August 21, 2004

So here we are in Munich at 8am on a sunday morning, and after many discussions about what we liked and didn't like, we're each writing our post-mortem for this leg of the trip. The hope is that if you're considering travelling to eastern europe, you'll get some valuble information from a few travellers. Heather and I are writing these simultaneously so we don't know what the other is writing.

Alec's favorite things

• Best youth hostel: A tie between The Poet's Corner youth hostel in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and the Jakelj Backpackers house outside of Bled, Slovenia. Both of these places were clearly run by people who love travel, travellers, and creating a comfortable, welcoming environment.
• Best cultural exhibit: Statue Park in Budapest. Truly a powerful exhibit of the impact of communism. A fantastic mix of history and art, and not the slightest bit kitschy, given the huge potential for it to seem like Communist Disneyland.
• Best beach: The rocks outside the Dubrovnik walls at dinner time. As the sun sets on the city, swim in the clean Adriatic and cling to the small cliffs outside the massive walls.
• Nicest city: Ljubljana. Not large (279,000 people) but pretty and accessible.
• Most interesting city: Budapest. Huge, full of interesting things.
• Worst housing in a city: Budapest. Accommodation was expensive and crappy. There are reportedly a few gems (the Red Bus hostel, maybe more) but they fill up in advance
)
• Nicest Dalmation Island: Mljet - national park, quiet and beautiful. Nice place to relax.

Travel tips

I've been writing these tips as we've traveled, so there are quite a bunch, and they cover a variety of topics. I hope to organize them soon.

Eastern Europe tips:

• Eastern Europe is not the bargain you may have expected. Western culture has arrived and is bringing its prices with it.
• Read up on Yugoslav history before getting on the plane. Read about the other eastern block countries too, but specifically Yugoslavia. Read a lot. Read about each country individually, because each one has a very unique background and knowing this will help you know when to pay attention, and really appreciate the local cultural impact of the last 60 years.
• Do not go in the high season, July and August. It is downright impossible to escape the tourist crowds in many places like Prague and the Dalmation Coast.
• Get the Eastern European phrasebook from Lonely Planet - we didn't pick it up until Hungary, and it would have been great.
• Don't spend a lot of time in Prague. The unique culture that everyone reminisces about is dead. Its like Disneyland now. See the few sights that are there, and then get out.
• Go caving in Budapest. Ok, I didn't do this, but its probably my biggest regret. It just looked really cool.
• Skip Lake Ballaton, Hungary. The water is great, and its a nice generic vacation spot but as a cultural destination, it lacks any real character of Hungary. We didn't call it "little Germany" for nothing. Go to Egar or Pecs instead.
• On the Dalmation Coast, plan your ferry travel well in advance. Even in the high season, the schedule varies depending on the day of the week. There is potential to get stuck on one island for an extra day or two, or to be forced to leave early.
• Skip Hvar Island unless you have a hot, tan body and want to party like its 1999.
• Arrive at least 45 minutes early for the 9:00am ferry from Dubrovnik to Mljet - it does fill up!
• Check prices/facilities of rooms before accepting one from a Dubrovnik tout. There are enough of them that you can make sure to get one with a kitchen, private bathroom, or whatever. Also, have in mind the price you want to pay per night, and tell that to the touts.
• Try to get an apartment/room in advance in Korcula and Hvar, especially during high season.

General tips:

• Bring an umbrella. A small one. Its worth it, and from what we could tell, if you travel with an umbrella, it never rains. If you skip it, like we did, you get dumped on all the time!
• Withdraw as much cash as you can at a time and never exchange raw cash at an exchange kiosk. ATMs give you pretty good exchange rates, but you often pay a $2-3 per-transaction fee. At first we were withdrawing $100-150 at a time, but at the end we were trying to withdraw $250 or more at a time in the local currency.
• When travelling as a couple, don't stay in a dorm-bed (i.e. more than just you in the room) The prices may be tempting (usually 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of getting a private room) but once you're doing it, you realize what a bad idea it is, and how wierd it feels.
• Don't stay somewhere just one night unless your accomodations are booked in advance. Arriving and trying to find a room is exhausting and takes half a day. Often you get better rooms and better prices, but most of the time its not worth it if you're there for just 24 hours.
• Find and book "cool" hostels well in advance. Many of them fill up a few days to a week in advance. We missed out on the Celica hostel in Ljubljana because of this, and it was a nice place.
• If an internet cafe has a flakey connection, use the minimum time to make it worth your while (i.e. many have a 10 minute minimum charge) and then get out. The time and frustration spent waiting for pages to load is not worth the cost savings. In the end it might be more expensive anyway, because you might get as much done in 30 minutes in a fast cafe that you would have in 60 minutes in a slow one.
• Get to know public transportation in each city, and get a multi-day pass if they are available. We did this in Budapest and it allowed us to go all over the city. We saw a lot more than we would have if we were just on foot.
• Key words to know in the local language: Please, Thank You, One, Two, Tea, Check (i.e. the bill in a restaurant) Wife

Places we wished we had gone

These are mostly places that we probably could have fit, had we known they were worth visiting, and had planned a little more in advance.

• Bosnia-Hercegovina: The seige of Sarajevo is over and it is apparently a great place to visit. Nice people, not touristy. Much more "real" experience there.
• Romania: Totally unique - apparently few tourists, and an interesting blend of the old (horse and buggy) and the new.
• Poland, specifically Krakow: We kept running into travellers who had been there, and enjoyed it quite a bit.
• Cesky Krumlov: In the Czech Republic. We tried to fit it in but it never happened. We heard pretty good things about it the whole time.

At work, we try to do a full review after one project before moving onto another... discuss what went well and what we'd do better or differently next time. I thought it would be funny if Alec and I did this somewhat independently so we could compare our thoughts on Eastern Europe.

Favorite Sights, Castles, Sites, Museums...

1. Town Center, Olomouc. Practically devoid of tourists, but full of charm and a UNESCO World Heritage column smack dab in town square, the former capital of Moravia was really a highlight.


2. Leisurely hike through pristine Vintgar Gorge to Bled


3. St. Vitus's Cathedral. In a crowded, touristic city like Prague, some places rise above the rest to be stunning. Climbing 287 steps up the narrow spiral staircase to the top of the tower was memorable (as was the tight squeeze back down). I kept mistaking the cathedral for the castle itself because it is so much more imposing.


4. Bled Castle, Slovenia. The prototypical castle on a rugged cliff above a lake. Stunning from the ground, fantastic views reward the kilometer climb, and a cool series of movies educated the weary tourists.


5. Gellert Baths and Spa, Buda. Like swimming in a cathedral.


6. National Park, Mljet. Hiking, rowing, swimming, visiting a donkey, eating along the harbor, very low-key version of Croatia. An easy daytrip from Dubrovnik or Korcula.


7. Marzipan Museum, Szentendre. If you find yourself in Szentendre, Hungary on a rainy day, I can think of nothing better for you to do than to visit the lifesize white chocolate Michael Jackson.


8. London Transport Museum (honorable mention, because we're not really covering the UK leg of the trip, but I love that place!)

Favorite Tours

1. Budapest Walking Tour with Absolute Tours -- even though it rained the whole time!
2. Daytrip and tour of Skocjanske Caves, a group of 100 or more tourists on the walk and we still were dwarfed by the cave, columns, and underground river.
3. Szobor Park, Budapest (Communist statue park) has a brief self-guided tour with lots of great information about each statue that makes the visit much more interesting.
4. Prague Cycling Tour, was light on information, but it was fun to visit the city this way and I felt safer having a guide

General Travel Tips and Lessons Learned

1. Write it down or you'll forget it.


2. Double check railway and bus timetables. Duh. Maybe triple-check.


3. Limit pizza intake to every other day if possible.


4. Don't make decisions while hungry or tired or rushed.


5. Always use the bathroom when a clean one is available - you never know when the next one will come around.


6. Likewise, when checking out of a place, shower like your next bathing opportunity will be days away. It sometimes is.


7. It takes about three nights in one place to feel like we're not on the go all the time.


8. The transit pass is often a good deal if you'll be in town long enough (3 days usually), but the museum pass is a waste of money for folks with average attention spans and energy levels.


9. Stretch after hiking, biking, rafting, etc. You're not as young as you used to be.


10. A market two blocks away from the train station usually sells things cheaper than a market one block away. The exception is when the station is in a dodgy part of town, then you could be in luck!


11. It's not what it used to be.


12. Sometimes the Tourist Information offices are extremely helpful and sometimes not.


13. Let the shorter/ slower person walk in front on hikes so you don't lose each other.


14. Have a travel age. The kids today get wigged out if you tell them you're over 30. ;-) We haven't done this yet... but I'm considering it!


15. Choose travel companions carefully, and take an hour apart each day.

Favorite Places we stayed

1. Poet's Corner Hostel, Olomouc... relaxed, friendly, homey, cozy with a little guide to the town. Wish we could have returned on our way back to Frankfurt too!
2. Jakelj Backpacker's House, outside of Bled. Ample breakfast --finally!-- and plenty of help coordinating activities, also free shuttle service and a ride in a fire truck. I may have gone overboard on the food.
3. Uni Hotel in Maribor, Slovenia... priced like a hostel with services and rooms like a real hotel. Ahhh.
4. Andreas Haus, Tihany on Lake Ballaton. Meticulously clean with access to a kitchen and balcony.
5. 2 bedroom apartment in Korcula, practically perfect except for the ants. The place was new and tidy up some stone stairs from the bustling old town.
6. MyHotel, London (another honorable mention, a worthwhile splurge!)

Best Places we ate

1. Pizzeria Kmotra, Prague
2. Hanacka Hospoda, Olomouc
3. Sokol, Ljubljana
4. Breakfast in Bled
5. Cocoa in Kavarna Kraske Dne, Olomouc

Places I hope we hit next time

1. Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
2. Berlin
3. Russia - Ella, are you ready for the Trans-Siberian Railway?
4. Poland, especially Krakow
5. Romania, everwhere but Bucharest
6. Bosnia-Herzogovina, Sarajevo to start

We aim to have ALL the Europe pictures posted in the next couple days before we depart for Africa. Here are the Ljubljana pictures! Stay tuned for the rest. :)

New pictures are up from our trip from Dubrovnik through Rijeka... go check it out!