2026 Hungarian Motorway Vignettes: Prices, Changes and Savings
Last weekend’s XpatLoop Charity Gala had that unmistakable community energy I’ve grown to love here. Andrew was DJing, so we arrived early, and by the time the room filled, it felt as if everyone had brought half their village with them. We saw friends who had driven...
No Santa in Hungary? How I Swapped Santa for Mikulás
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...
Hungarian Public Holidays 2026 Guide
It’s the first week of December and Budapest is slipping into Christmas-party mode. Between the Irish-Hungarian Business Circle’s glittering celebration and XpatLoop’s big charity event this weekend, my calendar already looks like it’s had a confetti cannon fired at...
Hungarian Christmas Foods: A Taste Test (2025 Edition)
The fog has settled thick over our little patch of western Hungary, the kind that makes the morning feel half-finished. Andrew and I are closing down the cottage for the season and preparing to migrate back to Budapest, where the Christmas markets are already in full...
Dog Adoption in Budapest: Mikulás Day Event at Szimpla Kert
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...
Hungarian Immigration Health Insurance: Avoiding Rejections
Wednesday night’s immigration event at KLUSTER with Dr. Sánta came with the usual mix of practical questions, and one in particular stuck with me: someone asked about the health-insurance requirement for residence applications. It was a simple question, but a sensible...
Hungary Immigration: The Price of Staying
Last night’s HOW TO HUNGARY session at KLUSTER proved that nothing packs a room faster than immigration anxiety. Budapest has moved firmly into winter, and yet people arrived early, notebooks in hand, ready to understand Hungary Immigration: The Price of Staying in...
Benefits of a Hungarian Passport: Mobility Without Drama
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...
Budapest Christmas Markets 2025: All That Glitters
It’s only mid-November, but Budapest has already given in to Christmas - and so have we. The air is sharp, barely six degrees today, and the lights are strung across Andrássy Avenue like a promise. The Budapest Christmas Markets 2025 open tomorrow, and Andrew and I...
How to Find Your GP in Hungary
As the leaves gather in Budapest’s courtyards and steamy coffee powers me through Márton-nap (St. Martin’s Day) weather, my husband, Andrew, and I are also on a timely mission familiar to many: booking our annual flu shots. Sorting healthcare as a foreigner still...
All Saints’ Day in Hungary: Every Grave Glows in Candlelight
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....
Halloween in Hungary 2025: From Barely There to Big Deal
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...
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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