Rick Steves - Rick Steves Eastern Europe

EASTERN EUROPE

Rick Steves & Cameron Hewitt

EASTERN EUROPE

Until 1989, Eastern Europe was a foreboding placea dark and gloomy corner of the Evil Empire. But the dismal grays and preachy reds of communism live on only in history books, museums, and kitschy theme restaurants. Todays Eastern Europe is a travelers delight, with friendly locals, lively squares, breathtaking sights, fascinating history, reasonable prices, and a sense of pioneer excitement.

Wander among Pragues dreamy, fairy-tale spires, bask in the energy of Krakws Main Market Square, and soak with chess players in a Budapest bath. Ponder Europes most moving Holocaust memorial at Auschwitz. Enjoy nature as you glide across Lake Bled to a church-topped island in the shadow of the Julian Alps. Taste a proud Hungarian vintners wine and say, Egszsgedre! (or stick with Cheers!).

This book covers Eastern Europes top big-city, small-town, and back-to-nature destinationsfrom the Hungarian metropolis of Budapest to the quaint Czech village of esk Krumlov to the pristine Julian Alps of Slovenia. It then gives you all the specifics and opinions necessary to wring the maximum value out of your limited time and money. If youre planning for a month or less in this region, this book is all you need.

Experiencing Europes culture, people, and natural wonders economically and hassle-free has been my goal for several decades of traveling, tour guiding, and writing. With this book, I pass on to you all the lessons Ive learned.

Ive been selective, including only the top destinations and sights. For example, Poland has dozens of medieval castlesbut Malbork is a cut above the rest. The best is, of course, only my opinion. But after spending much of my life exploring and researching Europe, Ive developed a sixth sense for what travelers enjoy. Just thinking about the places featured in this book makes me want to polka.

Use this legend to help you navigate the maps in this book.

Rick Steves Eastern Europe is a personal tour guide in your pocket. Better yet, its actually two tour guides in your pocket: The co-author of this book is Cameron Hewitt. Cameron writes and edits guidebooks for my travel company, Rick Steves Europe. Inspired by his Polish roots and by the enduring charm of the Eastern European people, Cameron has spent the last decade closely tracking the exciting changes in this part of the world. Together, Cameron and I keep this book up to date and accurate (though for simplicity weve shed our respective egos to become I in this book).

Eastern Europe is a sprawling region; a comprehensive guidebook would span many volumes. To keep things simple and focused, this book covers the best of Eastern Europe in three sections.

The core countries of the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Sloveniawhere most travelers focus their timereceive full coverage.

Ive also included full coverage for two important gateway cities: Vienna, Austria, and Bratislava, Slovakia. While theres not room in this book to cover other destinations in those countries, youre likely to pass through these capitals on your way between the major core destinations.

The More Eastern Europe section, near the back of the book, is a roundup of other countries in this area that may serve as logical add-ons. These include Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Romania. (Some of these are covered in greater depth in separate guidebookssuch as Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia.)

Key to This Book

Updates

This book is updated regularlybut things change. For the latest, visit www.ricksteves.com/update.

Abbreviations and Times

I use the following symbols and abbreviations in this book:

Sights are rated:

Tourist information offices are abbreviated as TI, and bathrooms are WCs. Accommodations are categorized with a Sleep Code