Still standing out from the crowd with nowhere yet to go

Lost and found retro relic in Kőbánya Kispest

Just when I thought I had seen them all, another surreal oddity comes my way. After last year’s unexpected sighting of a statuette of a hostile gun-waving revolutionary in Újpest, clearly from early communist times, I wasn’t anticipating another such find to stop me ...

Not your average expat

‘We’re going to stay here’

The village of Kisszékely is unlikely to be on many people’s “must-see” list of destinations to visit in Hungary. With its population of just 200, it nestles east of Lake Balaton, bordered by forests and completely hidden among the rolling hills. It is what ...

Guest nights up in April year on year, but well below the pre-crisis level

Chief medical officer declares third wave over

The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Hungary is over, thanks to the country's vaccination drive, the chief medical officer said. Cecilia Muller, speaking at a press conference of the central board coordinating efforts against the epidemic, said that all indicators were improving, ...

Kalocsa, the paprika capital

A quest for the best powdered gold

Hungarian peppers, known as “paprika” by the locals, when fresh are generally red, yellow and green. This colour scheme follows when paprika is ground to powder and dried out. Either way, it’s all “paprika” to Hungarians, never pepper, and there can be no confusion ...

Travel after the pandemic #6: Berchtesgaden, Germany

War and peaks

We knew a fellow, an Englishman in fact, who once, standing amidst the magnificent mountain scenery of Austria, uttered the scornful observation that “Once you’ve seen one alp, you’ve seen them all”. We had him shot next day for naked cynicism and forgot about ...