Sound Bowls, Lake Views, and a Very Good Massage Early March in Western Hungary always feels like a quiet turning point. Just a few days earlier, Andrew and I had reopened our countryside house near Sümeg after the winter. The garden still looked half asleep, yet the...
No Santa in Hungary? That line still makes people blink when they visit in December. Technically it is true for Christmas Eve, but the story is much better than that. Growing up in Canada, I managed to get both Mikulás on December 6 and Santa on the 25th, which meant...
Dog Adoption Budapest: A Heartwarming Mikulás Day at Szimpla Kert Are you new here, or just stumbling across my blog for the first time? Welcome! If you love dogs or have ever thought about dog adoption in Budapest, you’re in the right place. I don’t just write about...
It’s a cold autumn morning in Budapest, and I’ve just finished my second coffee while trying to work out where Andrew and I might escape to for a quick winter break. Living here means every conversation eventually turns into a debate about airports, trains, and which...
It’s November 1, and instead of carving pumpkins or answering the doorbell to small vampires, Andrew and I are in Sümeg, where the hills are turning gold and the air smells faintly of woodsmoke. This weekend we’ve swapped Halloween chaos for candlelight calm....
When Pumpkins Arrived in Budapest When Andrew and I first moved to Hungary eight years ago, Halloween barely registered on the cultural calendar. You might find a small display of plastic bats in a supermarket or a lonely pumpkin or two at the market, but that was...
Life in Hungary 2025 presents an intriguing blend of tradition and modernity. When Andrew and I first moved here, we were seduced by the usual suspects: stunning architecture, thermal baths, and a cost of living that didn’t make our wallets cry. But let me tell you:...
I’m a dual citizen. My parents are Hungarian, and I grew up with the food, the family stories, and just enough language to think I might have a head start here. I didn’t. Because while I thought I understood Hungarian cultural differences, I was frequently wrong. When...
Of course we chose next week to stay in Budapest. While much of the city decamps to Lake Balaton for cooling swims and fröccs-fuelled sunsets, Andrew and I will be in Pest. Working. Sweating. Mostly wondering why our calendar is suddenly full of meetings when we could...
If you’ve ever had a glass of wine on my terrace, you already know. I don’t just like Hungarian wine, I’m its unofficial international publicist. No commission. No logo tees. Just one woman with volcanic soil under her boots and a deep, ongoing love affair with this...
I’m Anikó Woods, a Canadian-Hungarian who’s been knee-deep in life here since 2017 - bureaucracy, culture, and everything in between.
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