About us

First, let us introduce ourselves

We are Mark Bekkenutte, 28, and Marco de Jong, 55. Father and son, originally from Wognum in North Holland. We now live in Borsodszentgyörgy, a village in northern Hungary. If you can pronounce that name correctly on your first attempt, you are already ahead of us when we started.

Marco spent many years in hospitality and later managed petrol stations. Mark has worked in childcare and hospitality. Welcoming people, helping others and making someone feel comfortable are things we enjoy. We are now building Mosoly together, our bar and café serving food with a Dutch touch. But before there was a menu, there were two holidays. And before we can welcome guests, quite a few other people apparently need to visit first. With tools. Or forms.

May 2025: just a holiday

Our first holiday in Hungary was in May 2025. A holiday, that is. No moving date, no renovation and no website explaining why we were not open yet.

Getting to know a country on holiday is different from living there. On holiday, a beautiful view only needs to be beautiful. When you live there, you also need to know who can connect your water and how to arrange an appointment when you do not speak the language yet. We discovered that second part later. First came exploring Hungary.

We returned in August 2025. Two holidays so close together, and September brought a house hunt. Apparently, the country was not finished with us. Or we were not finished with the country. Either way, our next trip was about something quite different from finding a nice holiday spot.

September: the very last house

In September 2025 we went house hunting. It sounds straightforward: view houses, choose, buy. A bit like choosing a loaf of bread, except you cannot put a house back because you dislike the crust.

In the end, we chose the very last house we viewed. In Borsodszentgyörgy. Our new life had found an address. There was a bar beside the house, making it somewhere we could also build something and welcome people.

We bought the house in early December 2025. The bar followed on 5 January 2026. Two holidays had turned into a house, business premises and a very real future. A bunch of keys weighs very little. Everything attached to it can be quite something.

From Wognum to a new front door

We left the Netherlands on 21 May 2026 and arrived in Hungary on 22 May. From then on, this was the country of our shopping, our neighbours, our repairs and our everyday decisions.

Moving abroad is about more than the distance you travel. You bring your experience, your family bond, your plans and, of course, yourselves. That last part matters: a new address does not automatically make every problem disappear. It mainly brings new questions. Fortunately, it also brings new people who help you answer them.

We arrived as father and son. We still are, with a shared project added to the mix. The advantage is that you already know each other before the renovation begins. That helps: a building project needs enough discussion without also having to work out who is sitting opposite you.

Jó napot! And then it really began

Hungarian is one of our biggest challenges. You want to be polite, so you learn a greeting. You greet someone in Hungarian. It goes well. Perhaps surprisingly well.

So well that the other person thinks you speak Hungarian.

Then you get an entire story in reply. At which point we have to explain that our knowledge of the language is rather smaller than our greeting suggested. You almost want a warning attached to your hello: additional features are still under development.

Mark practises Hungarian, and we both keep learning. Sometimes a translation helps, sometimes a gesture, and sometimes a sentence simply needs repeating. Ordering coffee is a lovely step forward. Explanations about pipes, appointments and installations are a different department altogether. So we learn the language not just from a book, but between jobs as well. Not always the easiest teaching method, but certainly one with plenty of practice.

Buying a bar is not the same as opening one

The bar had already been used as a bar. We are turning it into a bar and café serving meals. That sounds like a small change until you look at everything needed for a kitchen serving hot food, toilets, water, electricity and the interior.

We look for tradespeople, compare quotes and try to arrange appointments. Not everyone replies. Some companies are fully booked. Others cannot come until much later. Finding a plumber has become a chapter of our move in its own right. One that was not on the holiday itinerary in May 2025.

We also encountered a tradesman who could only invoice private customers, while we needed an invoice and the necessary documentation for work on the business. That meant we could not proceed, however keen we were to get things moving. You want to cross something off the list, and instead another search begins.

These are the less romantic parts of a fresh start. Things take longer than you hope. You can plan, phone and write, but that does not give you a working kitchen. Still, Mosoly is gradually taking shape: a long bench, tables, a large communal table, a bar and more and more of the atmosphere we have in mind.

What does go well: the people

Between all the jobs, we meet people who help us. It makes an enormous difference, especially when you are new, still learning the language and do not automatically know whom to ask.

In early October, for example, the heating expansion tank in our home turned out to have rusted through. A temporary solution was fitted, the system was filled and bled, and the radiators were tested. We did not yet have our own stock of firewood for the first test; wood was offered so we could try it out.

When we lit the heating for the first time, the house warmed up beautifully. That is the kind of victory you truly appreciate after spending a while surrounded by repairs and questions. Not spectacular in a holiday photo, but particularly welcome on a cold evening.

To be clear, that heating system belongs to our home. The bar has air conditioning. We want to give our guests a warm welcome, but fortunately it does not need to involve a boiler beside their table.

We still make time to discover Hungary

Fortunately, life is not all renovation. We go out exploring and share our experiences on YouTube as Mosoly Hungary. Even without a holiday on the calendar, Hungary remains a country worth discovering.

We visited the circus in Ózd, where a clown brought Mark onto the stage. So you can leave the Netherlands, prepare a business and build a new future, only to find yourself becoming part of a circus act. Hungary keeps us versatile.

Cooking and food are part of our story too. Marco's hospitality experience will come in handy in Mosoly's kitchen. We want our menu to combine familiar Dutch favourites with changing dishes from other countries. A Dutch touch, with plenty of room to look beyond the border.

Why the name Mosoly fits so well

Mosoly means smile. That is exactly the feeling we want our place to offer. Somewhere to come for coffee, a bite to eat, a drink or a good conversation. You might be from the village, from the Netherlands or passing through on a bike ride or a walk. We want you to feel welcome.

We want Mosoly to be somewhere everyone feels at home and leaves already looking forward to the next visit. We do not have a great many seats, so once we open, we recommend booking or contacting us before a spontaneous visit. There is plenty of hospitality; unfortunately, we cannot order extra square metres.

We are also building towards the future. We hope to open the apartment in mid-2027, and a small campsite is an idea for later. First, we want to get the bar and café right. A dream can be big, but putting it into practice benefits from doing things in order.

Where we are now

It is early October 2026. We live here, we are working on Mosoly and we are preparing to open. Renovation continues, and permits, inspections and other paperwork also need attention. We expect to open at the end of 2026, but we cannot promise a definite opening date yet.

The waiting can be frustrating. You want to welcome people, but first everything has to be ready and arranged. Until then, we are sharing how Mosoly is taking shape. Not just the lovely final picture, but the journey towards it too.

A lot has changed since May 2025: a holiday became a house hunt, the last house became our home, and an existing bar became our shared project. Some things went well. There were delays, language difficulties and technical surprises. And we met people who helped us move forward.

The next smile might be yours

When you visit Mosoly after we open, you will meet Mark and Marco. Father and son, with Dutch roots, a new life in Hungary and enough experiences for more than one conversation.

We can tell you about that very last house. About the Hungarian greeting that accidentally starts a whole conversation. About waiting for a tradesperson and the relief when something finally works. But we would love to hear your story too. A welcoming place truly comes alive when people sit down at its tables.

Our first holiday is over. Our adventure is very much under way. And once the doors open, we hope to meet you here.

Welcome to Mosoly. We are Mark and Marco. A smile is something we can already manage in every language.