CaliforniaMate From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 99 posts, RR: 0 Posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 785 times:
Hello all,
I'm planning a trip to Central Europe this summer. All I have so far is that I will be flying into Prague on the 1st of July, and leaving Vienna the 29th of July. I figure guidebooks only tell you so much, why not get some word of mouth from those who've been (or live there!). I'm looking to stick in Central Europe, namely Czech Rep, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary (maybe Austria is time and costs permit). I'm looking to keep costs low also (I'm a broke out of college student). Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Zruda From Czech Republic, joined May 2006, 779 posts, RR: 31 Reply 2, posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 734 times:
what are you interested in? history, technical things, art, architecture? plus I can recommend a cheap student dormitory for stay at PRG, but booking in advance is necessary.
Zruda From Czech Republic, joined May 2006, 779 posts, RR: 31 Reply 5, posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 714 times:
Central Europe is a very relative location, and with EU growing fast the centre just keeps moving towards east I believe the geogreaphical centre lies somewhere at Ukraine as european east border are the Ural mountains.
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 6, posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 698 times:
Central and Eastern Europe are my favoite places to travel - I love them. Here are some places I suggest you hit up: Vienna, Budapest, Kosice (Slovakia), Eger (Hungary), Krakow, Auschwitz, Warsaw, Berlin, Dresden, Plzen (Czech Republic), Ljubljana, Dalmation Coast (Croatia), Sarajevo, Podgorica (Montenegro)...of course, you can't hit them all, but those are some of the places I have really enjoyed.
NoUFO From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 7796 posts, RR: 13 Reply 7, posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 4 days 7 hours ago) and read 695 times:
Quoting SW733 (Reply 6): of course, you can't hit them all, but those are some of the places I have really enjoyed
Nice list I have to say, even though personally I'm not too "east-orientated".
Now add the two national parks "Sächsische Schweiz" (GER) und "Böhmische Schweiz" (CZ) to it to make it even better.
Rineanna From Ireland, joined Jan 2007, 879 posts, RR: 13 Reply 9, posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 661 times:
Vienna is fantastic! I would strongly recommend purchasing the 'Vienna card', which entitles you to free access on the excellent transport system, which is essential as some of the attractions are on different sides of the city. Here's the link to more information on it: http://www.info.wien.at/article.asp?IDArticle=9400
I was there for three nights and that was a perfect length of time to accomodate what I wanted to see. I stayed in the a cool, small little hostel called the panda hostel. It was cheap, very clean and had a tram stop literally right outside the door, which took me to Westbahnhof to connect with the metro and bus routes. http://lauria-vienna.at/panda/
Go to the Prater fun-fair if you can; the views from the famous ferris-wheel are class!
Although I liked Vienna, Salzburg was by far the best place I visited in Austria. You can do day tours of the ice-caves about an hour outside the city which I highly recommend.
I went from Vienna to Bratislava by catamaran along the Danube, and I'd highly recommend it as the optimum way of travelling between the two cities, if it suits your budget. IIRC, it was €22. It was dearer than the bus (€11, I think), but was a fantastic trip!
I stayed in Bratislava for 2 nights. It's a lovely city, with a nice blend between past and contemporary life/archetecture/culture. The one sore spot I had with the city was that on walking through the centre of the city, I saw this HUGE Tesco's supermarket. Way bigger then the ones at home, more of a department store actually. It just didn't fit into the culture and ambience of the city, I felt! I was inter-railing too, and Bratislava was quite cheap.
Hope that helps, PM me if there's anything else you'd like to know!
CaliforniaMate From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 99 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (6 years 1 month 3 weeks 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 618 times:
Thanks for the responses! I've been planning more and my trip seems a little rushed now. I was thinking of cutting parts of the trip short so we are not running from town to town and train to train. Does anyone have an opinion on how Northern Poland is (Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw). Also, I want to go to Zakopane in Poland, and go across the mountain into Slovakia (it seems the trains only go around the Tatras, then to Kosice, which would be lots of backtracking for us). Also, are there any more spots in Hungary to suggest? I want to see as much as possible, but not also feel rushed. Also, how much are international trains in that part of Europe? The domestic trains are quite affordable and I can check the prices, but I cannot for international ones. Thanks for any help!
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From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 99 posts, 
From Ireland, joined Aug 2004, 5283 posts, 
From Czech Republic, joined May 2006, 779 posts, 
From Germany, joined May 2005, 6471 posts, 
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I believe the geogreaphical centre lies somewhere at Ukraine as european east border are the Ural mountains.
From Poland, joined Apr 2002, 3482 posts, 
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