"Űdvözöljük Magyarországon!": welcome in Hungary. As soon as you cross the border you are made aware that, here in Hungary, they do not speak a language like any other. Hungarian is not an Indo-European, but an Uralic tongue, like Finnish, Estonian and Sami. This has everything to do with the migrations of the Hun and the Magyar tribes coming from the East, possibly from Siberia East of the Ural mountains, invading the flatlands around the Danube in Central Europe, respectively around 450 AD and 900 AD. Fortunately 'Gulyás' is not one of those loooooooong words, so you can order this world-reputed paprika stew in Hungarian without being rushed to a hospital to undo the knot in your tongue. And before having your Hungarian goulash, let us take you on a voyage through this country of long history and profound culture. A history and culture of tragedy, as in 1526 the defeat in the Battle of Mohács put the country behind a sterile iron curtain of Ottoman occupation during a period when Western Europe was making unseen progress, in all fields of endeavour making the transition from medieval to modern times. Hungary's prosperity and revival came only later, under Habsburg rule; but then again, from his throne in Vienna, the Habsburg Emperor chose the German side in the Great War and at the end of the war, the Habsburg monarch lost his throne and Hungary lost two thirds of its territory and of its ethnic Hungarian population. And more calamity was still to come, when after Hitler's defeat in 1945, Stalin put Hungary forcefully behind yet another Iron Curtain, only to be lifted in 1991. Like a guiding lantern in your hand, the flickering flame of turbulent history shines over the cities and villages of Hungary, and is about to help you explore their architecture, their spirit and their 'ambiance', with Budapest as the obvious highlight, but also with provincial towns like Esztergom, Visegrád, Szentendre, Györ and Pécs.