Any Excuse to Travel

Stories from travels in

December 2012

A matter of perspective

My computer clock tells me that it’s 2.09 am on 31 December and yet my wristwatch says 15.09  on 29 December. Such is the joy

Honaunau

When I started this Grateful series at the start of this year, I had no idea of how it would work or what shape it

A building … alive

Nothing could have prepared me for what I met at Fort Monostor in Komárom. No explanation, or description, or photographs could have done justice to

From the archives

I first visited Budapest in December 2003. Shortly afterwards, I wrote this letter about my impressions. The inimitable DLW, who hoards her correspondence, dug it

Humanizing Hungarians

I knew little, if anything, about Hungary before I moved here. Gradually, as I met more and more people, my list of places to visit

Up hill and down vale

Somewhere between my mid-20s and my early 30s, the thought of a hot, sudsy bath became more enjoyable than the bath itself. Gone were the

Grateful 5

Everything I’ve ever done in my life to date has led to my being in Budapest right now. Difficult to imagine that each little decision