Going through Eastern Europe by train, need hints

[Nastaboi]

I'm planning an interrail trip at August with my wife. We're going to visit Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy, in that order. We have a whole month to spend, and we're going to stay couple of days each place.

What we need is hints about places to visit and things to do. Any practical pieces of advice regarding places to sleep or eat or ways of travelling are also welcome. Also, if a fellow Eastern European member wants to put a face on a name and show their home town, even better.

[monSt4r]

Just to replay quickly on Croatian topic, you should take a couple of days for this beauty
Take some time to visit Zadar (my town), Dubrovnik (the most famous), and all the national parks you can get ( Kornati islands are maybe the most interesting through summer). Bus is maybe easier to deal with (i don't do trains, sorry)...and go through Istra also...it's kinda relaxing, not so popullated, and it's on your way to Italy (slovenia, bah-you don't need to see that )...going from Dubrovnik up the coast is maybe the right way...or other way around, but then you must take a boat to italy.

[Bram]

Poland is positively awesome. Since you're married, I won't be commenting on the women there. Period. (Dammit, this is difficult). Erm...OK, I regularly visit Zielona Gora, which is a pretty town in the West of Poland just over the German border (sort of halfway between Berlin and Poznan, and then down a bit). Not a must-see or anything, but it has some minor attractions and friendly people. Krakow is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, as is Prague. You simply must see both. I only know a little about Italy (Rome is awesome, as is Sicily but you probably won't be going to the latter), and I know next to nothing about the rest of those.

Oh, DanDan needs to chime in here. C´mon, you big fish, you.

[Nastaboi]

Hey, thanks for the replies so far.

As for Poland, I have heard about their women. Let them be pretty, that alone does no harm. Zielona Gora is a bit far from our planned route, we are going straight from Estonia to Krakow (24 hours bus ride, yikes). But Krakow we'll check through.

About Croatia I know nothing. We thought about a bus route up by coast of Croatia, do you have any info on that? Which are the best places to sleep there? We are interested on all kinds of national parks, so they're, so thaks for the advice. I've told that Slovenia has plenty of them, too.

And if someone does not tell us a reason to go to Slovakia, we'll spend a whole week on Prague instead.

[Bram]

Zielona Gora is a bit far from our planned route, we are going straight from Estonia to Krakow (24 hours bus ride, yikes). But Krakow we'll check through.

My friends in Zielona Gora are probably gonna lynch me next time I'm there if they ever read this, but in that case, I wouldn't bother either ;-) It's a nice enough town to spend an afternoon (or a day) if you happen to drive right past it, but there's no real reason to go out of your way.

And if someone does not tell us a reason to go to Slovenia, we'll spend a whole week on Prague instead.

Dunno 'bout Slovenia, but a week in Prague is a week well spent.

[Nastaboi]

Crap, I meant to say we need reasons to visit Slovakia. There are some nice caves in Slovenia we'll surely visit, but Slovakia hasn't promised us anything yet.

[dandan]

Prague beer = 100+ Kc = 125+ Sk or about 4 dollars
Slovak beer = 20 Sk

Go to Prague, it is a great place to visit. I actually like Bratislava old town but it is rather like a mini-Prague so if you do Prague (which you should) you won't miss much by skipping Bratislava. You can get a night train from Prague to Poprad, go to sleep in Prague and wake up in Slovakia. I assume the customs guys won't wake you up at the border to check your passport as they used to in the pre-EU days!! Make sure you get a first class sleeper room or you will be in a room with 4 others.

Places to see in Slovakia

The High Tatras mountains , Slovak national park, home to bears, deer and Dandan.
www.tatry.sk
www.tldtatry.sk
Play Magic with Dandan

The train stops at Poprad, you can catch a train up to the Tatras from Poprad station. You should be able to get a Penzion (bed and breakfast although often usually without breakfast in the price) for about 250 Sk a person (current exchange rate 30.5 Sk per USD), Dandan's cottage is booked I'm afraid.

Note that in Slovakia the 'express' trains are not the fastest trains, chose IC (intercity) trains. You can see train (and bus) times at www.vlak-bus.cz (yes, I know that is a Czech site, SK+CZ split in 1993 and I guess some companies haven't noticed yet). Don't ever get on a 'local' train unless you like stopping every 2 minutes and taking forever to get nowhere. Buying return tickets is a complete waste of time - not only do you get no discount but you may well not have a valid ticket for the return journey (as IC trains cost more than Rychlik (express). If they ask if you want a seat reservation (miestenka) take it, it costs very little and you have a guarantee of a seat. Some trains can get crowded and it sucks to stand for 4 hours. Buying a seat reservation is rather like carrying an umbrella, the act of doing so greatly reduces the chance of you actually needing it, the train will be magically almost empty, just to spite you for paying for a seat reservation.

From Poprad/the High Tatras you can also have a day trip to Zakopane, a lively Polish town with a market (good if you like stuff made from dead trees and animals, or you like you cheese in the shape of small American footballs).

For the lazy, you can take a cable car to the top of the second highest peak in the Tatras (about 2650 m above sea level). This will impress the Dutchie in you although is a bit wasted if you are from the Rockies. You can walk to most of the peaks if you have the time and inclination [/pun].

English is spoken in most places, although German is more common. Most restaurants have menus in English, many have pictures too.
Don't be put off by stuff like Visas for Serbia, I got one in about 5mins at the border and without the need for a bribe!!

[jcb193]

Not sure if you are traveling under a US passport or not, but I took trains/buses through there about 6 years ago.  Most people were nice and I found a couple of extra packs of smokes goes a long way (I don't smoke, but every border guard does).  If you cross over into Serbia beware of midnight border checks.  Nobody told me about it and some of the guards found it amusing to send me amiss on my search, but it all ended okay.  I got bedbugs on the Pragueo-to-Istanbul train (even first class).  Bring lots of snacks or food, as pickings on the train might be light (especially if you are on the overnight.

That said, it was so nice to be in Europe and not completely surrounded by tourists in these parts (versus Germany, France, etc).  I think the Obberammergau play is going on this summer (In Germany), so that will bring a lot more tourists to Prague/Buddapest/Berlin/Slovakia/Munich/Frankfurt/Krakow/Warsaw than normal.

Italian trains will be FAR more expensive than the other countries, so purchase you trip to Italy from eastern Europe.  If you get down to Rome, definitely try to get down to Pompeii (Naples).  Sicily is nice, but will add a couple days to your trip and many of the best ruins/sight in sicily are not easily visited via train or bus.  Cars much more convenient, though driving can be tough.  Seek advice on sighseeing in Rome during summer.  I know lines can become hours long waits (colosseum, vatican museum).  Pantheon, Palatine Hill, and St Peters usually not that bad of a wait.  All are worth the wait in my opinion.  Cheaper rooms and food near the Rome Train Station (but also a more seedy area).   

Italy will be by far the most expensive (in my estimation), so budget accordingly (or do it first).  Prague is nice, though with the rest of your itinerary, i think you will find many of the same experiences of prague, in many of the other places you are seeing.  Prague tends to be real tourist-laded in summer, so you might find yourself wanting to move on quickly.  The further east you go, the less tourists and the cheaper.  Not trying to make you travel on a budget, but for me the cheaper the country, the more fun (don't have to watch your budget all the time).  I got real sick of $10 McDonalds and $2 Cokes in Western Europe last year. (and save the speech about "eating locally and avoiding McDonalds.  I was just using that for comparitive purposes."

Have fun!  Sounds like and awesome trip.

jb

[dandan]

I have no person experience of this but I know quite a few people who say only bad things about border crossings/corruption in the countries to the East of the EU. I'd love to see Kiev but have been rather put off by such tales.

[Nastaboi]

Hey, thanks for the replys!

Sorry Dandan, but my wife doesn't like Magic and wasn't keen on national park either ("naah, we have bears and deer here at home"). We have no Dandan though, but you can't get everything. Maybe we'll stay just one night at Bratislava and go on.

We have the same train system here in Finland - I really don't know why both IC and Pendolino are faster than Express. It's like buying pop corn in cinema - they have no normal sizes, just "king size", "extra large" and "jumbo", which are just plain old small, normal and large renamed, but for whom you can't tell which is which just from their names. And I know to stay away from regional trains, unless I'm travelling just two stops or such.

I have been on Russia dozen of times, and I know how annoying it can be at times. I have had no problems when crossing the border with just a backpack though, with a car it's ^4 times harder. I don't like to bribe, but have done it occasionally.

Italy is only on par with my home country in expensiveness, so we'll been prepared.

One more thing. We're not used on drinking, but since we'll be going on Czech Republic, we'd want to taste some Czech beer. Can you guys recommend something?

[dandan]

Most Czech beer is good. Drink what the locals drink. Also if you have Scottish tendancies don't buy beer in the main central square, it will cost you twice as much as in one of the pubs in the sidestreets 100m away (or you can drink twice as much). The sidestreets aren't as overflowing with tourists either!

Do the square, clock, bridge and castle in Prague.

Bratislava - find the old town, the rest is ugly. Drink in a cellar pub or on the streetside. See the castle (you get a bonus there, a panoramic view of Petrzalka, the southern tower block suburb. Just as a film can be watchable if it is extremely bad, this view is so ugly it is worth seeing). The old town and castle are both walkable from the train station, I think you can still store your luggage at the station, there are buses and trams - you need to buy tickets in advance and stamp them on the bus, anywhere in the centre should cost just one ticket. The UFO bridge has a lift and you can go up in it, the top is a revolving restaurant. Never been there but always wanted too. Bratislava will have a very large number of cute females so be sure to wear sunglasses so your wife won't hit you.
Shopping is cheap so buy stuff if that floats your boat (of course it is much cheaper outside the capital but we are still talking much cheaper than Italy or Austria.

Poland is another country where it is a good idea to wear sunglasses.

[monSt4r]

About Croatia I know nothing. We thought about a bus route up by coast of Croatia, do you have any info on that? Which are the best places to sleep there? We are interested on all kinds of national parks, so they're, so thaks for the advice.

Humph...
If you are travelling from south (Dubrovnik) to north (Istria) everything can be seen on main bus stations (or how it's called)...maybe going Dubrovnik-Split-Zadar-Istria is the right route. Near Zadar (patriotic person I am ) are located most of the national parks. If you like Island people or something like that visit Hvar, Mljet (one of national parks) by boat from Split/Dubrovnik. Or if you just want to see the beauty, not the culture, visit Kornati (starting point Zadar) and Brijuni (starts on east coast of Istria, half an hour with a boat).

I found this, maybe it helps you (I haven't checked it, if you find something in it good) : http://www.croatia.hr/English/O_Hrvatskoj/O_Hrvatskoj.aspx


p.s. Eat Croatian food...sound stupid afcourse, but mediterenian kitchen is something divine...