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Old 07-20-2014, 07:34 AM   #1
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Default Thinking Eastern Europe

So, I'm starting a 2nd job, which will bring in some extra money. Hope to pay off my car and save up a fair amount for another Europe trip. Probably 2016.

Thinking I am going to see if Norwegian is still doing cheap flights, so fly into Copenhagen. Perhaps Berlin -> Krakow -> Prague -> Bratislava -> Budapest -> Bucharest -> Split, Croatia.

Something like that. I definitely want to go back to Prague and Budapest for another visit and a couple day trips. So this will probably get narrowed a bit. But thinking I will try to get 14-16 days of travel. Would also like to try to pick off a quick stop to a Western city also i.e. Rome, Venice, Madrid.

Definitely have time to plan it out, just looking for ideas at this point. Hopefully there isn't spill over from Russia/Ukraine by then.
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2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

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Old 07-20-2014, 04:40 PM   #2
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Looking good. Yeah, a lot of time to plan ahead.

You can't go wrong with any of the three you mentioned. My only concern would be that you'd only have about two days for every city for that time frame.

The bigger cities might be worth another couple of days to get a really good feel and perhaps meet some locals. That's always the funnest part for me.

Never been to Berlin, but that might be a good one for an extended stay. I have some German friends and have been to Hamburg and Frankfurt and I must say that they are all pretty cool and they all speak English, which will come in handy if your German is rusty.
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Old 07-21-2014, 12:36 PM   #3
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Yeah my German pretty much stinks. I know I want to go back to Prague & Budapest for a bit, and would love to get to Poland, and Berlin seems a natural stop on a train trip from Copenhagen, or I could just fly direct into Poland.

I just love the cheap food and drink in Eastern Europe, and it's good. So nothing wrong with all that. So we will see... maybe I will get bold and take 3 weeks.
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2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

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Old 07-23-2014, 07:25 AM   #4
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Quote:
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Yeah my German pretty much stinks. I know I want to go back to Prague & Budapest for a bit, and would love to get to Poland, and Berlin seems a natural stop on a train trip from Copenhagen, or I could just fly direct into Poland.

I just love the cheap food and drink in Eastern Europe, and it's good. So nothing wrong with all that. So we will see... maybe I will get bold and take 3 weeks.
I'm with ya on the cheap food and drink! I had my gut full the whole time I was in Prague.

If you get a chance, there are these bike tours in Prague for like 5 or 10 dollars. Everyone gets a mountain bike and tours together with a guide that goes over key parts of the city.

I showed up for one of the afternoon groups and was the only one for that time slot so the girl gave me a personal bike tour on her own. It was killer to see the city and hear about it's history and see some nice hidden spots by bike. Totally recommend it.

Three weeks will go by quick so I'd be inclined to add a few more days for a couple of hundred bucks more because it would take a few thousand dollars and more time off to get back over there again.
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Old 07-25-2014, 08:09 PM   #5
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Well 3 weeks would be all my vacation time for the year. So that is about the max I can do.

My last trip for 2 weeks, was short, but it was still a great trip. I loved being able to see so many places in that time.

But if I get back over there, I definitely want to meet up with a tpunk or two for a beer or 3.
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2009-2014: February - Mexico (Cancun x 3, Cozumel x 1, Mazatlan x 2

2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

2021: Europe?

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Old 07-29-2014, 07:57 PM   #6
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Quote:
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Well 3 weeks would be all my vacation time for the year. So that is about the max I can do.

My last trip for 2 weeks, was short, but it was still a great trip. I loved being able to see so many places in that time.

But if I get back over there, I definitely want to meet up with a tpunk or two for a beer or 3.
I hear ya, man. There are times when I just love jammin from one city to another too.

Well, if I'm still Europe by the time you come out here and the timing is right, I might be able to flight out to one of the cities that I haven't been to yet and grab some beers with ya. Likewise, if you ever make it to Madrid, I'm down for a meetup.
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Old 07-30-2014, 05:52 PM   #7
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Definitely bro. Next time I go through I will have to meet a couple T-punks
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2009-2014: February - Mexico (Cancun x 3, Cozumel x 1, Mazatlan x 2

2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

2021: Europe?

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Old 08-24-2014, 08:25 AM   #8
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Poland is a beautiful country-never been to Krakow but Wroclaw is nice. Berlin is my favourite city in Europe and one of my favourite cities in the world! Sooo much to do I would give it at least 3-4 days but thats just me.
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Old 08-24-2014, 06:47 PM   #9
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I definitely haven't set anything in stone... but I definitely want to spend some extra time in Budapest and Prague that I didn't get to last time.

I've had several people say Berlin is great, and I definitely think I'll plan for a few days there.
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2009-2014: February - Mexico (Cancun x 3, Cozumel x 1, Mazatlan x 2

2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

2021: Europe?

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Old 08-28-2014, 08:36 AM   #10
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Thing about Berlin is, it really depends on what interests you-but whatever that is, there is bound to be *something* worth doing. Also, don't worry too much about the language, my German stinks too but most people speak English in Berlin and as long as you make an effort will happy to help. I found that was the case in Poland too and my Polish is even worse than my German!
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Old 08-28-2014, 05:59 PM   #11
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One thing I can say about everywhere I went in Europe, is that it didn't seem to matter how badly I butchered the local language, people were happy to speak English to me (even if they were not that good at it) and I could try to talk to them using their language. Which made it fun being in 7 countries in 12 days. lol. Then for some reason, when I got flustered I would resort to Spanish... not sure why.

But, after my first adventure, I have no fears of language. So long as I can get out "Hello" "Please" "Thank You" and other basic words everything seems to go well.

I can never say what particularly I am looking for in a place, but nice scenery always is a plus. I am sure I can find something exciting to see for a few days. If nothing else than to enjoy some food and drink.

My Czech, Magyar, German, French, Norwegian, and Dutch were all horrible. But everyone was so nice.
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2009-2014: February - Mexico (Cancun x 3, Cozumel x 1, Mazatlan x 2

2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

2021: Europe?

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Old 09-06-2014, 07:51 AM   #12
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I would love to go to Berlin. I've heard nothing but great things about it.

Spanish? Really? That's wild. I would think they knew more English than Spanish.

But, yeah, you're right about everyone being so nice. I think if you give it some effort, they'll forgive you and will want to help you out.
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Old 09-06-2014, 11:46 PM   #13
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They knew English, but when I got flustered, I would suddenly switch to Spanish instead of whatever local language I was trying to speak. Just funny that I switched to a foreign language rather than back to English. But hey, we work in mysterious ways.
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2009-2014: February - Mexico (Cancun x 3, Cozumel x 1, Mazatlan x 2

2014 : Europe: Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Rep, Germany, France, England

2015 : US:Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree NP, Salton Sea, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mt. Rushmore. 20 states. Europe: Stockholm, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Ireland (month driving around), Northern Ireland, Edinburgh.

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Old 10-09-2014, 02:08 PM   #14
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True. That is pretty crazy?!
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Old 12-05-2014, 01:09 AM   #15
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I think your thinking, Central Europe :P With the exception of Bucharest, you listed central destinations I lived in Czech for a while with my gf so I can see why you want to return, if you haven't czeched out Olomouc I would recommend going there for a day or two. The smaller but just as lovely little sibling to Praha. Krakow is at the top of my list right up there with Budapest...Oh no now I want to goto Europe again. Must. Leave. China!
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Old 12-13-2014, 03:02 PM   #16
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I think your thinking, Central Europe :P With the exception of Bucharest, you listed central destinations I lived in Czech for a while with my gf so I can see why you want to return, if you haven't czeched out Olomouc I would recommend going there for a day or two. The smaller but just as lovely little sibling to Praha. Krakow is at the top of my list right up there with Budapest...Oh no now I want to goto Europe again. Must. Leave. China!
You've done a lot of traveling these past few years, bro.

I was totally on my way to Poland partly because of how you've raved about it in the past, but met a groovy chick and my plans were side tracked. Heard nothing but awesome stuff about Krakow and the same about Budapest as well. Don't think I'd have as much fun going now compared to if I were still single (I'm talking aside from the sites and food).
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Old 12-16-2014, 03:27 AM   #17
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I've not travelled as nearly as much as I would like to...! But I can understand your point in the being single and abroad. I think traveling single forces you to put yourself out there more...
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