Travelling to Prague / Krakow / Budapest in April

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JustCurious

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My girlfriend and I will be travelling to eastern Europe for the first time next month (April) for two weeks. We are flying to Prague from the east coast of the U.S. overnight (with a layover in the Amsterdam airport for a few hours) and staying in Prague for a few days, then leaving Prague and taking the train to Krakow in Poland and staying there for a couple of days with a day trip to Auschwitz, then taking the train from Krakow to Budapest, Hungary for 4-5 days before returning home on a flight from Budapest.

If anyone has been to any of these places, or maybe you are from any of these places, I would be interested to hear any advice or tips or suggestions about what to do or what to look for or look out for during the trip? Thanks.
 
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Don't miss the salt mines in Krakow. When not working the miners carved beautiful chapels, statues etc out of salt. The town square is awesome with great restaurants, shopping, beautiful church, etc. If warm enough you can eat outside. People will sing while you eat, horse driven carriages will go by, etc. Things are cheap in Poland as they are not on the Euro but their own $-the Zylotte. I know that is spelled wrong:))
 
Here's our boring Budapest slideshow from May 2014......a one day train trip to Bratislava and back from Budapest is enjoyable. Oh, and we purchased a 24 hour Metro Pass which allowed us to ride their oldest and newest subways, the cog railway across the river in Buda, the commuter ferry up the river, and various streetcar rides all included.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!ArYt8_WyPaoOjitieYYplVnRRsNJ

(Just hit the first pic to enlarge, then follow the arrows top right.
Captions below the pics.)

And if that's not boring enough we have slideshows from the other places too. :LOL:
 
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A must-see is the Sedlec Ossuary at Kutna Hora near Prague. It's a chapel decorated with thousands of human bones. check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary#/media/File:Kostnice_Sedlec.JPG
You can find curbside tour outfits taking excursions to Kutna Hora -- it's about 30 minutes outside of the Old City. There's also a fantastic cathedral, and the old Royal Mint. But the ossuary is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We stayed at the Art Deco Hotel Imperial, which was an easy walk to most of Prague's main attractions. The basic rooms were on the small side, but the junior suites are nice. All are very nicely appointed, and very atmospheric.

The hotel claims that Franz Kafka was a regular customer (the Czech version of "Washington slept here," I guess.)
 
Nemo2 said:
Here's our boring Budapest slideshow from May 2014......a one day train trip to Bratislava and back from Budapest is enjoyable. Oh, and we purchased a 24 hour Metro Pass which allowed us to ride their oldest and newest subways, the cog railway across the river in Buda, the commuter ferry up the river, and various streetcar rides all included.

https://onedrive.live.com/?id=EAA3DB2F5F32DB6!1835&cid=0EAA3DB2F5F32DB6

(Just hit the first pic to enlarge, then follow the arrows top right.
Captions below the pics.)

And if that's not boring enough we have slideshows from the other places too. :LOL:
Click to expand...

+1 on the Bratislava side trip. Do enjoy your travels!
 
Red Badger said:
+1 on the Bratislava side trip. Do enjoy your travels!
Click to expand...

I concur with Bratislava, also. Nice relaxed city.

In Prague, see the clock in the square and get some rolled dough with ice cream (their local delicacy.)
 
I suggest taking a free walking tour of Prague the first day. They are on the internet and work for tips. Then go back and take their nightlife tour the first night. They will show you the great off the path beer halls and good local restaurants. It is a very lively town.

We have been recently visiting Budapest often, and we stay in an inexpensive apartment called Patys Place. BudapestApartmentRentals.com handles rentals. It is in the best location in the city. Budapest is a very inexpensive city and there is so many things to do there.
 
geeky_grrl said:
The main Prague attractions get pretty crowded in the day but are lovely early in the morning.
Click to expand...

We took this one of the Charles Bridge at 05:00 on a Sunday morning:

332cqx2.jpg
 
When traveling through European countries, can one get gluten free meals? Is it easily explained to restaurant staff that my wife has celiac in English? We'd loved to travel to these areas but my 130# wife can't go without food for a week or two. Woman cannot live on wine alone!
 
+1 on Nemo's tip on the public transit pass for Budapest. Super cheap and such a huge variety of transport. Prague also has a good metro system.
 
rodi said:
+1 on Nemo's tip on the public transit pass for Budapest. Super cheap and such a huge variety of transport. Prague also has a good metro system.
Click to expand...

We were in Prague during the 'floods of 2013'; (subway was closed for a while due to the water levels), and we purchased one-month passes there.

Had an apartment a little way out from the city centre; easily, cheaply, and quickly accessible by a combination of subway/streetcars.........had about a week remaining on the passes when we flew out, and DW gave them to a young girl working at an airport coffee shop...win/win all around.

(Actually it's our practice to obtain, at the very least, 24 hour Metro passes in every city we visit that offers them.........we jump on buses/streetcars/subways, ride up and down, get off on a whim, nose around, get back on and go somewhere else.....rinse & repeat.)
 
Megacorp has their EU HQ in Prague. Been there many times on business. Agree with rod, Prague metro is pretty good. Buses are punctual. Lots of great places to visit. Old Town Prague is a wonderful place to wonder for restaurants, bars, bistros. Take DGF to a night stroll across Charles Bridge. You will enjoy the city.
 
+1 on the salt mine near Krakow. It is incredible!


I also enjoyed Bratislava.
 
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Many people seem to miss it, but I think the cathedral in Kutna Hora is just as interesting as the ossuary. Nice little town.

And Prague has great tram and subway systems, but is also a very walkable city.
 
+1 one on the salt mines.

I would recommend visiting Aushwitz-Birkenau early in your visit to Krakow. You may not want your last memories of this marvelous area to be a death camp. It is very sobering, to say the least, especially if all you know about the Holocaust is from books, TV and the movies. The reality of it really slaps you in the face when you are there.

Also, since you are going with your gf, bring some blinders for yourself lest she keep slapping you up-side the head. As an English ex-pat told me when I was there "You come for the cheap cost of living and stay for the women". Polish women are knock-outs, stunning, drop dead gorgeous. Really I have never seen so many good looking women, of all ages, as I did in Poland.
 
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Bamaman said:
We have been recently visiting Budapest often, and we stay in an inexpensive apartment called Patys Place. BudapestApartmentRentals.com handles rentals. It is in the best location in the city. Budapest is a very inexpensive city and there is so many things to do there.
Click to expand...

I take it that you think that someone could fill up a week with things to see and do in Budapest then? I ask because I like to unpack and settle into a city for a week rather than staying for 2 -3 days and moving on to the next city. At least that is how I prefer to do things now while I am still working because I find it more relaxing. I am researching locations for a late May trip, and I thought Budapest needed to be combined with Prague, or some other city to fill up a week.
 
Chuckanut said:
+1 one on the salt mines.

I would recommend visiting Aushwitz-Birkenau early in your visit to Krakow. You may not want your last memories of this marvelous area to be a death camp. It is very sobering, to say the least, especially if all you know about the Holocaust is from books, TV and the movies. The reality of it really slaps you in the face when you are there.

Also, since you are going with your gf, bring some blinders for yourself lest she keep slapping you up-side the head. As an English ex-pat told me when I was there "You come for the cheap cost of living and stay for the women". Polish women are knock-outs, stunning, drop dead gorgeous. Really I have never seen so many good looking women, of all ages, as I did in Poland.
Click to expand...

+1 on going to the death camp early. Please, please go. But go early if you can. It is life changing being in/near horrific monuments to mankind's willingness to destroy self.
 
NoiseBoy said:
I take it that you think that someone could fill up a week with things to see and do in Budapest then?
Click to expand...

Lots of easy, (train), day trips from Budapest......Bratislava, Szentendre, etc.
 
While in Prague, be sure to get a trdlnik to eat. Cheap street pastries, sort of like a donut cooked over a wood fired grill. My kids wouldn't stop eating them when we were there last April. Prague is so crowded with tourists, but it's a beautiful city. A boat ride on the river is a good respite from the crowds, and offers great views.

Budapest was awesome. Much less crowded, and more spread out. But still very walkable with a good metro/subway. One thing I thought was cool is that they took all the old communist statues and monuments out of the city, and put them in a park nearby. As a kid who grew up during the cold war in the US, it was cool to see. You'll need a car/taxi/uber to get there. Back in the city, take a day to relax at one of the baths.

Someone mentioned Bratislava, but other than the castle, there's not much to it. Spend your time elsewhere.
 
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NoiseBoy said:
I take it that you think that someone could fill up a week with things to see and do in Budapest then? I ask because I like to unpack and settle into a city for a week rather than staying for 2 -3 days and moving on to the next city. At least that is how I prefer to do things now while I am still working because I find it more relaxing. I am researching locations for a late May trip, and I thought Budapest needed to be combined with Prague, or some other city to fill up a week.
Click to expand...

I have traveled extensively in Europe since 1970. We have been to every major city many times--except Dublin. And we fly there April 30th.

There are so many things to see and do in Budapest, including well over 200 museums. The beer's cheap and the city's Ruin Pubs have got to be the world's best honky tonks. We just prefer the atmosphere vs. Prague. Side trips to unfamiliar places are so easy, and it is easy to get to Slovenia/Lake Bled and Vienna which is another favorite city.
 
We've been to Kraków and Budapest..and loved them both. I do think you have enough to do in Budapest for a week by itself. I was surprised at just how much l enjoyed it, same for Kraków. I have some posts on both that you can do a search for. I actually think that leaving Auschwitz till the end is better as it would have ruined my holiday..it is emotion heavy. This post will give you an idea of what to expect. Enjoy! We are headed to Prague in June..

https://nextbiteoflife.com/monumental-auschwitz-krakow/
 
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