Build my travel itinerary - Eastern Europe in June

[52-80 19184]

just take a deep breath and give us your GoFundMe

[LW Goatman 1124]

[Chopper 17238]

Another great thing to do if you happen to be in Bratislava particularly in the late fall is a drive out to the town of Slovensky Grob for a hearty dinner. It's about 40 minutes out of town and they have an old tradition of cooking geese and serving it feast-style. It's one of my favorite food-related memories from that area of Europe. The local farmers specialize in raising geese and duck and they're experts at cooking it. It's been a tradition for centuries. The geese are raised and cooked right there and typically served with local red wine, potato pancakes (lokse), cabbage, garlic soup and pickles. Some restaurants out there serve this year-round but it's traditional in the fall when even some select local homeowners open their doors and put out the feast. Reservations are necessary and it's best to get a recommendation on where to go from a local.

Disclaimer, for anyone with a severe reading comprehension disability, I don't think the Slovaks "invented" red wine. Nevertheless some of the local red wines are pretty enjoyable and you rarely if ever will see them available in countries other than Slovakia because mainly I think they don't produce enough. The ethnic Slavs were probably not the first and exclusive ethnicity to cook a goose. But it's damn good, nonetheless. In the southwest corner of Slovakia there are many people with a background at least partially made up of non-Slavic ethnicity and who have called that home for centuries. Some Jews have survived, as well as Romani. Then of course there are also Slovaks who identify as being of german and hungarian descent. The ancestors of many of these local minorities have lived there for centuries. There's even a few asians who've emigrated to Slovakia in recent years. One of the benefits of that, for example, is that there's a damn good (legit, as in not the type for Bob Kraft) and relatively inexpensive thai massage place (Sabai) in the Old Town of Bratislava.

Edited January 8, 2020 by Chopper

[TexanTraveling 42]

I see everyone in here is recommending the typical tourist death traps. Prague, might as well get on a sight seeing bus. Dubrovnik? Should have gone 10 years ago as it is ruined. 

 

You want to get away and see something beautiful and unique. Hit the black sea in Romania and Bulgaria.

Check out Belgrade for the hottest women and wildest parties not forced and full of Europeans. Seriously. The hottest women. 

Edited January 8, 2020 by TexanTraveling

[Zombie 284]

I recently went to Ljubljana, Slovenia on a baltics trip. It was a beautiful city with pretty good food. It's fairly touristy but a nice place to pass a day or two. I spent a couple weeks in Croatia and that place was over-crowded with tourists despite being the shoulder/off season. Zagreb and Rovinj were exceptions to that and are worthwhile for a day or two each and are located in the far north of the country allowing for easy access from Vienna and so on. 

[52-80 19184]

54 minutes ago, TexanTraveling said:

I see everyone in here is recommending the typical tourist death traps. Prague, might as well get on a sight seeing bus. Dubrovnik? Should have gone 10 years ago as it is ruined. 

 

You want to get away and see something beautiful and unique. Hit the black sea in Romania and Bulgaria.

Check out Belgrade for the hottest women and wildest parties not forced and full of Europeans. Seriously. The hottest women. 

Very popular places are very popular because very often they have merit.  The Louvre, Rijks, Eiffel, Schonbrunn, whatever, are always busy year-round, because they are significant and worthwhile.  And the host cities have the infrastructure to support the tourism.

For work I'm in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, multiple times a year, and often extend to the trip for sight seeing.  There's simply not that much to see.  Just because they're cheap for backpackers doesn't make them some a secret gem worth seeking out for people making their 1st, 2nd, 3rd trip to Europe. 

[TexanTraveling 42]

12 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Very popular places are very popular because very often they have merit.  The Louvre, Rijks, Eiffel, Schonbrunn, whatever, are always busy year-round, because they are significant and worthwhile.  And the host cities have the infrastructure to support the tourism.

For work I'm in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, multiple times a year, and often extend to the trip for sight seeing.  There's simply not that much to see.  Just because they're cheap for backpackers doesn't make them some a secret gem worth seeking out for people making their 1st, 2nd, 3rd trip to Europe. 

It sounds like this guy has been to europe several times. I would recommend doing something different 10x out of 10. I'm giving my two sense and it is up to him. Dubrovnik? It has be come a gawking game of thrones themed cruise ship port filled to the brim with tourists and sweltering heat.