Donna and I were married on August 19, 1975. In 2025 we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary—a milestone that deserved more than just a dinner reservation or a quiet evening at home. We wanted something meaningful, something that reflected not just the years behind us, but the life we’ve shared along the way. So, we chose to celebrate with a European river cruise along the Danube, traveling from Vienna to Bucharest.
 
Our journey began in Vienna, a city known for its deep-rooted coffeehouse culture. After our first guided stroll, when someone pointed us toward one of the best local cafés, we followed the suggestion without hesitation. Sitting there, somewhere between the second sip of rich Viennese coffee and a bite of raspberry dark chocolate torte, something clicked. That’s when the idea was born—why not journal this experience, and make this our tradition everywhere we go?  Thus was born Café and Cake in Every Country: Season 1 Episode 1.  We’ve started calling this adventure “Season 1,” because if this trip taught us anything, it’s that we’re not done exploring—or dating—just yet.

We found the perfect café environment to experience our next celebratory date. Café and Cake in Every Country in Donna's ancestry homeland of Slovakia came from the Konditorei Kormuth coffee shop. It had an old country look and feel through an exquisite show of the wall hangings of portraits and art.

Our visit to Konditorei Kormuth was more than just enjoying delicious pastries—it was an experience that stirred our imagination. As we sat there, we found ourselves wondering what a simple family outing might have looked like if Donna’s family had remained in this country.

There was something about Bratislava that pulled at Donna, a quiet curiosity that went beyond our usual “Café and Cake” routine. So instead of lingering, we followed that feeling and set out to explore more of the city together.

Today's episode of Café and Cake in Every Country is brought to you by the Great Market Hall in Budapest, Hungary.  Tourist maps, tour guides, and pre-planned excursions showing another country's people and culture may be fine for some travelers, but Donna and I think the best ways to experience the true culture of a foreign city is by visiting one of their local open markets or grocery stores. That’s where everyday life happens—where locals shop, interact, and reveal what they eat, value, and enjoy. It gives a more authentic glimpse into the culture than any Chamber of Commerce brochure ever could.

The Great Market Hall in Budapest while not offering an elegant café and cake experience it did give us exactly what we wanted - A Café and Cake date in Budapest. The coffee was good, but the cake was even better. It’s called Chimney Cake, and it is served in a waffle cone, but before the cake is inserted in the cone it is dipped in Nutella!  Given our love of all things about open market, people, and old buildings, the Great Market Hall itself was a bonus.

Meeting Bali in America
When I think about why I loved teaching, my mind almost always returns to students like Balázs Balassa—“Bali,” as everyone called him.

I first met Bali in the fall of 2019. He was just 18 years old, a freshman from Budapest, stepping into my International Communication Principles class. Even then, there was something distinct about him. He was quiet and mild-mannered, always polite and respectful, yet genuinely interested in connecting with others. Students were drawn to him. In fact, I couldn’t help but notice how the tone in the room shifted whenever the girls spoke with him—they didn’t just talk, they swooned. Tall, athletic, and ruggedly handsome with a Scandinavian look, Bali had a presence that was hard to ignore.

Sip, Savor, Sing: A Perfect Day in Mohács & Pécs
Today we visited Pécs and Mohács, Hungary. It was the perfect place for our next adventures of Café and Cake in Every Country!  Pecs, (pronounced Peesch) Hungary, is a charming city in central Hungary with about 150,000 residents.  We enjoyed the weather, watched people, and tried their poppy seed and blueberry pastries.
 
Southeastern Hungary is well known for its amazing architecture that is particularly evident in the churches of Mohács and Pécs. Strolling through the charming town of Pécs you will notice the impressive Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Café and Cake in Every Country: Season 1 - Episode 5 finds us in Osijek, Croatia. This photo shows us in the most famous Café shop in the city. In the 1990's most of this city was destroyed by war. It is rebuilt showing both the old and the new. So quaint, so cute, so yummy!

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September 18, 2025
Aaaand we’re home! Thanks for joining us on our 12 Episodes of Season One of Café and Cake in Every Country. Donna and I embarked on a Viking River Cruise of the Eastern European Capitals down the Danube River from Vienna, Austria to Bucharest, Romania.
 
We did so to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary. We chose to celebrate by having a serving of local Café and cake date in every country, and sometimes more than one city of a country. We started in Vienna at one of their oldest and best-known Café shops in this historic city. I called this Season 1 because we're already planning Season 2 on a different route.
 
Postscript: September 26, 2025
At the Gym. After all those Café and Cake in Every Country dates, it's time for pay back!