Czech / Slovakia / Poland?

[davidI]

I'm headed to Europe for 2 weeks in August and am trying to decide where to go. I've been to most of Western Europe so that just leaves Eastern Europe & Scandinavia. Scandinavia is still pretty pricey so I was thinking either Czech / Slovakia / Poland or anotehr Eastern Country. Any suggestions?

[3g4u]

Im biased but Czech is great fun and lots of things to see but dont kid yourself with how cheep you think it is going to be, i was there 2 months ago and the prices are starting to go up alot in touristy (sp?) areas, if you stick with small towns or out of tourist areas it will be cheeper. Also prague is one of the most romantic places in the world, if your going with your significant other and you can take day trips to vienna or even berchtesgaden if you are interested in WW2 history. Poland is nice in my opinion but not too much to see with the exception of many WW2 sites, slovakia is well slovakia, some cool things to see and it is pretty cheep, croatia is beautifull and is cheep as well. If you want any info on Czech i am quite informed.:thumbsup:

[trliniar]

There are lots of things to see in Poland as well, it just all depends how much time you spend. True that there are lots of WW2 sites but there are lots of historic spots in Warsaw you can visit the royal park called Lazienki, and the old town which is a step back in time. Both Warsaw and Krakow have Kings Castles that you can tour. you can also see the Jewish Ghetto, and a lot of cathedral's in poland (im sure lots of europe has this too) are really old and works of art. There is also the city of Wieliczka which has a salt mine you can tour that's really nice. I also visited Zelazowa Wola where there's a house where Chopin was born, and his first piano is there.

I also went down south to the mountains and the city of Zakopane. To the North you also have the sea which i didnt get a chance to visit.

It really depends what you are looking for in terms of sightseeing and what not.

Also you might want to take into consideration that Poland still operates in polish currency (Zloty) but has joined the European Union, so the Euro will be in use depending on when you decide to go back next.

I haven't been to the other countries but had a buddy that went to Prague and he said Chech is really nice as well.
I'm sure other people can give you opinions on those parts.

Whatever you choose i'm sure you will have a blast!
Enjoy your trip

[bspot]

Bratislava, Slovakia has the hottest chicks I've EVAR seen :drool:

Only like 1 days worth of site seeing besides the women though.


But the women.... :drool:

[Grogador]

Prague and the Czech republic in general is gorgeous and the women are :poosie: there too... trliniar's post is bang on about Poland, up north you could visit Gdansk if you like big smelly cities, but probably have more fun in Hel and there's a lot of WWII era bunkers and rocket station there too, rent a mtbike and go check out the "travelling dunes". You could also head to NE Poland and check out the area known as Mazury, lots of small farm towns, lakes, gorgeous roads, forests etc. If you want to head south to warmer climates, check out Croatia it is gorgeous and sea-side. Lonely Planet guides ftw.

[brown_guy]

Poland has some very very hot girls you will have a great time :thumbsup:

[bashir26]

Originally posted by brown_guy
Poland has some very very hot girls you will have a great time :thumbsup:

really? they must be cheap then

[Aleks]

How about check out countries that have a sea? Greece, Montenegro, Croatia. Amazing scenery and beaches! :thumbsup:

[davidI]

I just spent 2 weeks in Greece and I'm hoping to go to the Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia etc.) in the future on a longer holiday so this trip will just be a little taste of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland & Vienna.

I'm usually up for just wandering around and checking out the local scenery. Most tourist attractions don't interest me that much anymore.

So far I plan on spending 5 nights in Prague at the Clown & Bard, 3 nights in Krakow at the Flamingo Hostel, 4 nights in Bratislava at Hostel Blues and a couple nights in Vienna. Hopefully I can get on some nice day trips based from those cities. Usually when I'm travel it's about meeting people, feeling the local vibe, boozing it up with other backpackers etc.

One of my q's is how to get between these cities. I haven't found too much info on the trains...I'll probably just wing it once I get there but if anyone has traveled between any of the cities between train or bus & can give me some advice that would be cool.

[Grogador]

If you have any sort of EU citizenship, look into Interrail, you could travel that zone for two weeks for like $150 unlimited... otherwise if you have tourist citizenship, look into Eurorail which lets you travel on certain trains for like $400 :S Or just buy individual tickets, probably cheaper... there's trains between those places... I like couchettes for longer trips because it saves you a night of hostel and wastes little time, but those hops are pretty short. Buses are teh ghey, but cheap flights are usually available too: easyjet, ryanair, skyeurope, others...

[bspot]

Originally posted by davidI

So far I plan on spending 5 nights in Prague at the Clown & Bard

Just spent a couple nights there two weeks ago... good hostel. Just don't go out drinking without the address or a map or else you'll get a good morning tour of Prague like us wandering around trying to find your f*cking hostel lol. Just make sure you can see the TV tower with the babies on it and you're all good.

Here's a pic of my buddy when he decided he didn't want to wander around looking for the hostel anymore. Haha.

[davidI]

Originally posted by bspot


Just spent a couple nights there two weeks ago... good hostel. Just don't go out drinking without the address or a map or else you'll get a good morning tour of Prague like us wandering around trying to find your f*cking hostel lol. Just make sure you can see the TV tower with the babies on it and you're all good.

Here's a pic of my buddy when he decided he didn't want to wander around looking for the hostel anymore. Haha.

Haha, very good advice, thanks! I learned my lesson in Valencia after a pub crawl including an hour at a 1 Euro shooter bar. Yikes. I was within 2 minutes of my hostel in this main square, managed to walk 1.5 hours in the wrong direction and had to pay 10 Euros to get back to the main square that I had walked away from. Sad.

[GTi-RS]

www.krakow.com is good info while you're there.

Prague is very busy during the summer. Watch your wallet and verify your receipts in restaurants. Great scenery.

I found the People in Vienna a bit "cold"