The last session of the spring season took place on Endor, instead of our regular clubroom. We explored the new Star Wars themed section of the bar, which opened its doors less than a year ago. Although it turned out to be a little cramped for us, we had a fantastic time with 18 attendees altogether. We are already looking forward to our 2-session summer season in July!
This was our first ever ice skating event, one of our three TAKE FIVE excursions so far, on December 29th. Special thanks to Orsi for the idea. Despite the long lines and the crowd, we had a fantastic time on the ice.
On November 18th we had an art themed session. In the game section we organized a “Whacky Exhibition”. We randomly paired adjectives with objects that had been written by the guests. Enjoy our funky art gallery, generated by Leonardo.Ai:
Written by Róbert Zelei, one of our faithful members and the organizer of this hike
TAKE FIVE summer sessions have a more casual, irregular air to them. For one, there are usually only two meet-ups during this season, and these are held outdoors instead of our normal locations. Previous summer sessions have been organized in places like Nehru part by the Danube, or among the greenery of Margaret Island. In 2023, the club took this one step further: for the first time in the history of TAKE FIVE, we decided that one of our summer events could be a hike in the vicinity of Budapest.
After a vote on our Facebook group page, our choice fell on the Spartacus Trail to the north of Budapest, a roughly 9 km long trip between Pilisszentlászló and Visegrád. The group gathered at Batthyány tér in the morning and after taking the HÉV train and then the bus, we arrived at the start of our hike. The Spartacus Trail itself is considered an easier hike, with no major climbing involved (but there are opportunities to do so), going through shady forest areas, which was a welcome feature in the summer sun. Originally established as a hunting path in the 1930s, the trail was finally opened to the public in 2015. There are lots of scenic spots along the trail, including a great view of the famous Danube Bend.
The group made its way along the narrow path, occasionally stopping for a brief rest of sandwiches or card games. By the end of the trail, we ventured up a hill that provided an excellent view of the Danube and the hills around Visegrád. Finally, we descended through the small streets to the main road of the town and returned to Budapest by bus.
All in all, it felt like the group enjoyed the hike and the novelty of our adventure
together, and it is very likely that there will be a follow-up in the future.
Written by Ágnes Falusi, one of our faithful members
Language learning (and later on teaching) has always been a passion of mine. Last April I was searching for some opportunities to improve my English skills and spend some time among interesting people. There’s no better place to do that than the events organized by TAKE FIVE. The introductory round with its icebreaker questions and pair exercises encourage conversations to learn more about each other, and also allow you to express yourself at a pace you feel most comfortable with.
No matter at which level you currently are, you will find here a very welcoming community and a non-judgemental atmosphere. One of my favorite parts is the topic discussion where you can talk about many different topics with the participants. I always leave with a smile on my face after the closing games, too, not just because they are funny, but because
you can feel as if you were around friends. Fun fact: after a while you might be!
The spring season has just ended and I already miss the biweekly gatherings. But no worries because summer is here and you can join two sessions: a picnic at Nehru part and, for the first time in the history of the club, a special group hike. Check out the calendar for more information. There’s a saying in TAKE FIVE: “Come for the language, stay for the company.” I came for both, stayed for both and hope to see you all around sometime!
September 22 was our eleventh birthday. Although we did not really celebrate it, we received the best birthday present ever: we had a chance to welcome our new organizer, Nóra. If you want to witness how she brings fantastic new vibes to our club, join us on any of the TAKE FIVE Thursdays.
The fifth session of the spring season was organized at Vault 51, a gamer bar in downtown Budapest, which definitely has a nostalgic feel with its uncanny resemblance to one of our former regular venues. We have set another record with a total of 25 people in the room throughout the night. The last time we reached the same number was more than two years ago, in the March of 2020. After a year-long struggle with low attendance, cancellations and online sessions, we were thrilled to have such a big group in our club. As usual nowadays, we had a chance to welcome visitors from abroad. Besides our recurring members, there were new people from Ukraine, Germany and even the United States, which means that we had a native speaker on board again!
As you know, we like to reflect on current issues. This time our game section revolved around the elections. The groups were asked to form their own ‘wacky’ party and give a short campaign speech. In the end, we cast our votes and dropped them into a nice ballot box made by Balázs. In all likelihood the rest of our sessions will be organized at the same place, but you will find all necessary information either here or on our Facebook page.
TAKE FIVE opened its doors in the fall of 2011 and has gone an incredibly long way ever since. Over the course of ten years, the little group of enthusiastic university students turned into a major biweekly event with people from all around the world. TAKE FIVE has been here for a decade to provide a venue for language learners as well as foreigners seeking new friends in Hungary. With nearly 200 sessions behind our backs, we celebrated our birthday with an extraordinary event at Muzikum on September 23rd. Besides some of our regular activities, we amused our guests with fun quiz games to revisit a few milestones down memory lane. We would like to thank Szilvia Liska for the wonderful photos, and also our faithful members for choosing us every second Thursday.
After a seemingly endless period of stagnation and mild despair, the club is finally coming back to life! This Thursday we had the opportunity to welcome not only long-lost old members, but we had a number of new people in the house as well, including three international students. The topic of the night was ‘gaming curfew’, a regulation to limit children’s screen time in China. It was a one-in-a-million chance that one of the new visitors turned out to be straight from China, so she got to share her first-hand experience with us. We can’t wait to see everybody again!
If you want to become part of the unadulterated TAKE FIVE atmosphere that used to fill the room before the pandemic hit, don’t hesitate to join us two weeks from now. Please find the latest event on Facebook to make sure you receive all the important updates.
TAKE FIVE — English Language Club 