This year, our family is going to Croatia, (Newark to Dublin, then Dublin to Dubrovnik), exploring that area, renting a car, then onto Slovenia. After that we will take a train to Budapest (great city, lots to see and do) and then onto Krakow, Poland, which people are calling the new Prague. Also, a few years ago we went to Bamberg and Dresden Germany, drove around there and onto the Czech Republic. I am becoming a very big fan of Eastern European travel.

Have you ever been to northern Germany?

In the Münsterland, you find small villages, historic towns and dozens of castles from different historical periods.

Or go the coast and the islands. There you will find many fishermen's villages. I particularly recommend Sylt - an island where you will find everything. There are also nice towns on the mainland - Büsum, Husum etc.

For some mystical reason, Americans tend to visit southern Germany only and ignore the rest. However, it is worth a visit.

Traveler1959, you make a good point. When I think of Germany I usually think from about the Frrankfurt area south. I haven't biven much attention to the country above that line.

How come no one here has mentioned gorgeous places in the USA. I have been to Europe numerous times, but recently I just discovered how exotic America could really be. We are planning a trip to the American Southwest. In our planning, we discovered whole worlds that I never knew existed. We plan to visit national parks, Hopi and Navajo reservations, ancient Pueblo ruins, stunning scenery, and maybe interesting characters.

I just recently read a New York Times article about Monument Valley, and the writer commented that most tourist were European. There were German campers and Italian tourists in Gucci scarves.

This is just a thought.

I second Budapest and Prague. Really interesting cities.

Another vote for Croatia; it is not
only beautiful but STILL affordable.
There has been much PR lately on
the country so if it is on your list , it
would fiscally expedient to see both
Slovenia & Croatia before they join the EU (the kuna is national
Croatian currency)

Note to Fodors editors, I have tried three times to post this message and I am getting tired of retyping the list ;;)

Aisleseat, I saved a list of underpriced but up and coming ciites sent to me by smarter travel

tallin, estonia
krakow
dubrovnik
istanbul
kyiv, ukraine
kosice, slovenia
sarajevo, bosn
gdansky, pol

enjoy the research, deborah

Traveler 1959, I lived in northern Germany for 9 years and I can attest that you are so right. Niedersachsen, Schleswig Holstein, and the former east German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg Vorpommern are WONDERFUL vacation destinations. Beautiful woods, lakes, cities like Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen....

Hamburg is where I lived. It is the wealthiest city in Europe, the second largest port city in Europe, and was not fully bombed in the war so it has fantastic architecture. A lake in the middle of the city. Very, very sophisticated. AisleSeat, you would be hard pressed to find a better new German destination than the north. In Mecklenburg, beautiful resorts have been built around the lakes with lovely spa facilities, etc. They are reasonable priced. Between Hamburg and Berlin lies Wismar, Rostock, Schwerin and its gold leafed castle. So much to see.

If you want more info on No. Germany, just ask specific questions.

I moved to Piemonte Italy three years ago to fulfill our life long dream of renovating an old farm in Italy. But I still have lots of nice memories of North Germany.

Diana

Hi
What about Scotland? Fabulous scenery,exciting cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow, visit some of the Islands and some of the Distilleries. A small country which you could quite easily tour around.Have a look at the "Visit Scotland" website. Only drawback is the weather!!!

Wow! the hits just keep on coming. Bella, you have realy piqued my interest in Northern Germany. Scotland sounds good too.

Shanghai

Tallinn, Estonia. I was a little nervous the first time but went back a second and going for a third.

SICILY-hands down! Easy to drive,beautiful countryside and interesting cities and site,great food and best of all,the wonderful people that live there!

Wally - why on earth should you be nervous about Tallinn? Don't understand at all!

Some more thoughts on Northern Germany...

The Island of Sylt... (I don't know how to make a link in this post so you have to google it).

St. Peter Ording....the North Sea's ebb and tide causes the water to go out at ebb over a mile!! The result is a sand landscape at ebb which refills at tide. The beach is dyked, and the dikes are covered by sheep and thatched roof houses. St. Peter Ording have a natural landscape rivaled only by Scottland's North Sea coastline.

Both distinations are in Schleswig Holstein on the western North Sea side of the state.

I will keep thinking....

diana

oh, i will just paste the link in here for sylt... the site is in German but the pics will give you an idea:

http://www.meer-sylt.de/_DE_de/WZL_0...mp;TEMPL=EMPTY

let me try that again

http://www.meer-sylt.de

there that works.

If you decide on the greece islands, make sure not to miss Hydra! That is where the greeks go on holiday and they dont like to share it with other people because it is a GEM! No public transport, only donkeys!

AisleSeat
What time of year are you planning on going? If you like German-speaking areas, have you checked into the Erzgebirge area? Lots of interesting small towns like Seiffen. Close to the Czech Republic. We have driven through many of the Eastern European countries. Staying in small towns at B&B's or small inns works great for budget travelers. Lots of great back-road places in Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania.

LLC,

Interesting, those are my wife's initials. do you know something I don't know?

We aren't sure yet when we will make our next trip. My wife is a school teacher and we frequently go in the off seasons when the school is out (Christmas, Spring Break, Winter break). This conversation is filling my list of places to go. Where exactly are the places you mentioned and where do you fly into to get there?