Gábor Nádas, Former CEO, Thermal Hotel Visegrád
- 10 Dec 2019 4:59 PM
1. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Budapest, the loveliest capital in the world.
2. If you could be an expat anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
I have already experienced the expat life twice: in Hanover, Germany and in Bratislava, Slovakia. I would definitely try Italy.
3. What would you miss most if you moved away from Hungary?
Family and friends, of course. But I would also miss Hungarian food, the spas and the ruin pubs.
4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend – what must they absolutely see and do?
I always take visitors on a boat cruise on the Danube. Everyone loves that. And let’s not forget visiting a Turkish bath and trying Hungarian folk dancing. Vásárcsarnok is also worth a visit, to sample the local food and wine. In winter, I would also suggest my visitors go ice-skating at the Városliget ice-rink, and taste a mulled wine and kürtös kalács (chimney cake) at one of the city’s Christmas markets.
5. What is your favourite food?
My favourite is the typical Hungarian dish paprikás csirke (chicken paprikash). In summer, I love barbecues. I also like Italian cuisine, and I often choose fresh fish when eating out at a restaurant.
6. What is your favourite sport / form of exercise?
Running, sailing, snowboarding, and taking long walks with my dogs.
7. What is your favourite place in Hungary?
I like Szeged, where my mother was born. I used to spend a month there each summer when I was a child. My grandmother (94) still lives there. I visit her with my kids two or three times a year.
8. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
Aircraft pilot. But I love my job; it’s my hobby as well, so I’m a lucky guy.
9. What’s a job you would definitely never want?
Anything that has nothing to do with people.
10. Where did you spend your last vacation?
I spent a week in Malta.
11. Where do you hope to spend your next one?
I’d like to visit Brazil. The Carnival in Rio is on my bucket list.
12. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
My favourite band was (and still is) Iron Maiden. My hobby was folk dancing. An interesting combination, I know, but I am twins!
13. Apart from temptation, what can’t you resist?
A glass of chilled draught beer.
14. Red wine or white?
Red. My favourite types are merlot and syrah. My preferred wine region in Hungary is Szekszárd.
15. Book or movie?
Book, because you need to use your imagination.
16. Morning person or night person?
I don’t really like to get up very early, so I would say I am much more a night person.
17. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?
Everything related to children and the environment. These are the fields we are active in with my colleagues at work.
18. Buda or Pest side?
Buda for relaxing, and Pest for entertainment.
19. Which achievement in your life are you most pleased about?
My three kids. I am proud of them. Professionally, the everyday smiles on the faces of our guests at Thermal Hotel Visegrád.
20. What would you say is your personal motto?
Impossible isn’t a fact, it’s an opinion. Impossible = potential.
Proofread by Robyn Flemming
Robyn is an Australian freelance editor and proofreader, with clients in Australia, Asia and the Middle East.