Eastern European Odyssey
By Sam Lowe

Krakow? Or Budapest? Or Prague? Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

Although we didn’t actually agonize over making a choice, we did ponder our eventual destination for a long time before arriving at a simple solution: Do all three.

It would mean some extended bus or train rides, but the offsetting factor was that the cost would be much less than making individual trips to each city. Equally important, my wife, Lyn, would be along on the trip. She is a great traveling companion. And she can read maps written in any language, has an excellent sense of direction and exhibits endless amounts of patience.

So we started in Poland, headed south across Slovakia into Hungary, then wound up in the Czech Republic’s grandest city. Even now, months after the fact, picking a favorite among the three is still difficult. Each has many assets; each has a couple of downsides.
Our journey started in Krakow, which was spared the devastation wrought upon Poland during World War II, so the old town looks pretty much the same as it has for centuries. A building heralded as the world’s oldest shopping mall occupies a large portion of the Market Square, just a block away from St. Mary’s Cathedral, where a musician climbs to the top of the bell tower every hour and plays the trumpet, then stops in the middle of the tune to honor a long-ago hero who died trying to warn the townspeople of an impending attack.

The square, surrounded by a lush green belt, contains a mixture of shops and markets frequented by the local citizenry; it doesn’t have that artificial sense common to many other “old towns” across the world. Many of the restaurants, therefore, don’t charge inflated prices simply because they’re in the old part of town. So we ate gyros in crowded corner eateries and dined in the hotel while Polish dancers whirled and whistled, and the bill was usually less than $20.

Wawel Castle and Cathedral sit on a hill overlooking the old sector and for the most part, it’s free. The Gothic-Romanesque complex, once home to both religious and secular leaders, has domes and spires, gardens and overlooks, and huge courtyards. There’s a nominal fee for touring the castle but looking at the exterior and peering into the cathedral are free.

The bus ride from Krakow to Budapest carried us through the mountains of Slovakia and took most of a day so it was dusk when we reached the Hungarian capitol. But it wasn’t too late for a hike to the Parliament Building, that magnificent structure that looks like a fairyland in the daytime and a storybook kingdom when lit up at night.

We stayed at a hotel situated on the bank of the Danube, close to all the important sites on both sides of the river. The Chain Bridge leads to the castle and Matthias Church on the Buda side. The magnificent St. Stephen’s Cathedral, pedestrian-only Vaci Street lined with stores and shops, and a huge indoor marketplace are all less than a mile away on the Pest side.

Off in another direction, on the Paris-resembling Andrassy Street, the Opera House offers tours in the afternoons and high musical drama at night. Farther along toward Heroes Square, the Terror Museum sits as chilling testimony to the city’s brutal occupation by German and Soviet troops during and after World War II.

We always took advantage of the free continental breakfasts at the hotel, ate lunch in such diverse places as an indoor market and a theater annex, and then bought sausages and cheese for in-hotel dinners. One night, however, we wandered off Vaci Street and encountered the Gerloczy Kavehaz restaurant where a harpist serenaded us while we washed down some top-quality Hungarian goulash with an excellent red wine. Equally important, the bill was less than $35.

We were cautioned to watch out for pickpockets and took the warnings seriously. But some guests at the hotel didn’t and they paid the price. Every night, we heard horror stories about stolen money, jewelry and, worst of all, passports.  

Leaving Budapest would have been difficult if it weren’t for the fact that Prague was next. It was another full day of bus travel that included a brief lunch stop in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Our hotel in Prague was miles from downtown so there were no late-evening excursions as had become our custom on our earlier stops. This was somewhat disturbing until we discovered that the subway system is excellent and the nearest station only a block away.

Those who study travel brochures, read travel articles, or are otherwise acquainted with the charms of Prague will not be disappointed once they get there. Like Krakow and Budapest, the old town is easily walkable, but it’ll take a couple of days longer because it’s substantially larger.

The subway cost us $1 each and took us within yards of Wenceslas Square, the center of the old city. From there, we sampled street food while walking to the Charles Bridge and tried to capture the charm of the city with our cameras. One of the major tourist draws in the Square is the 15th-century astronomical clock at the old Town Hall, so it’s only natural that the area is overflowing with restaurants.

Fortunately, we had also been warned about eating there for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a haven for pickpockets who easily apply their skills to tourists intent on watching the figures on the clock as they go marching by. And second, those who eat there can’t see the clock because of all the tourists standing in front of them.

But with minimal legwork, we found a restaurant hidden down in the basement of one of the ancient buildings and dined on gnocchis and pizza for about $20. And nobody picked our pockets.

Sightseeing in Prague can be difficult for those who want to see everything but only have a couple of days in town. Touring Wenceslas Square is probably the best start, followed by a walk across Charles Bridge up to St. Vitus Cathedral and the Presidential Palace. But the crowds in front of both are usually large so the waits can be long. Once inside, however, most of that pain vanishes.

On our last night in Prague, we once more bit the bullet and joined a group for a meal at a brewpub. It cost us almost $50 but what the heck, it was our last night in Prague.

But now, a few words of caution.

Plan well ahead, particularly when it comes to transportation. Rental cars are available but always read the fine print because there may be restrictions. An international drivers license is mandatory. Train service is good but Eurail passes don’t work in all areas.
Make sure your passports and visas are up to date, and be prepared for delays at border crossings. Some countries don’t particularly care for American foreign policy so they take it out on American tourists through excessive questioning and paperwork.
The Czech Republic requires that all travelers entering the country provide proof of a minimum of $35,000 in health insurance and travel protection. 

Hotel space is plentiful in all three major cities and the rates vary, depending on time of year and proximity to the major tourist attractions.

And finally, be prepared for the graffiti.
Thousands of buildings, new and old, in all three cities bear ugly scars left by spray painters. The graffiti often covers every brick or block on the first floor of apartments, churches, public buildings, storefronts, walls and museums.

If you ask why nobody does anything about it, a common answer is that it’s a form of expression and it’s tolerated because of the years of suppression during World War II and the Cold War.

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