JohnWordCena

thanks a lot okszi only now I realized about your post. will be reading it right now

BigRuss

This is one of the worst itineraries I've seen. Okszi may do trips like this for a living because he's a tour guide. That doesn't mean you'll actually see a lot or experience the cities. Each is different, each country is culturally distinct, and the differences (especially when you start going into the Balkans) are significant. The trip is a checklist, nothing more. You were better off when you and the lads were going to do Vienna and Bratislava in 8 days.

JohnWordCena

Thanks again for the advice okszi, however your second part itenary is way too much even for us since we dont know about most of the places you mentioned but thanks a lot for taking the time to help me.

BigRuss thanks for your reply. I will try to fix it a little and reply back.

BigRuss

<<"I will try to fix it a little and reply back.">>

This is a wise notion. Think about what you're wanting to see and where and why. Something attracted you and the boys to Bratislava and Vienna.

Budapest is a different culture - Magyar, not Teutonic; junior partner in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, former Commie satellite treated worse than the other Warsaw Pact countries (first to revolt, not Slavic), massive death toll in a short time under the Nazis (2nd largest number of Jews killed of any country in Europe even though the Holocaust didn't reach Hungary until 1944).

okszi

To Clayton,
Another long post...

The tour, I described was JUST (and I have to stress JUST) a sample of that you can actually do a 1,700 km trip in 4-5 days. Nothing else, just a banal example, that's it.
I am probably extremely narrow minded, but I simply can't understand why some people so obsessed with those short-term city-country trips. We are all SOOOO Much different. It's an absolute universal truth. Based on 7 visits to the USA, sometimes a month long stays with friends, I can make an assumption (based on meeting hundreds of people), that the overwhelming part of the US population considered the 3-7 days cruises (Carribbean etc.,), when they have just half a day or even less for a single location, is absolutely the best way to see the world.
OF COURSE, I know, it's not like that, but still it does for millions of people.
OK, just today I had a last (out of 4) trip with a Russian family. This was their FIRST EVER visit to Europe. For many years, they had dozens of trips to the Turkish Riviera, The Emirates, Egypt, so all the spots highly favored by Russian tourists (better say crowds).
So, they had a day trip to Vienna, a day trip to the Danube bend, a day trip to Gyor and Pozsony (OK, most of the people call it Bratislava, but not the Hungarians and today a trip to the Tihany peninsula, a few hours of having fun in the world's largest (functioning) thermal lake Heviz.
After that, today they had the ONE and ONLY, Absolutely incredible highlight of their, as I have said before, first ever visit to Europe.
Guess what? It was a short visit to a "nothing special village" called Tab. Don't even try to find any particular tourist sights over there.
But this was the PLACE of the former Soviet Army base, where the Guy served his military duties from 1979 to 1981. Yes, it was quite ruined, neglected and time worn (the Russians left it in 1991) but for him it was like a fulfillment of a child's dream. He showed me the windows of his room in one of the barracks, the location of the guards, the canteen, officers headquarters, how they patrolled the positions along the barbed-wired (and electric) fence, the disposition of the artillery, etc. Also it was the first time ever, he had a chance to see the launching facilities of the ballistic nuclear missiles. The Russians had 9 of those missiles over there. Even being a Soviet soldier, he was strictly banned from even approaching those underground silos. Only a specially trained task force had access to the launchers.
So even for him it was the first time he could access the once forbidden ground.
By the way, I tell you, it was quite an impression even for me to see one of the silos, now full of ... Hay!!!
Yes, one of the new owners of that property keeps Hay for his goats. So the soldiers and nuclear missiles gone and the goats came and happy to live there...
Well this was also JUST an example that some people do not Rave and care a lot about archeological or historical sights, but they are mighty happy of having a chance to visit a former Warsaw block military facility or just taking a 2 hour boat trip around the canals of Venice. So simple.
Happy travels to everyone.

Jean

"Based on 7 visits to the USA, sometimes a month long stays with friends, I can make an assumption (based on meeting hundreds of people), that the overwhelming part of the US population considered the 3-7 days cruises (Carribbean etc.,), when they have just half a day or even less for a single location, is absolutely the best way to see the world."

I know more than hundreds of Americans and only 4 of them would agree with your assumption.

But... whatever. To each his/her own.

okszi

Dear Jean,
I Normally I post my comments, carefully reading through what the others have said before me.
I have written in capital letters after the sentence you have highlighted:
"OF COURSE, I know, it's not like that, but still it does for millions of people."

However if you would have just checked through the statistics of the river cruise running companies figures multiplied with the number of cruise boats docked downtown Budapest every single day, you would be amazed. There are literally hordes of tourists (at least third of them American) jumping out and in of those boats and having sometimes less than a day for enjoying our beautiful city. Do you think they are not happy about that?.....

dwij

Hi Clayton,

How was the trip. I'm planing something similar in Apr 2017.

Any learning from your experience is welcome.

Thanks,
Dwij