Most Interesting 3 days? Budapest , Berlin or Vilnius?
May 22nd, 2011, 06:11 AM
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Most Interesting 3 days? Budapest , Berlin or Vilnius?
Am arriving in Frankfurt on May 28 and am flying out on the 31. Would like to visit either Berlin,Budapest or Vilnius? Which would be the most interesting for those days? Am an art/architecture lover.
Thank YOU!
Thank YOU!
May 22nd, 2011, 06:40 AM
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Berlin is in closest distance to Frankfurt, so that's a plus. You could take a train to Berlin - for the other two you'd have to fly.
If you're into older architecture (medieval e.g.) then pick Vilnius. Neither Berlin nor Budapest have much of that kind of architecture.
Budapest for Art Nouveau, Berlin for contemporary architecture.
Berlin is best for (art) museums.
A nice and easy side trip from Berlin would be Potsdam with the palaces and gardens.
If you're into older architecture (medieval e.g.) then pick Vilnius. Neither Berlin nor Budapest have much of that kind of architecture.
Budapest for Art Nouveau, Berlin for contemporary architecture.
Berlin is best for (art) museums.
A nice and easy side trip from Berlin would be Potsdam with the palaces and gardens.
May 22nd, 2011, 11:57 AM
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Berlin has the most to see/do - but in terms of architecture it's a disaster.
The whole city was destroyed in 1945. The western half now looks a lot like route 17 in New Jersey - with massive billboards covered by Coke signs - and nondescript modern architecture. The eastern half looks like Berlin before the war - but is all reconstruction - but the suburbs are distinctly soviet realist.
Budapest is also fascinating - and some of the architecture is real.
Can;t comment on Vilnius.
For the best real european architecture go to Prague.
The whole city was destroyed in 1945. The western half now looks a lot like route 17 in New Jersey - with massive billboards covered by Coke signs - and nondescript modern architecture. The eastern half looks like Berlin before the war - but is all reconstruction - but the suburbs are distinctly soviet realist.
Budapest is also fascinating - and some of the architecture is real.
Can;t comment on Vilnius.
For the best real european architecture go to Prague.
May 22nd, 2011, 12:11 PM
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Berlin has the best art scene and music scene of the cities listed. I love Berlin due to its edgy feel and galleries. I like Budapest (lived there for 2 years) with its history and antique shops. Vilnius is charming and I used to go frequently (we lived in Riga) but by the third day you will be bored. The architecture of Vilnius is nice but both Riga and Tallinn have more impressive architecture. How about Tallin and Riga as a choice. There is an inexpensive business bus that runs between the two.
Prague is also another good option (I move there in August!). Fab architecture, neat history and a nice blend of old and new.
Prague is also another good option (I move there in August!). Fab architecture, neat history and a nice blend of old and new.
May 22nd, 2011, 05:56 PM
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"The eastern half looks like Berlin before the war - but is all reconstruction - but the suburbs are distinctly soviet realist."
Berlin is is not "charming' like ,let's say , Prague
, but has some of the best museums, galleries and modern architecture anywhere.
Berlin is is not "charming' like ,let's say , Prague
, but has some of the best museums, galleries and modern architecture anywhere.
May 22nd, 2011, 08:56 PM
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Well, I lived in Berlin for 15 years, so maybe I know a bit more than the anecdotal experiences.
First of all, Berlin has always been a young city. There was not much going on till mid/late 1800s. It was not even one city untill 1920. Some districts that have 200-300K inhabitants were mere villages until the turn of the century (1900 that is).
The history is that of a boom town, not one of a former residence that has organically grown bit by bit (Potsdam would have played that role). So Berlin always was "modern".
So there is no cute and cosy old town, except for the (indeed totally fake and ghastly) former GDR's try to rebuild the old nucleus near Alexanderplatz on River Spree. Or the effort in Spandau (now a district of Berlin). Both do not exactly need a visit.
Nevertheless, far from all from 1800something to 1945 has been destroyed.
You will find a lot of the original "Gründerzeit" architecture around Savignyplatz and Kurfürstendamm (in the West), or in Prenzlauer Berg (in the East) - as most industries which got bombed were more on the edges of the city. These neighborhoods resemble a bit those of Haussmann's Paris.
Art Nouveau / Jugendstil never was big in Berlin. Vienna, Brussels, Barcelona and other places show much more of that period.
If architecture is your cup of tea, you will find Bauhaus buildings (also on the Unesco list, if that is important), and the Bauhaus museum.
The Frankfurter Allee (leading from Alexanderplatz to the East) is a fine example of post-war Stalinist ornamental architecture.
The outer Easter suburbs are more or less just plain and simple highrise apartment buildings in typical GDR style (i.e. very plain).
Whether or not you like the very modern (mostly post 1989) architecture will be a matter of your taste. But you can be sure that in a few decades, even the regular tourists will worship those as the "real architecture" and hate their contemporary buildings. Some people confuse "real European" with "old and well preserved". Few people here want to live in a museum.
P.S. If you want to visit a city that has in fact be destroyed to rubbles, visit Warsaw. Already under Communist regime, the Polish reconstruction of the old town (or that in other major Polish cities) was light years ahead of what the GDR managed to do.
First of all, Berlin has always been a young city. There was not much going on till mid/late 1800s. It was not even one city untill 1920. Some districts that have 200-300K inhabitants were mere villages until the turn of the century (1900 that is).
The history is that of a boom town, not one of a former residence that has organically grown bit by bit (Potsdam would have played that role). So Berlin always was "modern".
So there is no cute and cosy old town, except for the (indeed totally fake and ghastly) former GDR's try to rebuild the old nucleus near Alexanderplatz on River Spree. Or the effort in Spandau (now a district of Berlin). Both do not exactly need a visit.
Nevertheless, far from all from 1800something to 1945 has been destroyed.
You will find a lot of the original "Gründerzeit" architecture around Savignyplatz and Kurfürstendamm (in the West), or in Prenzlauer Berg (in the East) - as most industries which got bombed were more on the edges of the city. These neighborhoods resemble a bit those of Haussmann's Paris.
Art Nouveau / Jugendstil never was big in Berlin. Vienna, Brussels, Barcelona and other places show much more of that period.
If architecture is your cup of tea, you will find Bauhaus buildings (also on the Unesco list, if that is important), and the Bauhaus museum.
The Frankfurter Allee (leading from Alexanderplatz to the East) is a fine example of post-war Stalinist ornamental architecture.
The outer Easter suburbs are more or less just plain and simple highrise apartment buildings in typical GDR style (i.e. very plain).
Whether or not you like the very modern (mostly post 1989) architecture will be a matter of your taste. But you can be sure that in a few decades, even the regular tourists will worship those as the "real architecture" and hate their contemporary buildings. Some people confuse "real European" with "old and well preserved". Few people here want to live in a museum.
P.S. If you want to visit a city that has in fact be destroyed to rubbles, visit Warsaw. Already under Communist regime, the Polish reconstruction of the old town (or that in other major Polish cities) was light years ahead of what the GDR managed to do.
