Bill Murray visiting an old friend in Hungary

It is not a new sensation that celebrities visit our country, as several Hollywood stars have been shooting in Budapest lately. Bill Murray’s case is exceptional: he did not come to Hungary for filming, but to visit an old friend in Tököl.

Bill Murray, the Golden Globe-winning actor and comedian arrived in Hungary on Saturday. Blikk managed to make an interview with him, in which he stated that he liked Budapest very much, and since he had never visited the country before, there were several things that he found new and interesting during his trip to Hungary. The actor, who starred in the beloved Ghostbusters franchise, and award-winning movies such as Grand Budapest Hotel and Lost in Translation, arrived in Hungary in complete secrecy, apart from his hosts and the lucky ones who happened to meet him, no one knew that he was here.

Visiting an old friend

Murray’s friend, Michael Stenger and his wife, Éva live in Tököl, where they hosted the star. He told Blikk that he was working as a limousine driver in New York when he met Murray after defecting from Hungary in 1956. After that, he saw Bill more and more often, whom he took home after many of his performances, and slowly they became good friends. “I’ve known Michael for 30 years”, Murray added.

He just finished shooting a movie in Germany, so he took the opportunity and flew to Hungary to say hello to his old friend. Although Murray had promised Stenger many times before that he would visit him in Hungary, the family was really surprised when they got a message from the star that he wrote from the plane: “I’m on my way to you.”

Bill Murray is a fan of Hungarian cuisine

His friend also told Blikk in the interview that he was particularly interested in Hungarian food. He had Gypsy roast for lunch two days ago, and he really wants to try chicken paprikash next. He became a fan of Unicum too: Murray said that after drinking some of the Hungarian liquor, he instantly felt calmer and it helped him quiet his mind. He also said that he really enjoyed driving around the countryside and Budapest. They also went to a wine festival in the city and wanted to listen to Gypsy music too. Index spotted, that on Monday, he had dinner in a restaurant called Éjjeli Bagoly, and posed for photos with the crew.

Photo: PrtScr from FB / Éjjeli Bagoly Étterem és Panzió

“Bill gets up early in the morning, has a cup of coffee, then goes back to bed and sleeps for another hour or two. He doesn’t have any star behaviour: imagine that this guy has never picked cherries from a tree in his life. He did it in our garden for the first time, and ate them in a way that he was covered in cherry juice”, Stenger added.

On Monday, they visited Dörgicse and the Kaáli Car and Motorcycle Museum. He arrived with his friends in the early afternoon and found the old vehicles fascinating. He wandered for hours among the cars, listening to Professor Kaáli’s stories about the vehicles.

According to Blikk, he likes to stay out of the spotlight, but he is happy to pose for a photo together when he walks around Budapest. The actor will continue his trip to Greece on Tuesday, where he is expected to attend a golf tournament.

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