Quote:
Originally posted by Flame Of Liberty@Jan 25 2005, 08:59 AM
To tell you the truth, Lake Balaton is only shadow of its former self. Very dirty and with neglected surroundings (including hotels etc.)
In eastern Europe, Czech Rep, Poland and Slovakia are a must see IMO, Hungary not so much. Other than Budapest there is not much to see there, and Budapest itself is clearly behind Prague or Warszaw (or even Vienna for that matter).
Bratislava is pretty small, but the real treasure of Slovakia (other than hot girls I gotta agree with you there  is outside of the capital. Head to mountains and smaller towns, you will be amazed. If you are into trekking and winter sports, it is the place to be. Dont miss castles, chateus and historical cities.
Prague is easily the most amazing city I`ve been to, not even Paris compares. There are plenty of other cities (Ceske Budejovice, Karlovy Vary, Brno) and places (castles etc) worth visiting. The countryside is not very interesting (same in Hungary).
Poland has plenty of history, but the country (especially outside of Warszaw) is behind Slovakia, Czech Rep and Hungary when it comes to development, so gotta keep that in mind when you are travelling by trains for example.
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I was in Lake Balaton last summer, and I had a hell of a good time. The water's might be receeding a bit, but I didnt really find it to be dirty at all compared to other years. Interesting you mention it being neglected, since all the western money that's being pumped into it over the last few years will mean it gets renovated thoroughly. But i have family there, so I never stay in a hotel, so you might be right about the hotels. Plus the fact its less than an hour away from Budapest makes it very ideal.
Slovakia to me, outside of the natural beauty of the mountains and countryside, is still somewhat of a degenerate country . There are some beautiful chateaus and castles and inner cities in places like Bratislava and Kosice, but for the most part its still stuck in communist block hell. Almost all the interesting places where built by the Austro-Hungarian empire, there's no real Slovak history at all to see much of.
As for Budapest, its one of my top 3 faves in Europe (after London and Prague), and I think its just as majestic as Prague, although they are from different time periods. Budapest was be the centre of an empire that convered a massive part of Europe remember, so definitely, most of the interesting things in Hungary are in the city. It makes it rather convenient.