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...
Hungary Property Law Hits Balaton: New 2% Fee for Buyers
We’ve just come out of a long weekend of remembrance for the 1956 Revolution, and I ended it with something more joyful – celebrating my mother’s 80th birthday at DNB Budapest, surrounded by family and the kind of food that makes you grateful to live here. The...
EU Entry/Exit System Hungary 2025: From Stamps to Scans
Sunday Morning: New Borders, Familiar Confusion It’s Sunday morning, and the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) officially begins. I just came back from Rome yesterday, and even there, you couldn’t miss it – posters, screens, and warnings everywhere across Europe....
Do You Need to Learn Hungarian in 2025?
Do You Need to Learn Hungarian in 2025? I’ve lived in Hungary since 2017 and—brace yourself—I still struggle to learn Hungarian in 2025. Yes, I have a Hungarian name. Yes, I carry the passport. But my vocabulary? Patchy. Grammar? Creative. Confidence? Depends on...
I’m Anikó Woods, a Canadian-Hungarian who’s been knee-deep in life here since 2017 - bureaucracy, culture, and everything in between.