vaxer
Moderator Emeritus
I have just come home from a three weeks «expedition » through eastern europe, so here’s a little report.
I spent the first five days in Berlin (Germany). Berlin is a very vast city and it seemed very peaceful. There’s much to see because of its very heavy historical past. Berlin is definitely the cultural capital of Germany, it’s great for parties and meeting interesting people. Although I have to say that it’s not that much of a pretty city. Everything has been destroyed during the war, so the architecture is pretty modern.
Here’s a part of the Berlin wall, and the inside of the Reichstag dome.
Next stop was Krakow in Poland; we took a night train there from Berlin which was very long considering it stopped like every ten minutes. Krakow is beautiful, here’s one city that hasn’t been destroyed by the war and that kept its original spirit. The downside of Krakow is that it's very turistic. I had a great time even though I got sick over vodka+tabasco shots
sick: it was actually the hostel's welcoming drink...)
Of course we couldn’t go to Krakow and not visit Auschwitz. The visit starts with the camp Auschwitz I, which has been arranged into a museum. Then you go to the mass extermination camp Auschwitz II – Birkenau. It was a very moving experience. That's definitly somthing you have to see once in your life, it takes a whole other dimension in real life.
Then we took the train to Bratislava in Slovakia. Bratislava is an interesting city, unless you want to go out at night… Right outside Bratislava are the ruins of the castle of Devin, blown out by Napoleon, apparently for no reason. It’s a very important historical site as it is situated in a strategical place, rooted into a cliff high above the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. Bratislava isn't so much of a turistic city, the prices are very low so you you can eat good food for extreemly cheap.
We also spent one day in Vienna in Austria, which is only an hour drive from Bratislava (by bus). Vienna is a very rich city, it’s crowded with monuments (kind of like Paris), it’s very eye candy. Overall Vienna makes a big contrast with Bratislava, feels like you're on another planet. The reason we didn’t stay there is because it’s very expensive. Of course one day isn't enough to do it all, but I think we got the general feeling of this city.
Our last stop was Budapest in Hungary. Again this city was very beautiful, great for parties, eating cake and relaxing. We stayed in a great hostel there the "home made hostel" which felt like we where at home. Budapest was a little more expensive then Krakow and Bratislava but the food remained delicious. We also went to the baths, I hadn't done that in years.
Overall, this trip was a great experience, i got to meet many different people, with different cultures (hostels are filled with international globetotters). I drank an unreasonable amont of beer which is gerenally 5 times cheaper then in Paris. All I want to do now is take a year off and go around the world. I guess we'll see in a year or two...
I spent the first five days in Berlin (Germany). Berlin is a very vast city and it seemed very peaceful. There’s much to see because of its very heavy historical past. Berlin is definitely the cultural capital of Germany, it’s great for parties and meeting interesting people. Although I have to say that it’s not that much of a pretty city. Everything has been destroyed during the war, so the architecture is pretty modern.
Here’s a part of the Berlin wall, and the inside of the Reichstag dome.
Next stop was Krakow in Poland; we took a night train there from Berlin which was very long considering it stopped like every ten minutes. Krakow is beautiful, here’s one city that hasn’t been destroyed by the war and that kept its original spirit. The downside of Krakow is that it's very turistic. I had a great time even though I got sick over vodka+tabasco shots
sick: it was actually the hostel's welcoming drink...)
Of course we couldn’t go to Krakow and not visit Auschwitz. The visit starts with the camp Auschwitz I, which has been arranged into a museum. Then you go to the mass extermination camp Auschwitz II – Birkenau. It was a very moving experience. That's definitly somthing you have to see once in your life, it takes a whole other dimension in real life.
Then we took the train to Bratislava in Slovakia. Bratislava is an interesting city, unless you want to go out at night… Right outside Bratislava are the ruins of the castle of Devin, blown out by Napoleon, apparently for no reason. It’s a very important historical site as it is situated in a strategical place, rooted into a cliff high above the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. Bratislava isn't so much of a turistic city, the prices are very low so you you can eat good food for extreemly cheap.
We also spent one day in Vienna in Austria, which is only an hour drive from Bratislava (by bus). Vienna is a very rich city, it’s crowded with monuments (kind of like Paris), it’s very eye candy. Overall Vienna makes a big contrast with Bratislava, feels like you're on another planet. The reason we didn’t stay there is because it’s very expensive. Of course one day isn't enough to do it all, but I think we got the general feeling of this city.
Our last stop was Budapest in Hungary. Again this city was very beautiful, great for parties, eating cake and relaxing. We stayed in a great hostel there the "home made hostel" which felt like we where at home. Budapest was a little more expensive then Krakow and Bratislava but the food remained delicious. We also went to the baths, I hadn't done that in years.
Overall, this trip was a great experience, i got to meet many different people, with different cultures (hostels are filled with international globetotters). I drank an unreasonable amont of beer which is gerenally 5 times cheaper then in Paris. All I want to do now is take a year off and go around the world. I guess we'll see in a year or two...
