Eastern Europe & Russia Hostels

Dubrovnik really is paradise. It doesn't have long sandy beaches with palm trees and coconuts but it does have the most amazing old city I have ever come across. The old city walls protect the ancient town, and it's full of marvelous little restaurants, shops and entertainment. You'll be walking around with a sore neck from taking in the grand and spectacular ancient buildings. I would recomend a day trip to one of the islands just offshore. We went to one and found a hidden lake where we just sat in the sun and swam in the warm clear lake. A perfect location for a couple of relaxing days in the sun.

Banska Bystrica is a beautiful town. The hills surrounding the town are quite scenic and the main square is a traditional medieval European square. The town is very walkable and there are many restaurants within the town square to grab food or a pint of beer.

Veliko Turnovo is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It has the second largest university in Bulgaria, which gives it a young, vibrant feeling. There is so much history to see.

I was there with a friend last summer and in principle we were going to stay just one day because a Greek girl told us it was an ugly and stressing island, but we finally stayed there for a week! Paros is a precious island! The cobbled streets are small, clean, and full of flowers everywhere. There's a lot of restaurants, pubs, and bars just in front of the sea, near the port and you can stay there till 3 or 4 in the morning. I stayed in the capital, Parikia, which is very beautiful and has good beaches. And then I went to Naoussa (twenty minutes by bus from Parikia) which is a charming town -- smaller than Parikia and one of the nicest places in the Cyclades. In short, I felt very pleased with Paros Island, and I'm sure you're going to feel the same.

Bratislava is a great little city. It's extremely compact, and it's full of people relaxing and drinking in outdoor cafes. Good luck finding good accommodation though...

I urge anyone is planning to go to Bucharest to stay well away. It’s damp, smelly, thieves, beggars, insects and bad sanitation (I mean real bad).

Kraków … Don't miss the Saturday night parties in the center of Krakow!

Bled is a vacation hotspot for a lot of old people from all over Europe and the world. If you're young and travelling alone, it may be boring. It is also more expensive than you would expect.

Keszthely is a beautiful town at the shore of lake Balaton. It's nice and cosy but totally full of tourists, so it has lost part of its "essence." It's a good place to stay for a few days, though. I really liked it!

Český Krumlov … All I can say is plan on staying longer than you expected when you get to Cesky Krumlov. Everyone does.

The city of Kazan is very nice and quiet in comparison with Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Two days are enough to visit this city, because the historical center is quite small, but it's worth it!

You should try the Hungarian speciality "Langòs" and the bar "Cactus Juice". I cannot remember where it is, but you can find it on every tourist map. - There are a lot of vegetarian restaurants in Budapest.

Athens is lovely. You may be scared by the less than pretty image it sometimes has. BUT the old city is beautiful to wander through. I like nothing better than eating a gyros and wandering up to the Acropolis hill and looking over the night lights of the city. It has its dirty noisy bits, but unlike many clean and tidy places, Athens has character.

Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria. Its traditions are based on the 800 year old war between Bulgarians and the Turks. Now the Bulgarians are busy reconstructing their country and to be a part of the European Union.

People could tell you that Pula is just a summer resort and that it's full of tourists, and maybe it is, but Pula is also one of the most beautiful towns in Istria and the Croatian coast! It has lots of interesting monuments to see (the first one, the Arena) but is small enough to not getting too tired. In fact, to see the town you just need a few hours, then you can lie on the beach or just walk through the cosy streets, take a sit in a terrace, and have a cocktail or a delicious ice cream.

An interesting city, more than in any other place I've been to are eastern and western European influences exactly in balance here. Particularly peculiar are the one truly tall skyscraper of the city (a greyish brown monster that was donated to the country by Soviet dictator Stalin out of gratitude for Poland's resistance against his Austro-German colleague Hitler), and the "Old City" of Warsaw, which actually isn't old at all. It was built after WW II, when the centre of the city had been destroyed almost entirely, and it was decided that constructing an exact copy of the city centre as it was before the war, rather than getting creative and designing something new, was the most honourable thing to do. The result is an "Old City" with a highly surreal atmosphere. It's fake, but then again, it's not. The reconstruction was VERY well done, but when you look carefully, you miss the wear & tear, the colouring of moss and other tiny growths that you will invariably find on buildings that…

If you're in Olomouc including a Sunday or Wednesday save your visit to the old Castle museum for then -- it's free! Even if you have to pay though, it's 50Kc, a third the price of castles in Prague Krakow and Cesky. And eat at the Hanachka Hospoda, best food of my trip and again, cheap -- half a roast chicken with sauerkraut and dumplings plus a beer for less than 100Kc.

Ljubljana is a nice capital city to relax in. You'll probably want to stay near the old town, as the rest of the city is pretty standard stuff. Try the walking tours from near the tourist center and also look for the antique sales that line the river on weekends. There are free concerts/events occasionally in the summer as well (every night in 2003) - very fun.

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia, but it has a small-town feel. It's very easy to get around and is one of the most relaxed capitals in Europe. Unless you're here to live the life, however, the sights of Zagreb can be done in a day (2 days including the museums).

Tallinn is a great city. I found the mixture of Russian and Estonian culture very interesting. The city is a bargain for Westerners. The Estonians and Russians were very helpful and friendly. It is a safe city. Westerners don't need a visa to travel there!