Football in Hungary

Okay, not really stag related, or stag weekend oriented, but I know almost all stags are into football, so I thought this post on Pestiside.hu may be of interested, especially the heated comments following it. This partially explains why five-a-side footy is more expensive in Eastern Europe (i.e. pitch rental) - because there aren’t many good pitches, and the ones that do exist overcharge and overbook.

So here is the article - Enjoy!

The Problem with Hungarian Football is the People NOT Playing It.

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Stag Republic Stripper Pose

As I have discovered on trips and at parties where Helen is present, she likes to do what she calls her ‘Stripper Pose’. This first came about in our travels to Bratislava, to do “research” for stag weekends there (e.g. we drank a lot, slept late and didn’t see much of the city, just like a stag do!) One evening we had just visited our second strip club, a very classy - no - THE CLASSIEST strip club in Bratislava, complete with an amazing laser show and amazingly gorgeous strippers, when Helen decided to do her own ‘Stripper Pose’. She has since done it a few times and I’ve had the good fortune of capturing it on film:

original stripper pose Bratislava The one-and-only, The original ‘Stripper Pose’!!!

Helen gives a step-by-step lesson on how to do her special pose:

stripper pose 2 You talking to me? Eh? I’ll show you how to do a stripper pose!

stripper pose 3 Step One: Bend over

stripper pose 4 Step Two: Grab your ass!

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Stag Republic Halloween 2007

stag republic pumpkins

BOO! We celebrated Halloween, my birthday and had Anna’s leaving party Stag Republic style! We started as usual, with a spread of food fit for a Stag king - cakes, scones, chips and salsa, strudel and champagne.

stag republic office party Anna in the stag office pumpkins in a stag office in budapest

Above - chowing down with the Stag office people. Saying goodbye to Anna… and finally, we get to choose our pumpkins.

pumpkin carving technique pumpkin gutting and carving in the stag office carving pumpkins with stag organisers

The carving starts with instructions for first-time pumpkin carvers Nora and Helen. Then the goriness begins. Pumpkin guts and seeds are flung about with abandon and Helen is quite grossed out by the whole process.

horizontal pumpkin Nora's first pumpkin EVER pumkins and the stag office

The results! Helen is really courageous and carves her pumpkin horizontally (left). Nora’s turns out perfectly (middle) and they all look quite dashing with the Stag Republic office in the background

more glowing pumpkins glowing in the dark pumpkins

We studied our masterworks for a while in the dark and came to the conclusion that these glowing pumpkins resembled a group of drunken lads on a Stag Do, so the whole thing seemed very appropriate and worthwhile. Click to enlarge the picture and if you look closely at the pumpkin faces, they do look like drunk people at a bar. We were a bit tipsy too, mind you…

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Bratislava with Stag Republic

Helen and I went on another recce - this time to Bratislava. Bratislava is filled with awesome clubs and fantastic restaurants. Perfect for a Stag or Hen weekend! The strip clubs are great too, because they cater to men AND women. Apparently, the Slovaks like going to strip clubs with their significant other. We were told that it is absolutely normal to find husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends enjoying a good, raunchy sex show together. Maybe that’s why Slovakia’s divorce rate is lower than most…

So here are pictures from our own little Bratislava Stag Weekend :)

tractor Ritz Carlton - Helen Bratislava Clubs

Helen fell in love with this tractor as soon as we hit Bratislava and insisted she get photographed with it. After the tractor love-in we got ready in our hotel room and headed out for some din-din at a place called Slang Pub right across from our hotel.

Bratislava River UFO restaurant Bratislava Bratislava bridge

After a tasty Slovakian meal, we went for a walk around town. Bratislava is beautifully lit at night with a lot of nice views on the Danube River. We walked all the way to the UFO restaurant, across a really long bridge just to get a cocktail, but when we got there they wouldn’t let us in because they were closed - oh well, next time!

Bratislava pubs and clubs Tea in Bratislava Restaurants in Bratislava

After that we did our own little Pub Crawl in Bratislava’s Old Town. At our first stop Helen was still needing some tea to get her party game going. The rest of us drank some local Slovak brew. We stopped by this ultra cool cocktail club with really funky lamps outside.

Party girls in Bratislava club Drinking in Bratislava Rita and Helen

Our next stop was Club Trafo which was a funky little club playing pretty good dance music. Helen was drinking Breezers I think. And we did a couple of scary shots, I think. My memory starts getting hazy around this point.

Soldiers in Bratislava Bratislava posters Stripper Bratislava
We met some American soldiers on their weekend off. Helen took a ‘lickin’ to a Slovakian ad campaign. We then stopped in at Moulin Rouge, one of the better strip clubs in Bratislava. The girls were pretty hot AND they had a male stripper. I’ll spare you that picture, but check out my face in this picture - the male stripper had just grabbed my hand and was slowly running it down his stomach… BLECCCHHH!

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Stag Republic Office Update

A lot of things have changed in our Budapest office between the very last time we wrote in this blog to the new updates here in October 2007. Szilvi and Eszter have both left us. Szilvi moved to the UK to try her luck there, so if you see her make sure to give her a big hug from the Stag Republic team. Eszter also moved on to bigger and better things. Kate came back for a visit:

Kate's visit
While we miss all our colleagues and friends tons, there is a new face in the SR offices whom we are growing to love as much - Nora. Nora is our new financial manager and she is top-notch. She is learning to speak English and Esperanto! She worked in banks before this and has admitted that working for this Stag company is much more fun and exciting - especially since she helps out a lot with bookings too. So, welcome smiley Nora!

Nora

Josey has had an addition to his family in the meantime too! The Little Bear as Josey likes to call him was born on June 16, 2007. He has come to visit us in the office a few times now. Here are a few pictures of the official heir to the Stag Republic throne:

WeeJaw is born WeeJaw at birth JAW Jaw & WeeJAW
Other than that, we’re still pretty much the same! Like we still have these two crazy Hungarian retro-advertisements postcards hanging on the cupboards:

Retro Cottage Cheese This one is advertising cottage cheese

Retro Cheese This one says “Ready, Set, Cheese!!!”
We’d love to hear from you so drop us a line about a stag weekend you’ve been on recently, or if you have any questions about any of our European Stag Weekend destinations at info@stagrepublic.co.uk

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Krakow weekend with Stag Republic

Helen and Rita in Krakow Krakow Architecture
Helen and I traveled to Krakow waaaaaay back in March, but I’ve only just gotten around to organising the pictures and getting them up on this here crackin’ blog. We got a little, nah, a HUGE taste of a Krakow Stag or Hen Weekend. And pun intended. We basically ate and drank our way through this gem of a city. The food is DELICIOUS and Polish people are just amazingly friendly! So here follows the saga of Helen & Rita’s Trip to Krakow:

Krakow Airport  CK Browar Pub Krakow  Krakow Brewery - beer giraffe

We arrived at the Krakow airport where we were greeted by Mike (our director of bookings in Krakow). We wasted no time and got right to the pub.This Krakow cellar pub/brewery is famous for it’s homemade microbrew, served in gigantic beer giraffes.

Krakow Locals and Pubs Krakow Stag Weekends

Later on we headed back out with one of our own Stag Republic groups in Krakow, who booked the pub crawl with us. We headed back to our favorite pub where Helen and I got friendly with the local drunk. One of our group was on crutches, and we meet up with a crazy Dutch guy also on crutches! Only in Krakow.

Krakow Pub Crawl Carpe Diem 1

Steve enjoyed a brewski at one of the bars. Next stop was Club Carpe Diem which is filled with motorcycle paraphernalia and lots of students, locals and tourists alike.
Carpe Diem 2 Krakow Irish Bars and English Breakfast

The lads enjoyed this bar. The following morning we started with a hearty English breakfast, with a couple Bloody Mary’s to knock us back into the real world.
Krakow Day Spa Krakow Kazimierz fleamarket

We stopped in to check out one of Krakow’s best Day Spas and were given very special slippers. Then we headed over to the Kazimierz district of Krakow, the trendy, hip and happening part of the city. There is a flea market in the middle of the main square with all sorts of really interesting things for sale.
Krakow Kazimierz fleamarket Alchemia Cafe in Krakow

We did the rounds at the stalls, I bought some crazy earrings and we both bought some delicious home-made Polish cheese. After that we relaxed in the hipster hangout - Alchemia Café and drank a couple beers.

Main Square Market in Krakow Dinner in Krakow

We then headed to the Main Square where we did a little more shopping at the market. That evening we treated ourselves to a scrumptious traditional meal.

Krakow Restaurants Polish Pierogies

Cracklings with lard and bread, damn! that was good. My mouth is watering just writing about it. The main dish - glorious pierogies with steamed beetroot!

Krakow Main Square Krakow Hen Weekend

On the way back to the flat we walked through the Krakow Main Square again and saw some fire-artists. Then I braided Helen’s hair in preparation for another hardcore night on the town!

Krakow Clubs and Bars Club Prozak in Krakow

We went to so many places, I don’t remember half their names, but there was Rust (Rydza I think, in Polish), Prozak, and a bunch of other really cool clubs. We even checked out some local live music.

Krakow Bars and Clubs Krakow Bars and Clubs 2

More clubs and bars in Krakow.

Krakow Apartments and Krakow Accommodation Krakow Barbakan Gate

Our last day we did some hardcore sightseeing and looked at loads of Krakow Hotels. That’s Helen and I in front of the Barbakan gate.

Krakow Hotels Public Transport Krakow

This is one of the hotels we use when booking our groups, it was really nice inside. Mike had some trouble figuring out how to punch his ticket on the tram.

Dynia cafe Krakow Krakow Stag Weekend

We, of course, stopped to eat a late breakfast at this really cool joint called Dynia. It’s the hangout for the local yuppies and their kids and dogs. But the atmosphere and food were both excellent. We said goodbye to Krakow in front of our favourite pub in Krakow. Click!

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Ladies Night Out in Budapest

If you have noticed, maybe you haven’t, the majority of people working in the Stag Republic offices are women! :) Anyways, the girls from the office, a couple SR guides and friends, went out for a little partaaay mid-October and had us a blast.

Helen rock n roll girls

We warmed up a bit at my place…

The Ladies At the club

7 bottles of champagne later we headed out…

Budapest club - Tabu White chicks

Club Tabu. White chicks and gang signs!

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Long time no blog…

Eszter, Kate, Helen Eszter, Kate and Helen on the boat.

Yes, it’s been a looooooooooooong time since we last made an effort to post something. Partly this is Kate’s fault, she left us! Sadly, she had to go back to her home far away and she was in charge of updating you on the Stag Republic blog.

It’s taken a while for us to recover from the shock of her sudden departure, but we are slowly starting to pull ourselves back together.

To get you back up to speed, here are some pictures from Kate’s going away party - BOAT CRUISE TIME!

Captain Josey Captain Josey Food FOOD. of course.

Kate's cake Kate’s ChocoCake Kate's gifts cookbook and necklace for kate

budapest_parliament.jpg Beautiful Budapest. The Crew The Crew.

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RECIPE: Prize Winning Pizzas

Ingredients:

5x Well tempered friendly colleagues

    RitaGabór and HelenKateAnna and Szilvi
    1x Killer Sauce

    Sauce

    >5+x Of your favorite pizza toppings

    Ingredients

    >2x Bottle of wine per person

      Wine

      STEP 1

      Assemble your pizzas

      SzilviPizzas on stoveTwo pizzasSmiley

      STEP 2

      Cook your pizza

      Oven

      STEP 3

      Eat your pizza

      HelenAnnaGabór  Rita

      STEP 4

      Award for best pizza!

      Winner

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GUIDE TRAINING PARTY

Last night a bunch of our best guides and new guides got together for some refresher and training courses.

We wrangled them all up for some “research” - First stop, the local pub.

We updated them on rules and regulations, policies, customer service and then played a fun game of who knows Budapest best.

The winning team got to drink a round of Pálinka shots!

Here are the lovlies going, going, gone!

Guide trainingGuide trainingGuie training

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