Drinking in Budapest

Two drinks that are very common in Budapest (and virtually unheard of outside of Central Europe) are pálinka and fröccs.

Pálinka is a fruit brandy that is extremely strong. Because it's made from fruit, it comes in many flavors (if you can taste past the burn!), the most popular being apricot, pear, apple and plum.

Fröccs is Hungary's name for a wine spritzer, but what separates it from that humdrum drink is that one orders the exact measurements of wine to sparkling water. Literally, there are ten different versions one could order, from the "sport" (1 dl wine to 4 dl soda) to the "silly" (5 dl wine to 5 dl soda) to the "Krudy" (9 dl wine to 1 dl soda—named after bibulous Hungarian author Gyula Krúdy). Fröccs is a summer drink, meant to refresh you on a hot day, but it's also good for keeping you hydrated through a night of drinking, hopefully preventing a hangover. [wink]

To cheers, say "egészségedre!" meaning "to your health." Phonetically it sounds like "agga-shuhga-dray." Even if that doesn't sound exactly right, it'll be appreciated if you make the effort.