Sziget report

back home from holidays! Vienna & Sziget were good, both eventful in different ways. although in our short stay in Vienna i found it really "slow", like, everything closed and even the magistrate was like a tomb minutes before our scheduled thing, we were wondering if we were in the wrong place or something. geez. i know august is a holiday month in Vienna but i got a little annoyed. Sziget was amazing like last time, just much more expensive. i guess they figured they can really cash in on (mostly) european travelers & party people (441 000 visitors this year!). but festival wise it was great. the scorching dry heat (36C) was a bit tough, add dusty air and it can get tiring.

i was a little busy in Vienna with my mind elsewhere so i didnt take too many snapshots which is a shame. kind of knew that going in, but u cant always have everything and thats the way it is. will post something later i guess...

but with Sziget fresh in my mind i have to write it out!

i love train stations arriving to a new country. the smells, architecture and people give you this sense of a new beginning. like a journey is about to start.  Budapest was no exception. although ive been there before, doesnt make a difference. only 2,5h from Vienna!

another thing that gives you an exciting sense of something about to start; the bridge to Sziget which welcomes 'szitizens' in many languages . 

laying down & degydrating in the heat. doctor looking through the program. 

the sunsets were beautiful. 

finnish-swedish comradery. 

main stage. 

 just people.

H&M's carousel. 

relaxing area was relaxing. 

 Sziget beach.

one of the main reasons i love Sziget is the many installations and artsy constructions for people to enjoy.

 Tedx tent.

light tunnel.

our camping area which was very cute in the night.

tent door was better left open to get some air in. on the last night when it rained heavily and we had to close it, we slept very poorly, suffering from lack of oxygen. some seams also leaked and we had troubles keeping our stuff dry (and couldnt, actually). but thats camping life! overall a nice experience. 

nachos and deep fried chicken. we also enjoyed wok, thai, italian bread, NY style hamburgers, hungarian flat bread, pasta and many other tasty things. i think this is *the* music festival for foodies, like a good balance of selection and quality.

one of the theatre shows we enjoyed. 

 the wine yard (selling wine by the jar/bottle)

enjoying late afternoon while listening to main stage.

argentinian Fuerza Bruta's show was cool. 

 i love festival nights, with the bright lights.

at the art area we tried sculpture making and did a musical instrument from an old keyboard. the projects and crafty opportunities are fun to do during the day while sailing between stages and relaxing. a lot of NGO's, organizations and even EU had their own tents.  museums also had representation and activities.

jazz & classical stage was the perfect place to relax and wind down in the noon/afternoon. its does not seem like the kind of music i typically listen to but it was fitting, kind of mainstream and suitable for all.

there was a love chapel, for szitizens to get married. providing a sziget marriage certificate and all. we felt like the certificate we got a couple days earlier was enough so did not re-marry in Sziget (to be honest mainly cos they required you to buy cheap rings as part of the fun, and since we already opted out on rings). 

the "LGBT tent" featured documentaries, discussions, drag shows and cabarets. very cool party atmosphere.

at the festival we spent some time with my finnish friends who were there, Ella & Sam, and then they ran into some more finnish people and we started all hanging out together in the evenings. they had this huge blue tarpaulin that we spread on the ground and sat on. eventually it got "somewhat" dirty though...

i was not impressed with the festival  line up to be honest, or perhaps it just wasnt my year. i was not interested in Avicii, Ellie Goulding nor Limp Bizkit, even if i recognize the hit songs. but im not a huge fan of live concerts anyway, it suits me quite well to just sit in the back and have the bands play what they play. I did want to see Interpol though and did enjoy the gig.  




back to civilization after the festival, in the city of Budapest. first things first; sushi (probably the only food not represented at the multicultural festival)