ALL NOTES

Stories from the ground.

Every dispatch from here, in one place.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Hungary’s Hidden African History: The People Who Have Always Been Here

A stranger's Tupac shirt on a Budapest tram sent me down a rabbit hole that runs back three…

VLOG

Why Budapest Has a Statue of Ronald Reagan, and What Embassies Actually Do

On one Budapest square, a bronze Ronald Reagan strides past a Soviet war memorial toward the American embassy.…

VLOG

The Measure of a Community: Raising a Son Who Stands Out in Hungary

A small thing left in the comments under a video about my son turned into a larger question:…

BUDA, BUDAPEST

Budapest’s Hidden Mini-Statues: The Secret Bronze World of Mihály Kolodko

They are barely the size of your hand, tucked onto railings and staircases across the city, and most…

BORTODOOR, SMIKE'S WINE BAR IN BUDAPEST

Why Villány Might Be the True Home of Cabernet Franc

A Budapest wine bar owner makes the case that Hungary's hot southern region of Villány, not France, is…

SZABADISóSTó, SIóFOK, LAKE BALATON

A Lake Balaton Weekend in Siófok, for One Person Only

We took the train south to Lake Balaton's quiet family shore at Szabadisóstó, not for the water but…

ON THE DANUBE, BUDAPEST

Budapest Business Party 2026: A Night on the River Diva, and the Good Behind the Glamour

An invitation to Budapest's 11th Business Party put me aboard the River Diva as Parliament lit up gold…

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Are Hungarians Really Unfriendly? An American Answer from the Streets of Budapest

The stereotype says Hungarians are cold, even unhappy. After years of greeting strangers across Budapest, an American found…

VERESEGYHAZ, HUNGARY

The Quiet Freedom of Routine: Visa Limbo and a Children’s Day in Hungary

A life built on the absence of routine starts to crave it, somewhere between visa paperwork and a…

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