Prosecco Cruise and Photography Yoga in the Name of Saint Stephen - a hopeful 20th of August in Budapest, Hungary

Three might be a lucky number, or a magical one, or maybe it’s just three. I’m not really sure. But this year, it definitely worked for me. For the third time, I photographed Saint Stephen’s Day in Budapest and its famous fireworks over the Danube. And whatever three is supposed to be, this one turned out to be a lovely experience and, hopefully, resulted in a few pretty good pictures too—but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

This is a hopeful year. It seemed almost tangible, all around us, that this year we had something different to celebrate on the 20th of August.

After 16 years of a highly questionable government regime, the country feels hopeful. There is a sense that people are inspired again, motivated to do better, and somehow that feeling found its way into the 20th of August celebrations too.

For years, the national holiday felt to me like a showcase of national symbolism, while turning away from Europe and building a nationalistic barrier between Hungary and the rest of the world. This year, it felt different. More toned down, more inclusive, and—perhaps for the first time in quite a while—like something to be a little bit proud of. It felt less like a celebration designed to isolate Hungary and more like one that was trying to connect it.

At the same time, celebrating anything with fireworks this summer came with a rather obvious contradiction.

It has been an extraordinary year for weather. Hungary has been one of the hottest countries in Europe throughout the summer, and the extreme drought has been devastating. The parks are yellow, the trees are brittle and fragile, and since the end of July, Budapest has looked as though we were already at the end of September. Dry leaves are everywhere. The whole country is suffering from the lack of rain.

So throwing fireworks into the sky when it feels like the whole planet is burning up seemed, to say the least, counterintuitive.

The new government did cut back on the celebrations quite massively. Some of the fireworks that had already been ordered still came through, though, and I also believe that people expect this holiday—and its traditional fireworks—so much that removing them altogether probably wouldn’t have been a particularly successful move either.

Traditions are complicated like that.

Instead, the balance shifted. This year, there was much more emphasis on the light show and less on an excessive fireworks display. There were still fireworks, of course. There was still spectacle, and that unmistakable 20th of August feeling along the Danube. But it didn’t feel as though it needed to scream quite so loudly.

So, for the third time, I found myself there with my camera, photographing Saint Stephen’s Day. The same city, the same river, the same national holiday—but in a country that, at least for the moment, feels different.

A little disclaimer before I go: I chose to shoot the evening from the PartyBookers boat which runs regular prosecco cruises on the Danube smartly combining cool things - sightseeing and a having a great time with delicious prosecco! I’msimpliy enthusiastic about the idea and so, this is not a paid promotion. I’ve known the company for years, and I always try to choose partners I genuinely like and feel I would enjoy working with—and this turned out to be a really cool experience.

The boat was great in exactly the way I needed it to be: everyone was incredibly tolerant of me running around with my cameras while, at the same time, being wonderfully kind to the guests and very busy making sure everybody had a good evening. The captain even tolerated my hilarious photography yoga near his cabin. So a big thank you to Yasmin and the entire PartyBookers crew who worked so hard that night, and for making me feel so welcome while I was doing my thing.

Over to you

Do you think we should drop fireworks altogether? Which one is your favourite picture?

With Love,

Melì