(CNN) -- Slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Indiana, and with a slowly decreasing population of just under 10 million (1.7 million of whom live in the capital, Budapest), Hungary is a land in thrall to its history. The horse is still revered here, Franz Liszt is huge and goulash is a soup not a stew. You may find yourself overtaken in a revolving door, but you'll be made to feel thoroughly welcome -- as long as you don't clink your beer glass. More: Guide to Hungary's signature dishes 1. It has Central Europe's largest lake At almost 80 kilometers (50 miles) long, and covering an area of almost 600-square-kilometers (230 square miles), Lake Balaton is so big it's known as the "Magyar tenger" or the Hungarian Sea.
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Hungary has one of the highest Nobel prize counts per capita
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Paprika is of national importance
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Here, goulash is a soup, not a stew
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Per capita, the country has one of the highest tallies of Olympic medals across both winter and summer games
They also have an opinion on everything, so much so that it's said if you have three @placeholder in a room, they'll form four political parties.