Learn from the locals how to travel Eastern Central Europe
 

Well, since the clickbait has worked, I must confess that our upcoming trip from Berlin to Vienna "via" Prague and Budapest is not exactly a shining example of local expertise.

The necessary ingredients for a somewhat dysfunctional tour:
1. Last warning from my employer that I have 8 days vacation left over from 2015 which will expire May 31st.
2. Two friends who are excited to explore territories they have not visited in 20+ years. And yes, two of the three are neighboring countries.
3. One of the two friends has a walking disability which will require extra caution when renting AirBnB's or booking hotel rooms. And when deciding on route, sights to visit, accessibility of whatever venue.
4. Let this friend be keen on exploring exactly those destinations and sights diametrically opposite to his abilities. And, in general, too lazy to inquire suggestion for travelers with disabilities on the web.
5. Choose a starting date (cf. #1) just one week away.
6. Have a nervous breakdown.

Things I have learned while preparing this trip (probably no news for most but anyway..)

1. Hotels' self-classifications re. accessibility for disabled guests are usually more trustworthy than what hosts say on AirBnB, VRBO and similar. The latter designate apartments even as "wheelchair appropriate" when there is only a bathtub the guest has to climb in. Or when the guest has to climb "only a few steps" to reach the elevator. Always look for photos showing the entrance, the elevator, and bathroom. If there is any doubt, try to get in touch with the landlord or hotel to be 100pct sure.

2. AirBnB's in Europe's hotspots, at least those in Central/CE Europe seem to have shifted towards professional apartment rental agencies. Or private people acting for those agencies, if for example the local city ordinances ban professional short-term rentals. The number of young men or women in their 20s claiming to own and to be "your host" of apartments that cost more than 500K in those cities is amazing. I won't say that those "hosts" cannot deliver excellent service, but if you look for a more personal connection or availability of your host, check the comments' page.

3. While Prague and Budapest offered many options even for our last-minute bookings, Vienna was really an issue. If you plan to visit Vienna, the usual advice to book in advance is probably twice as true as elsewhere. The more last-minute your planning is, the more cancellations also appear. We ended up renting an apartment which was not available when I checked a day before.

4. Car rental consolidators like AutoEurope offer good bargains, but if you want to drive abroad (also within the EU), these bargains often have surcharges for each individual country you want to visit. It was the usual big companies (in our case: Avis), which included driving to any country we have on our list without a surcharge. The higher rental cost for Avis - compared to the lowest bargain competitor - was appr. €50 for one week.
Why not book directly with Avis?
If you don't have extended liability coverage with zero deductible covered by your credit card, the consolidators usually throw in their own coverage. You are liable towards (in our case) Avis, but the consolidator will reimburse you later.
The higher costs for renting from Avis was much less than all the extra surcharges for CZ, SK, HU and AT. Even if we had planned to add only Austria , Avis would still have been cheaper. As these surcharges apply regardless of what type of coverage you already have, it may make bargain companies expensive in the end anyway.
YMMV, though - always check the fineprint, mother says.
And let the rental car company know in advance that you plan to drive across borders. While it is okay to take most categories up to intermediate to the East, some makes within those categories are banned.

5. Don't travel with clueless friends who show no effort in assisting in the planning procedures. (Just joking)
Fortunately, I let them know that I suceeded in finding a good rate and had booked the rental car today. When I told them that I'd pick them up Monday morning at 10am, my friend replied: "Really? I thought we were leaving on Tuesday".. Lord, give me strength. Or Vodka. Or both.

First leg:
Berlin - Saxon Switzerland - Prague.

Music loaded on iPhone for the first hour of the trip:
What Have I Done To Deserve This - Pet Shop Boys
Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
The Road To Hell - Chris Rea
Vienna Calling - Falco
It's A Long Way To Tipperary - Traditional
Highway To Hell - AC/DC
Shut Up And Drive - Rihanna
It's The End Of The World As We Know It - R.E.M.
any more suggestions?

Love your selection of music, LOL! Can't wait to hear how the trip went.

Excellent.

Show must go on - queen
Doesn't matter - status quo
I am still standing - Elton John.
It is the first day of the rest of my life - bon jovi ?
Don't give up - ?
I've got to get out of this place - Rolling Stones ?



On dirait que ca te gêne de marcher dans la boue - an old French guy.
Marche à l'ombre - Renaud.
Les aventures de Gérard Lambert - Renaud.
Antisocial - trust (both in French and heavily French accented English).

Worth clicking--sounds like an adventure!

Loving it so far...

"Don't travel with clueless friends who show no effort in assisting in the planning procedures. (Just joking)"

Does this apply to family? They just like to be led around but have no idea what in the hell they are seeing. Complain of boredom, but have no useful input on itinerary...

Good luck!

WoinParis.. mais j'ai expecté dans la section francophone:
J'en ai marre - Alizée ;-)

rs899.. not family, but actually two of my four best friends.
We (almost) always travel together - they probably would not even do a day trip on their own.
So, I can't even complain about being stuck with them. Well, I can complain, but you can as well question my sanity as theirs.

Just back from a quick dash to the auto club to buy two of the four necessary motorways "vignettes" in advance.
Czech and Austria are covered.
Slovakia and Hungary have e-Vignettes so I can only register once I know the license plate number of the rental.


Bonus Trivia:

1. The least streneous or most flat access to Prag's castle is to take tram 22 to stop "Prazsky hrad" (Not hard to guess if you know Czech, of course. I don't)
2. Villa Tugendhat, one of Mies van der Rohe gems of architecture is "hidden" in the city of Brno - the "capital" of Moravia. But reservations are required to visit and sell out quickly.
3. One capital city on our way has an UFO "hovering" over the cityscape. Hint: I have not mentioned it yet.

Bratislava;-)

pffft... that was probably too easy :)

you missed out a Beatles' song: "Help!"

if the trip was as amusing as your writing about it, it must be/have been fun.

Keep it coming.

We will know from Monday on if it is fun.
I'm not sure if I will post a lot while on the road since I will only have my phone with me. And I hate/cannot type longer text on a small touch screen.

Nevertheless, "Help!" is appreciated and added to the playlist.
Keeping in mind that our accomodations both in Prague and Budapest are in the very city center on "streets" as wide as a bike lane, I'll probably put that song on endless repeat.

Loving this post. We drove from Prague to Krumlov, then the Olomoucs, and on to Krakow. McDonalds make good pit stops along the way. Guaranteed good bathrooms and usually a McCafe for coffee & pastries.

<Berlin-Saxon Switzerland-Prague>

I remember visiting my aunt for the first time (she lives in Naila) and her telling me we were heading to Saxon Switzerland and I thought we were going to .... Switzerland... seemed a short drive and I was crushed when I found out where we were ��
Have since been to the Bastei and that fortress nearby while we were in Chemnitz and this time I was not so clueless.

on for the ride, I used to run teams in Brno and Ostrava, the Brno site was pretty nice, less so Ostrava.

Haha, love the attitude and playlist!

"Life in the Fast Lane," Eagles. Unless you're exiting Vienna for any of the former Eastern Bloc countries on a Friday afternoon... ;)