If you visit the MenDan Wellness Hotel in Zalakaros, Hungary, then there is a good chance you will have paper money thrown at you by the hotel’s staff.

Last Thursday, the hotel gave away about $1,200 to its guests.

The money would have been used in the hotel’s marketing budget. However, the hotel’s marketing director decided that this would be a better way to spend it.

Many of the happy and surprised guests went on to spend the money at the hotel’s bar.

The hotel plans to throw money at its guests every week in 2012– at an undisclosed time.

(You can see the money being thrown at guests at about 45 seconds into the video below).

A billion pengo bank note from 1946.

After the war, Hungary experienced the worst case of hyperinflation in history.

Prices rose so much that new paper bank notes had to be printed all the time.

In fact, inflation became so bad that the number of zeros could not fit on the paper currency, the pengo, which was used at the time.

Visitors to Hungary might be surprised when they see the word “barack” written on packages of toilet paper in local shops.

This is not a joke about the American president. Instead, the word barack in Hungarian means peach.

Therefore, a customer would be buying an item that is scented like a fruit.

You can see our photos by clicking here.

The economy in Hungary, as in many countries, has been struggling recently.

As a result, many Hungarians have less money to spend on such items as clothing.

Nonetheless, stores that sell second-hand clothing have been successful during this time.

Often shoppers can purchase clothes for less than 10 percent of what they would pay for new ones.

Many of these shops sell clothing by the kilogram and not by the item.

Several of the items in these shops are produced by top clothing brands.

Part of the collection

Nevertheless, many of the goods from the era have become collectors’ items.

One gentleman in Hungary, for example, recently contacted Simple English News because he would like to sell several hundred badges and pins he collected in Eastern bloc countries.

You can send an email here if you would like more information about this very interesting collection.

More of the collection

For the first three months of 2011, Hungarian shoppers watched as the price of sugar kept rising.

Every week a kilogram of sugar became more expensive than the previous week.

By March 2011, Hungarians were paying 70 percent more for sugar than they had been paying in 2010.

Al Hrabosky is a well-known person of Hungarian ancestry. Nevertheless, not many people in Hungary know who he is.

Hrabosky was one of the best baseball players in the 1970s. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals. His nickname was “The Mad Hungarian”.

On Saturday Hrabosky traveled to the Hungarian city of Szentendre, 20 miles from Budapest, to talk to Hungarian young people about baseball.

He later spoke with fans and stayed on to watch a Hungarian baseball game.

This was his first trip to Hungary.

There are only 1,000 people in Hungary who play baseball at present. However, the sport is becoming more popular with young Hungarians.

Hrabosky, who is now an announcer for the Cardinals, said he hoped that one day a Hungarian baseball player will play professionally in the United States.

The Hungarian government has egg on its face after reports that it paid $1.3 million to create a website.

Most websites, even those belonging to big businesses, are made for a fraction of that amount.

Opposition parties in Hungary want to know why the government would pay so much to build a website.

Words

to have egg on one’s face: to have made a big mistake, to be embarrassed by something one has done.
fraction: a small part of a larger whole.

To those who have not played, golf may look like an easy game.

After all, the ball is not moving.

However, for the game’s devotees, golf is one of the most difficult sports there is.

The best players usually start as children or teenagers, and then spend the rest of their lives practicing.

This is what makes the story of Krisztina Fodor remarkable.

Krisztina had her first golf lesson in September 2003 at the age of 29. Nowadays, she plays at a professional level.

Words

devotee: a big fan, supporter, enthusiast.
remarkable: uncommon, extraordinary.

Istvan Balogh is only 21 years old. Nevertheless, he is the author of two books.

His books are about the Jews who lived in Bekes county in southeastern Hungary.

Istvan, who is not Jewish, started writing his first book when he was only 13 years old.

There were 7,000 Jews who lived in Bekes county before World War II.

Five thousand were killed during the war. Most of the rest went to Western Europe, the United States or Israel. Only 75 Jews live in Bekes county today.

Istvan has collected the stories of the surviving Jews. He has also provided information on the synagogues, cemeteries and other Jewish buildings in the region.

Currently, Istvan is a university student. He would like to become a professor when he is finished school.