The European Road Less Travelled part 2

As stated in my previous post, one of my favourite places to travel is East Central Europe. Aside from how beautiful the region is, all of the amazing sights to see and having the chance to experience cultures that are so quintessentially European in some ways yet so unique in many others, a big reason why I love the area is I have been obsessed with its history since I was in junior high. One of my passions is 20^th century history and East Central Europe and Russia played a major part. Russia was the first communist country, World War I was started by the shooting of Franz Ferdinand of Austria when he was in Sarajevo, World War II started when Germany invaded Poland, the Holocaust and the concentration camps, and communism was imposed on Eastern Europe after the war. Depending on your generation you may remember the Berlin wall going up, for me I remember very clearly it being pulled down and people sitting on the wall shouting for freedom which marked the beginning of a new era in European history.  In Berlin today there are still reminders of that history. 

 Berlin wall

 Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin

The Cold War divided Europe and essentially cut off Eastern Europe from the rest of the world for over 40 years.  In more recent history, the wars in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s, the last as recent as 2001 with the insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia, created a number of new countries over the course of the wars and involved genocide and other war crimes which are still vivid in many people’s minds.  Since that time, these countries have recovered at different paces and are now starting to be on some people’s travel radar. Croatia in particular is growing in popularity due to its beautiful beaches and stunning coastal areas. Just to see Dubrovnik is worth the trip with its old town that seems suspended in time; it is surrounded by walls with the Mediterranean on one side and the hills rising up on the other.  Restaurants hang over the cliffs and look out over amazing crystal clear blue water, there is cliff jumping and private rock beaches all over the place and the islands with their pristine sand beaches are a short boat ride away. There is little evidence of the war, although as I walked the city walls I did see bullet holes in the side of a building.

 Dubrovnik Harbour

View From Dubrovnik Walls

Because of its history, many parts of Eastern Europe are still not as touristy as Western Europe, making it a great place to escape crowds and get up close and personal with the history. Below are my top sights to see in the area (in no particular order), although there are still so many places I haven’t been the list will keep growing I’m sure.  Please post any of your favourite sights; I’m always looking for new places to visit.

1.       Auschwitz in Poland – It is haunting and well worth the visit.

2.       Moscow’s Red Square and the Kremlin – So many images on Western television from the second half of the 20^th century were filmed in Red Square. I had chills the first time I went there and walked around it for the first time. For those who prefer older history, the Russian Tsars (including Ivan the Terrible) were married and crowned in the churches in the Kremlin.

3.       The Hermitage in St. Petersburg – It is one of the most amazing museums in the world and being able to walk inside the Winter Palace of the Russian Tsars is well worth a trip even if you don’t like museums.

4.       Walk the walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia – Beautiful views of the sea and old town.

5.       Prague’s castle district – The castle area is fabulous and it offers great views over the red roofs and bridges of Prague.

6.       Tallinn, Estonia – It is a gorgeous city and is like a fairytale.

 

7.       Cesky Krumlov – Spend a few nights in this beautiful town. The old town is fantastic and a great place to relax and unwind.

The European Road Less Travelled - Russia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Estonia

I have always been fascinated with East Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Strange as it sounds the first place I ever went in Europe was not Paris or London, it was Moscow.  It was the first place out of North America actually that I ever went.  I toured with my cousin (who hadn’t even been on a plane before!) and after 5 weeks in Russia we traveled all over Europe, including the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary.  Since that first trip I have been back many times to the region, so much has changed.  My first time in the region there were very few tourists, very little English was spoken and there was not a lot of infrastructure designed for tourists.  But so much has changed, in some areas more than others.  I remember the first time I was in Prague, there was not a tourist shop to be found, hostels cost $7 per night, beer was only 75 cents a pint and I even have a picture of the Charles Bridge with no one on it!  Today that would be impossible to accomplish except maybe at 3am, and even that might not be true anymore given how popular a place Prague is now to visit. 

Although Prague is no longer an unusual place to visit, much of Eastern Europe and Russia still are. This area is still great value for the money compared to Western Europe despite its increased popularity.  Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia have more tourist infrastructure than they did in the past. Other areas like Serbia, Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Russia are still considered far off the tourist track, although both Moscow and St. Petersburg are becoming more popular and do have good infrastructure generally, especially St. Petersburg as more cruise ships have started to stop there.  

Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoe Selo

St. Basil's Cathedral - Moscow

It is impossible to use one post to describe all of the fabulous sights of this region and I will have many future posts about my visits to various areas around East Central Europe and Russia.  There are so many places to see and each time I go back I find new things, even in cities or regions I’ve been to before.  I’m actually heading there next month, to Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia.  I have been to Croatia before but not to Split and as this will be my first time to Bosnia and Serbia, if anyone has any tips on what to see and do please post them!  My plan is to head to Split in Croatia first and then go to Sarajevo and fly home from Belgrade. Keep an eye out for posts about this trip.

For now I leave you with my top must see cities in this region (in no particular order):

1.     Dubrovnik, Croatia – It is a beautiful city and offers both city and beach options, depending on what you are looking for.

2.     St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia  – If you are interested in Imperial Russia go to St. Petersburg, if you are more interested in old Tsarist Russia of the Ivan the Terrible type or modern communist Russia go to Moscow. To see the Russia of the 20^th century I preferred Moscow for its Stalinist architecture, Red Square and the Kremlin, even though the communist revolution started in St. Petersburg.

3.     Krakow, Poland – Unlike Warsaw, Krakow basically survived the war and is a beautiful old city with sweeping squares and a castle, and is the best place to start from for a tour of Auschwitz.  Auschwitz is a must see for everyone, it is a poignant and moving place that reminds us what people are capable of so that hopefully it will never happen again.

4.     Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic – This quaint small town in southern Czech Republic has a river weaving through the town which feels like you have stepped back in time. The old town is closed to vehicle traffic except delivery vehicles, and seems frozen in time. The castle overlooking the town offers fantastic views of the red roofs of the town with the river curving through with a view of the green hills which surround it.

 5.   Tallinn, Estonia – It’s like stepping into a fairytale. The walled old town is beautiful, there are cafes with great patios to sit and watch the world go by, and winding streets to get lost in.