginning to shake, because 25% of the world's consumption is the United States of America. And GDP in the US is 11 trillion. This, of course, is a gigantic figure ...
And, as a result, the slightest instability in this giant economic organization, the slightest "sneeze" brings down the world economy. Like Gulliver sneezed among Lilliputians. There is an interesting paradox: everyone knows that the US economy is in crisis and the stock exchange is falling, and the dollar has risen sharply. What happened? Investors began to take money from everywhere, from all countries, to collect them and buy back very cheap American shares, which have now collapsed. In a word: "the stock market has reached the bottom, broke it and began to dig."
INFOGRAPHIC: Integral Types of Russia, Ukraine, USA (INFJ, INFP, ENTJ). Fragments of models of mentality of ethnoses of Russia, Ukraine and the USA.
The problem consists that the combination of business logic and intuition of time at this type sometimes gets speculative character. The fact is that even on a personal level, Jack London or the Entrepreneur has a propensity for a certain risk. And there is such a literary character - Ostap Bender, the "great combinator" - in his image one side of this quality is underlined. On the other hand, for some people of this type, there are, of course, not many of them, there is a great passion for games in casinos or on slot machines. Apparently, they feel a resonance with their business logic when they see how a mechanical device accidentally ejects something. Perhaps there is a psychological moment of identification: "this is a machine, I'm inside a car; He throws away by chance, so I can guess. " I know some people who came to the "one-armed bandits", could not stop ... One large entrepreneur could squander 20-30 thousand, and could not leave until he was pulled out by the collar of a comrade-SEE: he simply pulled out the rest ... Another person, an amateur to play, took in his firm money for settlements with the client and decided to "wrap" them at the same time - he went into the casino. And, of course, not only this money was squandered, but twice as much. Then he disappeared, leaving a note to his wife: "do not look for me, I have disappeared." These are all real cases ... It turns out that the intuition of time brings a person who usually realistically calculates some moments, because he is betting on an unlikely forecast, as in the case of games.
But in the case of the mortgage crisis in the US, we see that there was a banal risk-playing game, which ended in big problems. The uncontrolled movement of capital on world exchanges, which is in full compliance with the Gamma-phase, is now trying to introduce some limits, limit: stop trading, or simply close for a few days the exchanges or prohibit short operations ... That is, the states of the whole world began to actively intervene in this structure. Now voices are heard that it is necessary to refuse altogether from the entire system, including somehow from the dollar, although no one knows how to do it. We can say that now the world economy is like a strained string - it can withstand, and maybe burst. What does it mean to burst? This means that America will refuse to pay its obligations. And trillions of dollars from foreign countries are invested in these obligations. What will happen? It will be complete financial chaos. But even now in America, the state is trying to introduce regulatory mechanisms through the purchase of controlling stakes at low prices. The thing is unheard of: an American state that has always preached a free market has already bought up a third of its banking assets. In the UK, almost all banks went under state control. In France, in Holland - too. Thus, governments take out primarily controlling stakes and banks become state or semi-public. In Russia, a similar process is also taking place. States are beginning to actively regulate the market. And what is it? This is nothing more than a "slip" into the 4th quadra, when there is no free financial "binge", but there are frames and various restrictions. Not like in the 2nd quadra - "they just took and took away", "commissars came and ..." - but softly, not selected, but bought out for less money, and such parastatal management is introduced. The fourth square is also a square of aristocrats - there is its own hierarchy, there its limitations and prohibitions ...
Now it is done, of course, spontaneously, at the level of reflexes, just completely different states, even the United States, do not see any other way out. But, from the point of view of socionics, this is nothing more than a rejection of permissiveness inherent in the 3rd quadra in the financial sense and a transition to technologies and regulatory practices characteristic of the 4th quadra, that is, the transition from a bundle of business logic - intuition (Te-N) to a bundle of business logic - sensorics (Te-S), from financial speculation to production-secured ones. Already in this phase there will be less "blown" speculation, and there will be real, secured assets that will be sold on the stock exchange, quoted, etc. Now the stock market is so divorced from reality that the shares are worth 50-60 denominations. If you count, with the profit that is given there - usually 15-20% per year, how many dozens of years to get this profit? But, nevertheless, quotes were just like that. And now there is a sharp decline - at times - the cost of these shares. Apparently, after all the fluctuations of the shares will become closer to real security. Of course, all this can be accompanied by financial catastrophe, because if the dollar string breaks, then one end, of course, it will hit the States, and the other end - for all who are associated with dollar assets. The situation is very dangerous. But, on the other hand, the transition from the 3rd quadra to the 4th can be either catastrophic or smooth. Both scenarios are possible, and it is quite possible that this will happen through a local or serious catastrophe with finances. It is very difficult here for something to be predicted, now we see just these waves. Obama won, but it is unlikely his team will cope with this. Because he has a lot of populism, but to build a competent strategy to fight against this is, of course, difficult.
In any case, we see that the phase that dominated after the First World War - the third phase - is coming to an end. The harbinger of this was already the "crawling" of Europe into this phase, that is, the formation of the European Union, the abolition of borders, customs and so on. While this was more or less local, and now we see that this process corresponds to the crisis that has arisen. Each time, with each new wave, such a crisis becomes stronger. Such waves unfold on a large scale, this shaft is growing more and more. Therefore, let's say, the world dollar system cannot survive the next crisis. And after a while, a significant part of human civilization will "crawl" or "throw it" into the 4th phase. And then other processes will go on, when people will come to their senses after a stormy Gamma-phase.
Let's turn to the history of specific countries. I will now say two words about Russia, then - about Ukraine. If we look at the history of Russia in the 20th century, including, of course, the period of the existence of the USSR, what do we see? There was an Alpha-phase - very small in a country with a Beta mentality - this is the February revolution, the actual organizational manifestation of this Alpha phase, which quickly changed as a result of the October coup by the Beta phase, that is, the construction of such a clearly centralized, rigid state with an integral type of logic - Sensory introvert (LSI, Maxim). And further - this state lasted 73 years, and then collapsed. That is, upon transition to the Gamma-phase, it underwent de-construction. We can say that the transition "strongly shakes", the flutter is such that the USSR has developed into a number of states and republics, other countries have arisen, and Russia has emerged.
If we now consider Russia, and it is the successor of the USSR, then in its history it is easy to single out several sub-phases, already inside the Gamma-phase. However, in the Beta-phase it was also possible to clearly distinguish 4 sub-phases: Alpha-sub-phase - after the civil war, this is the NEP; Beta-subphase-elimination of all and all, and the emergence of the unified authority of Stalin, continued until 1953; Further attempts by N. Khrushchev to reorganize the state apparatus, to introduce some changes are the Gamma-sub-phase. Khrushchev was displaced, and the "era of developed socialism" or "decaying socialism" began, as he was still jokingly called when everything calmed down, when all began to live more or less securely, in comparison with previous years, that is, the Brezhnev era. In this phase, four subphases are very clearly distinguished, while the Beta-structure of the state and society was preserved.
And now, a new countdown begins. The epoch of Boris N. Yeltsin is obviously the Alpha-subphase in the Gamma-phase. That is, the Gamma-square won, as it was said: "take independence as you want", the economic collapse began, and then the reforms began, and the other, already uncontrolled features of the Gamma-phase became more and more apparent. We all remember it well. Yes, this is the Alpha-sub-phase of the Gamma phase.
And then Boris Nikolaevich understands that the country has reached a certain limit. He understands that new forces are needed, he is looking for successors. He has a kind of casting premiers - who remembers who was not there. And he chooses Vladimir Putin. And, he rests: "Why? To me and so it is good ", -" No, you will be ". And the Beta-sub-phase begins in the 3rd phase. What does this mean? That with the parade of sovereignties is over, rigid centralized management is introduced, governors are no longer elected, but are appointed, the country gets a new administrative division - to the presidential offices, to 6 such super-regions. The "vertical of power" is being built. Restrictions, vowels and, what is characteristic, secret, associated with the press, with freedom of speech, with attempts at sovereignty are introduced ... On the other hand, military power is increasing, that is, a manifestation of strong-willed sensorics (Se). Recall that in the Alpha-phase Yeltsin's Russia actually lost two wars to a small Chechnya. Now - no, the struggle is getting tougher, fighting is under way, the term "sweep" appears. There is, let us say, the pacification of the Caucasus, and with harsh force methods. At the same time, as is known, a number of oligarchs are repressed: B. Berezovsky, V. Gusinsky, M. Khodorkovsky and others. Thus, the state shows that it is the main player - both political and economic. But the ownership forms do not change at the same time. A significant part of the oligarchs, who are friendly with this power, remain with this power or cooperate with it - remember the billionaire R. Abramovich, who simultaneously became the governor of Chukotka, and the super-billionaire, etc. That is, the Gamma-phase continues, that interesting. That is, there is no nationalization, but at the same time the state apparatus is strengthened.