If you're reading this because we talked at the course held by Aya & Angela, Glide Roller Skating (GRS), then you can find me on facebook, but I comment from time to time at the (mostly Hungarian) group Dunaguri.
Angela is active in the Artistic Roller Skating group as well, but I'll miss their lessons greatly and it saddens my heart to loose such wonderful teachers. I'm a novice, I started roller skating early 2022 and while I practice a lot, please take what I say with a grain salt, there are hundred times better and better informed skaters out there.
All is not lost though: if you attended the GRS course then whatever you did there, it has the "ice version", nearly identical or very very similar. If you can roller skate, even minimally, then you can ice skate. Period. Do yourself a favor and try it out, after four or five sessions you will be able to switch between the two and you will never be as lost and hopeless as the tourists at Liget (the biggest outdoor leasure ice rink of Budapest) - plus you will keep in shape with your roller skates.
- ice is super flat and smooth, unlike concrete; falling on ice (imo) is slightly less scary than falling on concrete
- ice is slippery: whatever you do on ice, it takes much less energy than doing it on roller skates
- on ice, you can turn on a dime, or spin with absolutely zero effort; if you struggle doing full rotations spins on the floor, you will be able to do multiple rotations on ice easily
- when wearing ice skates I have this feeling that I'm standing on a needle; even the shortest rockered roller skate frame will feel awkward and limiting when putting on roller skates after being on the ice
- I recommend (if possible) you use a figure skate, but if you have a hockey skate, then around 95% of the exercises are still doable on those; all teachers I met with gave me adapted/modified versions of the exercises whenever this was an issue.
- I don't think using the rentable skates is a good idea; even the cheapest Decathlon figure skate is hundred times better than those scary blue things.
- If you want to buy a hockey skate, then at Marczi skate they can 3D scan your feet and recommend skates, the sharpening will also be free if you buy the skate there.
- Please do have the skate sharpened (or ask around if they come sharpened already; some do). My skates are machine sharpened to 18, that's a sensible default (I'm told).
- If you have more than one skate, then try to use one early on and don't change them.
- Some roller skates can be used with ice blades, for example I have Powerslide Trinity, blades, but I still think that a dedicated ice skate is better (and can even be cheaper).
- When you buy ice skates, also buy skate guards, these should be very cheap, the rubber ones starting around 4 EUR, you put them on the blades so when you walk around and leave the rubbery areas you won't damage the blade.
- I recommend the City skate ice rink and boating lake (Liget) first.
- Avoid peak hours (friday + end of the week).
- Buy the ticket online, usually online bought tickets are checked instantly, while the tourists are standing in line for the paper ticket for ages.
- I myself always use some protective gear, usually a smaller knee pads under my (really ugly) cargo pants and a worn Powerslide wrist guard. In my experience I rarely hit my head or my elbow, but YMMV. Don't be ashamed wearing them, you don't have spare knees and you don't want to miss skating because of injuries.
- If you are super careful, you can also buy/use ski protective gear, the selection is much bigger than what we have for roller skates.
- You will find the cloakroom down on ice level, one to the left, one to the right. Usually everyone speaks English (to a certain extent at least).
- If you're like me and always feel terribly cold on the ice, you can buy ski hand and leg (chemical) warmers for cheap at Decathlon, below 5 celsius I usually wear them.
- Probably you will want to wear something comfortable, though this is an outdoor rink and at first it's not that important.
- When you exit the (right) cloakroom on the right, you will find a small ticket office, where you can buy tickets for group lessons, they are very cheap (1200 HUF, around 3 EUR), do buy one (lessons start at 17:30 and 18:30). Please don't go to the ice immediately, there are lot's of reckless teens and the lessons are held in a separate and safe area.
- Lessons are held by different teachers (per day), I tried all of them (during non peak hours). If this is your first time on the ice, you can choose anyone, but the monday one (Toni) does the exact lesson he held during summer and autumn for roller skaters (part of the Active Budapest program).
- There are usually absolute starters and novice skaters, around 5-8 people, it's a safe area, you can ask the teacher, you can see how others are doing.
- After the lesson in the other corner (next to this one) usually people are doing exercises; it's not as safe as the protected area where the lessons are held, but it's still a chill place.
- Don't go the main ring til you can't stop. After two or three lessons you will be able to use the snow plough you learned for roller skating with one dominant leg held in front of you, but even a snow plough can stop if you're not too fast.
After a couple of lessons you will be able to practice the things you learned on ice (or, if you feel like it, anything you learned at GRS). I tried out a couple of rinks, but not all of them so far (but I will, sometime; here is a very good list for 2022/23), here are the ones I know about:
- Liget: the "big" place I wrote about above. Avoid on weekends. Lessons are held at a safe area, other corner is "okayish", the main/central area is a mixed bag, I usually don't feel safe enough there (though I managed to avoid any collisions so far). Always be on the lookout for reckless people and tourists that can't skate (at all).
- Jegkert: rather small tent in front of Mammut II (at Szena ter). Very small, mixed bag, kids/teens are usually dangerous, but the lessons are held only for the participants and the lessons are very cheap. I'll write about that later.
- Marczibanyi: Medium sized tent, pretty shabby. I've been there twice so far, it was very chill, I felt safe there, lots of small kids and protective parents.
- Jegdom: immediately outside Budapest, to the south, at Halasztelek. If you have a car and live in the southern Buda area, it's a very good option. Medium-big tent, no facilities (apart from toilets and small cloakrooms/containers), but very chill, lots of space, very good for practice.
Always check your target site online before you leave, these places are usually rentable by companies, sports groups, elementary schools, hockey teams - they're always prioritized over the individual skaters like us.
So far I managed to find two (special thanks to Balazs and Berta for telling me about them) that are close to (or will be) figure skating.
The one at Jegkert is on saturdays, 18:00, held by Rita (for us adults at least); she's a good teacher. The team is a mixed bag, there always are a couple of starters, but I recommend you come here when you're "mostly comfortable" on the ice. You don't have to be able to do crossovers or go backwards, but feel at home and stable on ice, that's enough. If you can go around at Liget without problems, nothing fancy, just going around, then it's okay for you.
The lesson costs 4000 HUF (around 10 EUR), you have to pay at the teacher, it's one hour. There's a cloakroom, but if you just change your shoes then there's plenty of room in front of the tent. Usually teens, kids, students, young adults, the place has a good vibe. You can rent a small cabinet, but nearly everyone leaves their shoes and empty bags in front of the tent (or you can put it on the bench at the two sides of the tent).
Both teachers you can see at the lesson (Rita & Reka) have private lessons - their price is average, but you'll have to pay for the entry fee as well and the ice will be in use by guests, so it's a mixed bag. They're good teachers, but if the place is crowded, then it's a pain in the back and you'll have to do your best to avoid collisions with the kids playing catch.
HA has multiple teachers, all of them speak English (don't be discouraged by the website). Either you write an email to hkajelentkezes@gmail.com or you will have to fill the form at https://www.hoffmannakademia.hu/felnott-klub/ (name, email, message, at the bottom of the page). There are no absolute beginners here, but there are novices (even some below my level, so it is an option for us unexperienced roller skaters).
I recommend you come here when you can skate on one leg for a longer period (10-15sec), do double leg slalom/snake, can do the same backwards, maybe do forward crossovers.
The application process is a bit complicated, you write the email (or fill the form), get a google form with the usual user agreements then you will get a weekly email about the exact times of the lessons (we're at the mercy of professional skaters and hockey teams) which you can apply to through a google spreadsheet. Price is 20000 HUF (around 50 EUR) for 5 lessons, paid after the lesson at the coach.
Adult lessons are usually at thursday, saturday and sunday at Kisstadion (very close to the GRS sunday place, near Puskas Stadion) and Gyakorlo Jegcsarnok. Kisstadion (Small Stadium, literally) is a very big ice rink covered with a tent. The facility is rather shabby, do not expect a cloak room, but the ice is very good and the place is huge, it can easily accomodate three or four groups in the same time (mere mortals can not enter the place, just like the other two ice rinks around Puskas, these are only for professional skaters).
You can enter the building from the south (or the rink only from the north), at the Jegvilag shop, change your skates and coat at the corridor level -1 (you can ask the porter, but it's hard to miss), then you can go to the tent area wearing skate guards. There are teachers for novice and intermediate participants, if this is your first time, they'll see how stable you are during warm up and then assign you to a group.
Also note that right above the hockey shop there is a figure skating shop called Granieri. The other ice rink is the Gyakorlo Jegcsarnok which I think is probably as good as it gets, is a "proper" building in very good condition, with an enclosed ice rink and all required facilities. Entrance is from the north, immediately as you enter you will see the beautiful rink in all its glory. You can change into your skates on the right corridor or even next to the ice itself - the whole rink is enclosed and is a "proper" building, you can be fine in a lighter jacket.