Category: Hungary
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Quitting alcohol in the most alcoholic country in the world
For some time, I had been toying with the idea of going completely sober. One night in late September, at a sushi restaurant, after finishing an ice-cold Asahi that perfectly matched the crisp European autumn weather, I decided that would be it for alcohol—for a while, at least. Since then, I haven’t had a drink…
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An Australian Football Club in Budapest
It’s a mild Saturday in mid-May in Nysa, southern Poland. We’re nearly 550 km from our home ground in Budapest—a distance that’s become routine for footy here. As the umpire blows the whistle and the Sherrin is tossed up, the scene is instantly familiar yet unmistakably foreign for anyone who’s played footy back in Australia.…
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The cultural significance of Europe’s era from 1870-1918
I don’t claim to be a historian, not at all. However, after traveling through much of Europe and spending countless hours in museums, one moment stands out vividly. It was a chilly December evening as I stood staring at the gargantuan Hungarian Parliament, lit up in a hue of warm yellow the iconic neo-gothic features…
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A few thoughts on David Szalay’s novel ‘Flesh’
I recently had the pleasure of reading the novel Flesh by David Szalay which won the 2025 Booker award. Flesh follows the story of a Hungarian man Istvan throughout his life and large portions of the book are set in Hungary itself. This making it an exceptional choice for me to jump into this book…
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Cycling around Lake Balaton
A few months into living in Budapest a friend asked whether there would be any interest in cycling around Lake Balaton over a single day. While I wasn’t ready for that big of a cycling challenge I began to look into the idea of cycling Balaton over a week. Here’s my recap of cycling around…
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Memento Park: A unique communism collection
I had the privilege of visiting Memento Park on the outskirts of Budapest recently. Memento Park is a unique museum in that it has actively kept statues from the time of Hungary’s occupation by the Soviet Union (1945-1990). Following the fall of the Soviet Union across 1989/90 most of the statues with a communist agenda…
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Leaning into seasonal eating
Australians really are spoilt for choice when it comes to fresh produce. Coming from a continent where summer sweetcorn grows alongside winter pumpkin, it can be a real shock when you’re travelling or living abroad to discover that your favourite foods are suddenly out of season. As I’ve discovered many times recently through visits to…
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My experience applying for the Hungarian Working Holiday Visa for Australians
Hungary offers a reciprocal agreement with Australia offering a working Holiday for up to 500 Australians per year aged between 18-30 years old at the time of application. I decided to apply from within Hungary which I was assured could be done through email conversation with the Hungarian consulate in Melbourne. Australians have 90 days…