Going to Europe. Which country to visit?

[MDL]

Had a fab time in Romania in 2008; it's not in the euro zone, so it's quite cheap. Brasov in particular was lovely. The Romanians were the warmest, gentlest people I've encountered in Eastern Europe... yes, I'm making sweeping generalisations, but I can only comment on my own personal experience, not what the PC police tell me to say.

[Coopmv]

All we have up here is things like this:

I visited these places back in the early 90's.

[Marc]

[....] The Romanians were the warmest, gentlest people I've encountered in Eastern Europe... [....]

No personal experiences here, but I've heard that before!

[DavidW]

I can understand why many wouldn't want to visit the United States. It's crowded.

You don't travel much do you?   It's crowded on the coasts.  There are hundreds and hundreds of miles of sparsely populated land sandwiching those two extremes.  I've lived in places where you could drive for hours without seeing a soul.

[rhomboid]

Malta, Cyprus, Iceland, San Marino, Andorra, Luxembourg, Faroe Islands

[knight66]

Again, neither of the first two in August. But our OP seems to have gone shy. All this advice poured out. Perhaps we should have a general travel advice thread.

Mike

[Sandra]

Wow! I logged on hoping to get one or two answers here and I got three pages of them! Thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions, guys!

I was already leaning towards Eastern Europe and your posts made me narrow down on my choices.

For far, I am considering Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Italy. Because the cities in Western Europe are way to similar to the cities in US, Eastern Europe promises more experiences. My friends think the same too.

We're planning to leave on the last week of August and stay for 3 weeks and we'd prefer to stay in one country and experience it more deeply, rather than travel all through Europe and torture ourselves with flashes of quick memories.

[Sandra]

But our OP seems to have gone shy. All this advice poured out. Perhaps we should have a general travel advice thread.

Mike

It's amazing how we've become accustomed to being online 24/7. I posted this last night and logged back on today. 

[Mirror Image]

Wow! I logged on hoping to get one or two answers here and I got three pages of them! Thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions, guys!

I was already leaning towards Eastern Europe and your posts made me narrow down on my choices.

For far, I am considering Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Italy. Because the cities in Western Europe are way to similar to the cities in US, Eastern Europe promises more experiences. My friends think the same too.

We're planning to leave on the last week of August and stay for 3 weeks and we'd prefer to stay in one country and experience it more deeply, rather than travel all through Europe and torture ourselves with flashes of quick memories.

Italy seems the most desirable place in my opinion as there's so much history and beautiful architecture there and not to mention the food!

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

For far, I am considering Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Italy. Because the cities in Western Europe are way to similar to the cities in US, Eastern Europe promises more experiences. My friends think the same too.

We're planning to leave on the last week of August and stay for 3 weeks and we'd prefer to stay in one country and experience it more deeply,

Based on your stated criteria, I'll reiterate my recommendation for the Czech Republic - not just because of Prague, but also because it's compact, easy to get to a variety of other nice attractions in the country (spa towns, castles, well-preserved small towns, mountains and other nature), is still quite cheap, and has probably the best-developed tourist infrastructure of the post-communist countries. The only thing it lacks is a seacoast.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I visited these places back in the early 90's.

Is that you in the last photo?

[knight66]

Sandra, Congrats on having rather more to do than sit on line here. I mean it.

Not sure that I agree that Western European cities look so much like the US; many have buildings 800 to 1000 years old. But as you can't go everywhere, then somewhere in Eastern Europe will be just as interesing and not as hot as Southern Europe.

Mike

[Sandra]

Since you stated elsewhere that Oregon has no public transportation, cafes or bookstores, you may wish to experience a city that has public transportation, cafes and bookstores. In Europe, that's almost all of them 

Yes. That's a big consideration. I want to know what it feels like to not have a car and still be able to go to places.

[Sandra]

Ok, Prague sounds interesting. How about Bratislava?

Also, what would you guys recommend as far as places to stay?

I have been told by many people who regularly travel that getting a hotel room is not nearly as interesting and exciting as renting a guest-house. The closer you are to the locals, the more you'll learn about them, see how they live, what they eat and drink. That does sound fun too. If anyone has had such an experience in Eastern Europe, I'll be happy to know how it went.

[listener]

FYI  rail passes purchase in North America often give you great savings.  Here's a Czech link
http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech-trains.html

[Sandra]

Not sure that I agree that Western European cities look so much like the US; many have buildings 800 to 1000 years old. But as you can't go everywhere, then somewhere in Eastern Europe will be just as interesing and not as hot as Southern Europe.

Mike

Yes, but if you're up for some exotic new experience, I think you're more likely to get it in Eastern Europe and not in the UK or France, for instance. I was born and raised in a Western culture, so even though I'm certainly going to be impressed by the architecture in Paris and London, the people and places there are (for me) too familiar and predictable... If I was from an Asian country, I'm sure Western Europe would be more impressive than the East.

[Sandra]

FYI  rail passes purchase in North America often give you great savings.  Here's a Czech link
http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech-trains.html

Thanks so much!

[mc ukrneal]

Ok, Prague sounds interesting. How about Bratislava?

Also, what would you guys recommend as far as places to stay?

I have been told by many people who regularly travel that getting a hotel room is not nearly as interesting and exciting as renting a guest-house. The closer you are to the locals, the more you'll learn about them, see how they live, what they eat and drink. That does sound fun too. If anyone has had such an experience in Eastern Europe, I'll be happy to know how it went.

I lived with locals on several occassions (across Eastern Europe), usually to great results (some fabulous experiences). There are a few nutters though, so try to find a place through a recommendation or from someone who has stayed there to avoid the real wackos. There are probably many bed and breadkfast type places, as there are so many tourists to Prague/Czech Rep. It's really the only downside to Prague - which is a relatively small city with a high number of tourists.

Slovakia and the Czech countryside makes for some intersting trips or additional days to a vacation. You could also consider Vienna and Budapest. I am not a huge fan of Bratislava myself. A little further away is Krakow, a beautiful town that was not bombed during WWII. And since this is a music forum after all, you are not too far from Bayreuth in Prague.

[knight66]

Here are Krakow recommendations provided for me by someone I trust.

Krakow Accommodation
http://www.cracowdays.com/

Krakow Tours
http://www.krakowtours.co.uk/

Mike

[eyeresist]

A little further away is Krakow, a beautiful town that was not bombed during WWII. And since this is a music forum after all, you are not too far from Bayreuth in Prague.

Bayreuth and Prague - let's avoid all possible confusion!