European Vacation (No, not the National Lampoon kind)

Has anyone here ever traveled to Prague, Croatia, or Budapest?

My sister had a travel partner who backed out during the planning stages, and asked if I'd want to travel with her. For the three countries, it was an 8 day package which included all travel and hotels (including travel between the countries). While not exactly cheap, I've never done any "real" international travel - something my grandmother would have been very disappointed about (she traveled the globe once my grandfather passed before I was born), so this would be my chance to pop the travel cherry (I don't consider my trip to the Dominican Republic as counting - too much like Florida.)

I've never looked into Croatia or Budapest, though I've always wanted to visit Prague (including the world-famous torture museum), as most of the family on my father's side was from Czechoslovakia.

Any experiences from other EB members?

I've never been to Europe, but from what I've been reading now is a good time to go as the Euro is down a lot vs the dollar. Eastern Europe is supposed to be one of the cheaper areas to visit.

LOL, Eastern Europe from Eurotrip.

My nephew studied abroad for a semester in Prague. He said it was fantastic. H went to the NYU Tisch school for film (I think Lucas went there) and said it was beautiful.

MA_PE said:

My nephew studied abroad for a semester in Prague. He said it was fantastic. H went to the NYU Tisch school for film (I think Lucas went there) and said it was beautiful.

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My one worry about Prague is that it is now one of the most heavily visited tourist cities in Europe (I think it actually ranks in the top 3), and the peak tourist season there is in August, which is the initial time frame she was looking into for a visit.

How about Bratislava instead? :dunno:

We're talking Europe, not NJ Fox.

I may be close minded but aside from travelling with the 24th Infantry Division in the early 90's, I just don't have a big desire to do Europe. Maybe that will change as I get even older.. I used to have no desire to spend vacations at National Parks either....

The Mrs and I have been to Prague and Budapest. We went there back in 2012 around Easter. I could definitely see Prague being crowded in the Summer, because it was crowded when we were there. Both cities were very nice and I'm glad we went to them. Supposedly Prague is one of the few European cities in central-eastern Europe that is all original construction since it wasn't bombed in WW2.

That being said, I can't say that people were friendly over there, or even polite really. Budapest was better than Prague, but hospitality evidently has a different meaning there than it does here. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thanks for the feedback, Ble!

we took a day trip to Prague about 7 years ago. It was awesome! My son was so impressed that he took his semester abroad there. We saw the Charles Bridge with virtually no people, I guess it gets pretty crowded. I thought I was on the set to Lord of the Rings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bridge He traveled with his girlfriend thru eastern Europe after college and said that Budapest was even better.

Other friends have been to Croatia, I've heard the beaches are real nice there.

What's nice about traveling behind the iron curtain is there is less westernization, more authentic cultural experience. and cheaper.

Never been to those places, so I can't weigh in.

We are looking at going to Ireland next spring/summer. Always wanted to go, and now because of GoT, I really want to go. Plus, I love guiness beer.

Portugal was the one other place she had mentioned as a possibility. Also said that if August was out, that Christmas/winter break was another option.

No experience with those countries in particular, but I've done one of those 8-day all-inclusive trips and they can be quite exhausting. I don't consider them a vacation because there isn't much down time. Your days are scheduled and you do get to see some pretty cool stuff, but (at least with the one I was on) there was no such thing as "chilling by the pool."

The one I did had a couple different tour guides & host families. It started in Rome, skirted the Mediterranean around to Barcelona (with stops in small towns/vineyards along the way), then took a train up to Paris. We were never in a single city for more than a couple of days, and I was so tired by the end that I skipped going to the Eiffel Tower and Arch de Triumph in Paris to take a nap.

Thanks for the feedback, Dex. I definitely need to chat with her some more about it. I am less of a "tour guide to see the all the sites listed in the brochure" person, and more of a "hit the awe-inspiring historical stuff and then hike to see some killer landscapes/waterfalls/mountains" kind of guy.

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:

Plus, I love guiness beer.

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You won't when you get back. I used to love Guinness...then I went to Ireland. It is so much better over there (at any local pub...not just at the brewery) that I could hardly drink it when I got back. Apparently they only export some kind of "Guinness base," which they then mix with water and carbonate in the US. If you shine a light through a Guinness in the US, it is slightly transparent and red in color. You can't shine a light through Guinness in Ireland.

My in-laws went to Hungary and loved it and they hate everything.

wilheldp_PE said:

SNAPE/SMOTT PE said:

Plus, I love guiness beer.

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You won't when you get back. I used to love Guinness...then I went to Ireland. It is so much better over there (at any local pub...not just at the brewery) that I could hardly drink it when I got back. Apparently they only export some kind of "Guinness base," which they then mix with water and carbonate in the US. If you shine a light through a Guinness in the US, it is slightly transparent and red in color. You can't shine a light through Guinness in Ireland.

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Arg!!! Well, I guess it would be worth it to drink the real stuff!

I think you'll be OK. Try some of the local stuff.

csb said:

My in-laws went to Hungary and loved it and they hate everything.

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Hmm. I hate everything, and my last name is a Hungarian word (translates to Slovak). Maybe I'd be right at home?