Bosnia-Herzogovina, Czech & Slovak Republics, Hungary, Poland, Croatia

[maes]

I've got 10 days holiday in August, was thinking of taking off & getting an interrail pass & exploring these countries. Have never been to any of them & know nothing about them if I'm really honest.

Where do people reckon is interesting go to, not so interesting, good points & bad points? Obviously in 10 days I'm not going to have time to really get to know a place, feel like some hardcore sightseeing & interesting cities, no relaxation, as much cultural stuff as possible.

I can only speak english and french, will this be a big problem?

SO excited

 

[maes]

Oh yeah and also - are they very cheap? Are vegetarians chased & burned at the stake? (steak )

 

[zoltan]

have lots to say - but busy at work ( slave drivers )- will post later

 

[maes]

anyone?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Oh yeah and also - are they very cheap? Are vegetarians chased & burned at the stake? (steak )

Prague's OK, otherwise the Czech Republic will be hard. French will be useless, English not much better.

 

[maes]

Prague's OK, otherwise the Czech Republic will be hard. French will be useless, English not much better.

I'll be staying with a friend for a while in Brno... Hmmm. International sign language it will have to be then.

 

[Fuchs66]

Poland is great, can recommend it, most younger people speak english and love to practise. try the south, Krakow and Opole are worth a visit and if you like the countryside the Tatra mountains are brill. Lots of traditional recipes that are basically vegetarian mmmm Pirogi Russki (may be problematic as a vegan but not impossible, supermarkets sell lots of soya products, more than in Germany) older people may look at you funny but the younger generation generally accepts it.

 

[zoltan]

"dva Piva" will get you started in most Slavic countries

Southerm Montenegro + Croatia has fantastic country & coastline, is awash with Roman / Turkish etc historical sites ( Split is built around a stunning ampitheatre)

Bosnia is a must see- if only to say youve been there - eeries place, but too many ameriKan backpackers going there now- carful you dont stumble across general ratko Mladic or rad the kad - rumoured to be hiding in Reublick Srpska ( but he actually isnt BTW - hes just outside Belgrade, nudge nudge , wink wink .....I can even describe the house!)


Belgrade - Crazy nightlife/ Crazy people- good city though & have a sniff around the still present blown up Govt. bilidings in the city centre - President Bill Clintons warning to the Serbs - nicer people than you would be led to believe

Zagreb OK,but the train fr Zagreb to BUdapest skims lake balaton - stop off if you want to camp out with some Magyars and sink some beers - if the weathers good, its fantastic.

Lake Bled at DAwn is stunning

Budapest - do a day in the gellert baths and squeeze in as many treatments as you can - even if yer a bloke - get there early & spend all day there. There is no point in going up to the Fishermans bastion unles you want to be surrounded by vulgar AmeriKan skoolies and be raped for the beer at the HIlton.have some Unicum - get a shot of it at most bars - will take yer head off - theres a good small bar I can recommedn near the funicular up to the Museum ( big & boing im afraid )- be careful of stunning girls wanting to got for a drink with you - the bill will invariably be hundreds of quid

Praha - awash with gloomy ameriKan postgrd students, all trying to write that ultimate existentialist novel an look the part in smoky bars - avoid. Check out the Mucha museim & the Art Noveau below the national theatre, as well the the cubist stuff dotted around the place. Theres really nothing to see in Wenslas sq unless you can tag onto a group of ameriKan tourists anf listen to their guided tour .Book yer Otel in OPraha in advance -theres never enough rooms available - IBIS hotels are pretty good in Prague.Watch yourself at the station - its awash with Romany & Czech pickpockets - dont fall for any scams or diversions - go to carlsbad castle outside Prag for an afternoon.You will see Prag is flooded with MOzart tat - Some seem to associate Prag with Mozart since Amadeus was filmed there. I dont think he never went near the place, but thats incidental of course. Beer ? get away for the centre and go to a propa blue collar beer hall - they dont do cocktails or anything else , just big beers - they will out a bit of paper where you sit and make a mark on it every time you call them over for another drink - you settle up when you leave - usually less than about £2.50 for a full afternoon on the piss


Slovakia is nice and rural outside the big polluted cities - viewd by the Czechs as their idiot cousins, they are a decent set of people - go up to the tatry mountains of you can & cross over to Poland to the mountain resort of Zakopane - lovely mountain air + Polish beer


The Krakow-Prague nightly sleeper train is further awash with yankee imperialist backpackers, supported only By Mom & POps credit cards before they slink off to law school - pretty dull run, but cheaper than a hotel and saves you money
phew...thats enough for today

 

[Cadmus]

lake balaton - stop off if you want to camp out with some Magyars and sink some beers

and here's the new magyar add for lake balaton:

http://abalatoninyar.fw.hu/



e2a: split is built around diocletian's palace iirc, not an amphitheatre

 

[Donna Ferentes]

I'll be staying with a friend for a while in Brno... Hmmm. International sign language it will have to be then.

You can learn enough Czech to order food and beer in a couple of hours or less. "Two beers" = "dvakrat pivo prosim" and I don't remember a great deal else.

 

[rennie]

Croatia is beautiful! definitely go to Dalmatia n take the feryr btwn islands.

 

[catrina]

we just went to budapest and it was great! the food can be a bit heavy, but other than that, a fascinating and beautiful city. we did see vegetarian restaurants and everywhere we dined had a vegetarian section on the menu.

the gellert baths were overrated, the szechenyi furdo were much better and slightly cheaper. i'd go again just for the baths.

not everyone speaks english, but enough people do as there are loads of american and british tourists there.

 

[Roadkill]

I went interrailing with a friend in Eastern Europe six years ago. We didn't go to Bosnia-Herzegovina since the political situation was much worse then than now, but did go to Hungary, Romania, Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland.

Hungary is lovely. Take a few days to explore Budapest, which is a lovely city, and surprisingly compact and easy to get around. If you've time, the train journey out to Lake Balaton is well worth making. It's spectacularly beautiful.

Prague I didn't like nearly as much as Budapest. Whereas Budapest felt welcoming and unpretentious, Prague was more commercial and touristy. It felt as if there were a fair few people just out to rip tourists off, too. It was okay and I'm glad I've been, but I've no great hankering to go back. Zoltan69 sums it up pretty well IMO.

Poland we got to right at the end of the month, when we were running out of money and enthusiasm, and our view of Warsaw was a bit clouded when, within an hour of arriving at 7 on a Sunday morning, we were fined £40 for having the 'wrong ticket' by two suspiciously zealous ticket inspectors on a tram. Later, chatting to a local, we were told that we'd been comprehensively ripped off and should complain. Fascinating city, and I'd like to go back. Plus, we didn't get time to see anything of rural Poland.

Romania was the big surprise for me. At that time, you needed a visa to go (do you still?) and it felt quite mysterious. However, Transylvania is one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen and people were very welcoming indeed. If you've time, I'd recommend going. It's 5 hours from Budapest to Oradea (just over the Romanian border) on the train, and Oradea's a pleasant enough place to spend an evening before getting a train fu8rther south. Oradea to Cluj-Napoca is listed as one of the most scenic rail journeys in Europe, and I'd agree with that. The view is just magnificent. We went as far as Sighisoara, which is a superbly atmospheric medieval town, rather spoiled in daylight by the Caecescu-era urban sprawl around it. IN fact, the only major downside to Romania was the way the Roma are treated. It's one of the most unpleasant things I've ever seen.
<edit> French is widely spoken in Romania, Romanian itself being a Romance language, so you'd have no trouble getting by. My French is terrible but we managed. English is not uncommonly spoken either.

Eastern Europe is fascinating. I'd love to go back there. I imagine much will have changed in six years.

 

[pugwash]

Croatia is beautiful! definitely go to Dalmatia n take the feryr btwn islands.

Couldn't agree more. Island hopping around the Dalmatian coastline by ferry makes a great holiday - sitting in the sun on the top deck with a cold beer, taking in the scenery

Croatia is big on grilled meat and fish, but my girlfriend is veggie and she always does OK. There's a lot of Italian cuisine in Dalmatia so you should always be able to get a decent pasta or pizza dish. And nothing beats a good Burek! Language won't be a problem (is it ever a problem on holiday?), lots of people speak English, particularly younger people.

I've had a great time in Prague and Budapest as well although they were just short breaks. If you have time Slovenia is lovely too...

 

[chainsaw cat]

Bosnia is fucking lovely, but seriously fucked up (obviously). 90% of the youth want to leave.

Croatia is one of the nicest places you could go, and for some reason all - and I mean ALL - of the women are gorgeous. Just don't get talking about the war, or you may find your nice host boasting about how he killed loads of prisoners or something.

Croatian wine (can't remember any brand names) is delish.

Veggies are looked on as touched with madness. 'sir' (pron 'sheer') is cheese.

'hleb' (pron. 'hkleb') is bread

'pivo' - 'peevo' is beer.

'lekar' is 'doctor'

You don't need much else, surely?

ETA watch out for slivovic. It can kill at 30 yards.

 

[gaijingirl]

I go to Croatia every year as gajinboy is half-Croatian and he has family there.

I'm also vegetarian.

It's true that you can get very tasty cheese (sir - pronounced syr - as in syria - on the Dalmatian coast) but inevitably it's not vegetarian as it uses animal rennet. If this doesn't bother you, pagski sir is gorgeous - made on the island of Pag but available all over the place. However, it is very expensive. There's also plenty of goat's cheese available and funny ricotta type curd stuff too.

There's a big Italian influence in Croatia, so you can always get fantastic pizzas and not-too-bad pasta dishes. As for Croatian food... sadly it's mostly fish and meat grills. However, there are often nice salads using lots of very fresh green peppers - sometimes filled with soft and salty goat's cheese. Blitva - which translates as mangold, is lovely (like Spinach) and often comes cooked with boiled potatoes and garlic. Duved would be nice - it's kind of like a pilaff, but inevitably it contains meat stock. Tomatoes on the Dalmatian coast are like manna from heaven and frankly I often just sit with a large plate of toms, fresh bread and olive oil, salt and pepper. Which brings me to olive oil. I have never had olive oil as good as the stuff I've bought in Croatia. There are olive groves all over the shop (in between the lavender and pine forests!) and you get little old ladies selling old coke/water bottles full of freshly pressed oil. It tastes just incredible. Definitely don't cook with it.. just pour it over your veg - or simply in a bowl with salt and pepper for dipping.

Also good in Croatia is the eastern influence.. you get great baklava in the slasticarnice (ice cream shops) and also very often borek filled with feta and parsley.. which is divine but about 1 million calories a bite!

You can get the ubiquitous burgers and chips etc all over the shop. Also you get these sort of hole in the wall places that will do nice sandwiches - kind of like subway sandwiches, but not a franchise. For about £1 you can get nice fresh bread and whatever cheese/veg you want in it.

Wine is cheap and good.

Avoid travarica, slivovica and rakija... unless you like immensely strong and horrible tasting liquor and heavy duty hangovers. You can literally see the hairs growing on your chest when you drink this stuff. It's much loved and heavily consumed by everyone. About 4 years ago we waited for the telephone man to come and fit a new telephone line in our house. He arrived at 11am. By 11:30am the line was fitted and he had cracked open a bottle of rakija for all to share in celebration. By midday it was gone and he drove off to his next customer...

 

[Shanksy]

I'll be staying with a friend for a while in Brno... Hmmm. International sign language it will have to be then.

Used to live in Brno, english will be fine with younger people, also might be worth checking out Olomouc. Brno is amazing though.

 

[chainsaw cat]

It's true that you can get very tasty cheese (sir - pronounced syr - as in syria - on the Dalmatian coast)

.... I sit corrected, but it's 'sheer' in Banjaluka! (maybe they're all just pissed?)

I'm hoping and politicking like mad to get a 6 month posting to Croatia if/when they join the EU.

it's just a great place, I'd love to take Chainsaw Kitten and Ms. Chainsaw there in the hope that we could maybe end up as residents for at least a few years.

 

[gaijingirl]

It's true that you can get very tasty cheese (sir - pronounced syr - as in syria - on the Dalmatian coast)

.... I sit corrected, but it's 'sheer' in Banjaluka! (maybe they're all just pissed?)

I'm hoping and politicking like mad to get a 6 month posting to Croatia if/when they join the EU.

it's just a great place, I'd love to take Chainsaw Kitten and Ms. Chainsaw there in the hope that we could maybe end up as residents for at least a few years.

I studied Serbo-Croat for a year at Westminster Uni with a Bosnian teacher... the two languages are almost the same - but not quite... so I expect there are lots of cases where pronunciation varies slightly. However they are obviously used to it as my brother-in-common-law speaks Bosnian style and is perfectly understood on the Dalmatian coast.

Meanwhile I muddle through...

 

[simon_rushton]

I've got 10 days holiday in August, was thinking of taking off & getting an interrail pass & exploring these countries.

6 countries in 10 days? I think you might spend the whole time on the train. But all of the countries you name have something to recommend them.

I've never had any problem speaking only English in Czech Rep, Slovakia, Hungary or Poland (I haven't visited the other 2). I don't mean that every single person will understand you, but enough will to get along OK. Mind you, even bad German can sometimes be handy.

None of the countries you name are cheap like they were in the early 90s, but all are cheaper than UK. I'm vegetarian too. It's not always easy, and your choice will be limited, but you won't starve to death.

If you've really only got 10 days I would pick one (or maybe 2) countries and move around less. Which may make an Inter-rail pass uneconomic. But it's up to you, of course.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Prague I didn't like nearly as much as Budapest. Whereas Budapest felt welcoming and unpretentious, Prague was more commercial and touristy. It felt as if there were a fair few people just out to rip tourists off, too. It was okay and I'm glad I've been, but I've no great hankering to go back. Zoltan69 sums it up pretty well IMO.

I'd agree with this, you can probably take in Prague in a day but Budapest is a much nicer city. There is a museum there of the things they used to get up to in the commie era, I forget the name . But it's good to see bits of history that only happened a few years ago.

 

[davesgcr]

Bratislavia is worth a trip - dead cheap too - nice train ride from Prague - with one change at Breckav.

Ljubiana - Budapest also good trip via Hodos - real cross country run but trian with diner and lots of room.

Highly reccomended

 

[maes]

In the end I changed my plans for various reasons - drove from Amsterdam to Brno, spent a fucking incredible week there, then trained it back to Paris via Telc.

24 hours of train later I'm fucking shattered but am completely in love with Brno .

Saving this thread for future reference, thanks so much to all the people who told me other cool shit to do - it will be used!

 

[maes]

Used to live in Brno, english will be fine with younger people, also might be worth checking out Olomouc. Brno is amazing though.

English wise most people didn't speak it at all, or a few words, but were really helpful. Struck up a strong friendship with a local guy who had really good english & he acted as translator for me when I was with him, people didn't seem to mind at all when I was forced to revert to my 10 words of Czech and pointing etc, which was nice - didn't meet one unfriendly person!

 

[maes]

6 countries in 10 days? I think you might spend the whole time on the train. But all of the countries you name have something to recommend them.


If you've really only got 10 days I would pick one (or maybe 2) countries and move around less. Which may make an Inter-rail pass uneconomic. But it's up to you, of course.

Yeah I did this in the end & am very glad I did, would have been stupid otherwise, would have seen nothing but the inside of trains.

 

[Silas Loom]

Yugoslav what itinerary would you recommend in Bosnia for a multi-generational family whose interests include Iron Age history, ecclesiastical and Brutalist architecture, spelunking and cheese tasting? There will be nine of us: one coeliac, two vegans and a selective mute. We were thinking of flying in then renting a couple of motorhomes, but have no fixed plans otherwise. Ta ever so.

 

[Spymaster]

Yugoslav what itinerary would you recommend in Bosnia for a multi-generational family whose interests include Iron Age history, ecclesiastical and Brutalist architecture, spelunking and cheese tasting? There will be nine of us: one coeliac, two vegans and a selective mute. We were thinking of flying in then renting a couple of motorhomes, but have no fixed plans otherwise. Ta ever so.

Leave the coeliac and vegans at home.

 

[Silas Loom]

Leave the coeliac and vegans at home.

We normally do, but this time round I have absolute confidence that our man on the ground can come up with restaurant recommendations to suit us all.