Romania and Beyond!
Sep 27th, 2019, 09:26 PM
#41
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I'm surprised that you think Prague is grittier than Budapest, although it's not the first time I heard this.
I think every city has those who like it more than others. For us Prague, even on a short visit, was just not a city we connected with as well as Budapest.
I think every city has those who like it more than others. For us Prague, even on a short visit, was just not a city we connected with as well as Budapest.
Sep 28th, 2019, 04:00 AM
#42
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Poland
Krakow
We left Prague and took the train to Krakow. The train was a nice ride even though longer than flying. We enjoyed watching the countryside roll by.
We arrived in Krakow and took a taxi to our hotel which is the Wentzl Hotel right on the old square. Our room looks right over the main square and I am people watching as I type this post.
The Wentzl is an old world hotel with large rooms. It’s very nice and the staff has been wonderful in pre-arranging a couple of tours for us. When we arrived they had everything all set and simply explained the when and where.
View from our room.
Yesterday we went to Auschwitz for a somber tour that was really moving. Seeing the stacks of eyeglasses and shoes of the prisoners - there were people who just cried while on the tour. The guide says that they are getting more and more visitors every year.
Today was a visit to the Salt Mine which was also busy with groups. Fascinating to see and luckily the lift to the top was fast! I couldn’t imagine having to climb up all those hundreds of stairs we came down.
In between we we have been walking and seeing the sights!
Sep 28th, 2019, 06:52 AM
#43
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Sounds like a wonderful trip. Just curious. . .what is your itinerary and number of nights in each place? We have been to Czech Republic and Krakow, but haven't visited Hungary or Romania yet. My daughter and her husband went to Romania for their honeymoon, and they loved it!
Sep 28th, 2019, 11:05 AM
#44
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what is your itinerary and number of nights in each place?
We will have been gone a total of 5 weeks by the time we get home. We spent 10 nights in Romania, 3 nights in Budapest, 7 nights on our river cruise, 1 night in Cesky Krumlov, 3 nights in Prague, 3 nights in Krakow, and our last stop is Berlin where we will spend 4 nights. We also had an overnight in Newark before our international flight and we will have an overnight in Newark again before our last leg to Phoenix.
We did some more walking today and took a “golf cart” tour of the city that we enjoyed. So many things to see and the information provided on the tour was great. Finally had Pirogies for dinner!
Leaving for Berlin tomorrow morning. Onward!
We will have been gone a total of 5 weeks by the time we get home. We spent 10 nights in Romania, 3 nights in Budapest, 7 nights on our river cruise, 1 night in Cesky Krumlov, 3 nights in Prague, 3 nights in Krakow, and our last stop is Berlin where we will spend 4 nights. We also had an overnight in Newark before our international flight and we will have an overnight in Newark again before our last leg to Phoenix.
We did some more walking today and took a “golf cart” tour of the city that we enjoyed. So many things to see and the information provided on the tour was great. Finally had Pirogies for dinner!
Leaving for Berlin tomorrow morning. Onward!
Sep 29th, 2019, 04:38 AM
#45
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What a wonderful trip you have planned. We've been to Berlin, too, but a long time ago. Just curious, do you find traveling for 5 weeks tiring? I guess the 7-night cruise is relaxing, and it sounds you did the cruise half-way through your trip. The reason I ask is that sometimes we spend 2 weeks with our daughter and her family who live in southern France, and then we travel to another European country for 2 weeks before heading home. I've been thinking of extending that portion of our trip to 3 weeks, but I wonder if we will be exhausted by the 5th week and eager to get home. We are 69 and 72, so we are retired and have the time, but not sure about the energy
Sep 29th, 2019, 05:07 AM
#46
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How long was the drive from your last 2-night stay in Romania to Bucharest? And how long was the flight from Bucharest to Budapest? I think I would like to combine a trip to Romania with a trip to Budapest. That seems to be a logical itinerary. Did you have to drive over mountains to get to Maramures?
Sep 29th, 2019, 04:18 PM
#47
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Combining Romania and Hungary in one trip is totally logical.
We're not only neighbours, but around half of Romania(mostly Transylvania and the parts between Transylvania and Hungary) used to be part of Hungary for nearly a thousand year until 1920. Seeing Hungary is not complete without seeing Transylvania and seeing Transylvania is not complete without seeing its former capital: Budapest.
There's no need to fly between Bucharest and Hungary, since most of the interesting stuff in Romania is between Bucharest and Hungary. If you finish or start your trip in one of the cities near Hungary(Oradea, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca) you can take a train to Budapest and even if you only go as far as Brasov or Sibiou you can take a night train to Budapest.
See if you can somehow get this out of print guide to Transylvania(it's the best you can get in English): Transylvania - A land beyond fiction and myth
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea...n%20and%20Myth
We're not only neighbours, but around half of Romania(mostly Transylvania and the parts between Transylvania and Hungary) used to be part of Hungary for nearly a thousand year until 1920. Seeing Hungary is not complete without seeing Transylvania and seeing Transylvania is not complete without seeing its former capital: Budapest.
There's no need to fly between Bucharest and Hungary, since most of the interesting stuff in Romania is between Bucharest and Hungary. If you finish or start your trip in one of the cities near Hungary(Oradea, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca) you can take a train to Budapest and even if you only go as far as Brasov or Sibiou you can take a night train to Budapest.
See if you can somehow get this out of print guide to Transylvania(it's the best you can get in English): Transylvania - A land beyond fiction and myth
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea...n%20and%20Myth
Sep 29th, 2019, 11:02 PM
#49
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KarenWoo - This is the first time we’ve been gone 5 weeks and it was more by accident than anything else! I had seen a great business class airfare on United and completely looked at my calendar wrong - hence five weeks.
Yes we are finding five weeks a little long; however, we haven’t regretted anything. I think you should review what you want to see in Romania and then decide what all you would like to do. For us the Mamamures and Bucovina areas were fascinating. But we knew we wanted to go there and planned our trip accordingly. The original plan was to drive to Iasi, Romania and fly to Budapest via Bucharest; however, DH said he would rather see the countryside so we made the drive instead. It was pretty long on the last day but not horrible. Living in the Southwest we’re used to driving long distances. The flight to Budapest was not quite 2 hours.
Yes we are finding five weeks a little long; however, we haven’t regretted anything. I think you should review what you want to see in Romania and then decide what all you would like to do. For us the Mamamures and Bucovina areas were fascinating. But we knew we wanted to go there and planned our trip accordingly. The original plan was to drive to Iasi, Romania and fly to Budapest via Bucharest; however, DH said he would rather see the countryside so we made the drive instead. It was pretty long on the last day but not horrible. Living in the Southwest we’re used to driving long distances. The flight to Budapest was not quite 2 hours.
Sep 30th, 2019, 10:12 PM
#50
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Church of Peace
On our way to Berlin we stopped at the Church of Peace in Swidnica. It’s the largest Protestant Church on the UNESCO World Heritage List and was built in the 1600’s completely out of wood. The inside is beautiful. Picture below of ceiling.
Next stop was the second church remaining of the three which is in Jawor, Poland. While not as ornate as the first one, it had its own beauty.
On our way to Berlin we stopped at the Church of Peace in Swidnica. It’s the largest Protestant Church on the UNESCO World Heritage List and was built in the 1600’s completely out of wood. The inside is beautiful. Picture below of ceiling.
Next stop was the second church remaining of the three which is in Jawor, Poland. While not as ornate as the first one, it had its own beauty.
Sep 30th, 2019, 10:16 PM
#51
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Berlin
We arrived in Berlin and are at the Regent Berlin Hotel. Yesterday we opted to take the hop on - hop off bus. Actually despite reading some poor reviews, it was very good for an overview of the city. Between the combined routes we took and getting off we were gone almost all day.
The weather is is rainy and gloomy. Today to a couple of sights we want to see.
We arrived in Berlin and are at the Regent Berlin Hotel. Yesterday we opted to take the hop on - hop off bus. Actually despite reading some poor reviews, it was very good for an overview of the city. Between the combined routes we took and getting off we were gone almost all day.
The weather is is rainy and gloomy. Today to a couple of sights we want to see.
Oct 1st, 2019, 10:50 AM
#52
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Checkpoint Charlie - I figured out that it has been close to 40 years since I was here last. I had to wear my uniform (I was in the Army) and was under strict instructions to salute all Russian officers I saw. The only problem was that no one gave us any training on what the Russian officers’ insignia looked like so I was saluting anyone in a Russian uniform! LOL I think they had the same problem because they were all saluting me too. What memories I have of that trip to Berlin.
Oct 1st, 2019, 10:58 AM
#53
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Today was a walk to see the Topography of Terror memorial. We took some time at this memorial and I confess I was appalled at my lack of knowledge of some of the events in Poland. It was a very interesting memorial.
From there we walked to the Brandenburg Gate so DH could take some photos. At that point it started raining pretty heavily so we decided to head back to our hotel for a rest. We stopped along the way and had a late lunch.
Later we walked to Rausch to see all the chocolate pieces carved. Very creative!
From there we walked to the Brandenburg Gate so DH could take some photos. At that point it started raining pretty heavily so we decided to head back to our hotel for a rest. We stopped along the way and had a late lunch.
Later we walked to Rausch to see all the chocolate pieces carved. Very creative!
Oct 3rd, 2019, 01:16 PM
#54
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Last post -
Our last day in Berlin we went to Potsdam and toured Sanssouci. Interesting but I confess I’m not a fan on that style of architecture. The city has a lot of history and I never realized the Bridge of Spies was located there also. We enjoyed our brief visit.
After returning to Berlin, we made it to the Reichstag in time for our visit to the dome. What a view of the city! The audio guide was really good and we really enjoyed this last sight.
On to dinner at Lutter und Wegner where we had excellent sauerbraten!
Early morning checkout, long flight to Newark and we head on home to Phoenix tomorrow.
We we enjoyed our trip! We saw lots of different places and each had something memorable.
Our last day in Berlin we went to Potsdam and toured Sanssouci. Interesting but I confess I’m not a fan on that style of architecture. The city has a lot of history and I never realized the Bridge of Spies was located there also. We enjoyed our brief visit.
After returning to Berlin, we made it to the Reichstag in time for our visit to the dome. What a view of the city! The audio guide was really good and we really enjoyed this last sight.
On to dinner at Lutter und Wegner where we had excellent sauerbraten!
Early morning checkout, long flight to Newark and we head on home to Phoenix tomorrow.
We we enjoyed our trip! We saw lots of different places and each had something memorable.
Oct 20th, 2019, 05:04 PM
#55
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I have been following along and really enjoyed all of your TR - thanks so much for taking the time to share the details. Sounds like a wonderful trip! We love Budapest (13 nights total in 2015 and 2016), and Romania and Bulgaria are on our short list.
We typically travel in Europe by train and local transportation, using guides only rarely. I'm wondering if renting a car makes more sense for seeing Romania and southern Hungary.
We typically travel in Europe by train and local transportation, using guides only rarely. I'm wondering if renting a car makes more sense for seeing Romania and southern Hungary.
Oct 20th, 2019, 05:45 PM
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Thanks, Thursdaysd, I had saved your link but not had a chance yet to read it. I was hoping for some information here on the pros and cons of car vs public transport for Romania and Bulgaria in particular. We have navigated on our own pretty extensively in Europe and avoided renting a car. I am interested if the OP and others felt that Romania justified making an exception.
Oct 20th, 2019, 05:48 PM
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See if you can somehow get this out of print guide to Transylvania(it's the best you can get in English): Transylvania - A land beyond fiction and myth
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea...n%20and%20Myth
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea...n%20and%20Myth
Oct 21st, 2019, 09:09 AM
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"I was able to get a copy of this via abebooks. I am looking forward to digging in!'
Just keep in mind that it was published more than 10 years ago and prices are way out of date, plus there are a lot more(and often better) options for places to stay and eat now, but it's still unbeatable for discribing the sights and the background.
Driving vs. public transport
No need to choose. You can do it by public transport where it's a good option and rent a car for the parts where it makes more sense. You could even just charter a taxi or rent a car with a driver/guide for a day whenever it's necessary.
Some of the best sights of both countries are on the countryside, small villages or natural beauty spots and most of these are hard and time consuming to reach buy train or bus. The cities and towns are all easily visited by trains, but it would be a big mistake to see only cities and towns(unless you have a very short time).
It's worth to keep in mind that Romania and Bulgaria are the poorest countries of the EU and it shows. The trains are often agonisingly slow, decrepit and dirty. It could be still a fun and cheap way to get around if you can think of it as an adventure, just don't expect European standards.
https://www.travelsewhere.net/how-not-to-see-maramures/
https://jonworth.eu/a-guide-to-the-trains-of-bulgaria/
Just keep in mind that it was published more than 10 years ago and prices are way out of date, plus there are a lot more(and often better) options for places to stay and eat now, but it's still unbeatable for discribing the sights and the background.
Driving vs. public transport
No need to choose. You can do it by public transport where it's a good option and rent a car for the parts where it makes more sense. You could even just charter a taxi or rent a car with a driver/guide for a day whenever it's necessary.
Some of the best sights of both countries are on the countryside, small villages or natural beauty spots and most of these are hard and time consuming to reach buy train or bus. The cities and towns are all easily visited by trains, but it would be a big mistake to see only cities and towns(unless you have a very short time).
It's worth to keep in mind that Romania and Bulgaria are the poorest countries of the EU and it shows. The trains are often agonisingly slow, decrepit and dirty. It could be still a fun and cheap way to get around if you can think of it as an adventure, just don't expect European standards.
https://www.travelsewhere.net/how-not-to-see-maramures/
https://jonworth.eu/a-guide-to-the-trains-of-bulgaria/
