Well, I am doing it!

[FlamesAddiction]

You also have to watch for skinheads who don't take kindly to foreigners taking their jobs (in some areas). Even though most of them are unemployed and won't take them anyway.

[Incogneto]

Originally posted by Neeper@Jan 24 2005, 11:32 PM
Marty, you frickin nut!!! I didn't think you were actually gonna go thru with this. 317 will not be the same without you! Actually it hasn't been the same all year. But man... you are brave. I wish you best of luck. I will be in Europe from May 18-Jun5th. I won't be going thru Czech, but I will go thru Austria. Maybe we can meet for a beer? I never got to take any money from you this year playing poker either!

I am so in dude!

I will talk to you on MSN today about this and Poker.

[Incogneto]

Originally posted by Flame Of Liberty+Jan 25 2005, 06:59 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Flame Of Liberty @ Jan 25 2005, 06:59 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Table 5@Jan 24 2005, 10:45 PM
If you are of the heterosexual variety, Prague will treat you very well, my friend. Enjoy.


Oh and congrats on touring eastern Europe rather than the crowded (and to tell you the truth, rather homogenized) western portions. It still has elements of authenticity, and is still fairly affordable for a Canadian. Make your way over to Budapest ( and Lake Balaton if you have the chance) and you will find another amazing city....

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. [/b][/quote]
Oh man! Thanks for the tips! I am sooo Excited for this trip to get started!!

[Table 5]

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.

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.

[Calgary Flames]

Congrats man, and have fun!

[BlackArcher101]

Best of luck to ya! I've thought of doing the same thing and started doing some research recently, but I'll probably chicken out. You better have fun, and drink loads of beer. Going to make any stops in Germany? I've heard Moldova is nice .

[Clarkey]

Awesome! Good on you for dropping the routine for some adventure!

[Joe Nieuwendyk]

You've got to know the lockout is out of hand when even the FANS are moving to Europe!

[moon]

Sounds awesome. I'm am sure you will have a great time Europe is a blast.

[Incogneto]

Originally posted by BlackArcher101@Jan 25 2005, 02:57 PM
Best of luck to ya! I've thought of doing the same thing and started doing some research recently, but I'll probably chicken out. You better have fun, and drink loads of beer. Going to make any stops in Germany? I've heard Moldova is nice .

All I can say about that man, is that alot of people told me, when I started planning this, that It would never happen, and that is what made me want to do it MORE!

if you really have a passion to do it, 'F' chickening out....just do it!!!

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally posted by Table 5@Jan 25 2005, 05:33 PM
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.

World Bank Report Doing Business in 2005:

The past year has been good for doing business in 58 of the 145 Doing Business sample countries. They simplified some aspect of business regulations, strengthened property rights or made it easier for businesses to raise financing. Slovakia was the leading reformer: introducing flexible working hours, easing the hiring of first-time workers, opening a private credit registry, cutting the time to start a business in half and, thanks to a new collateral law, reducing the time to recover debt by three-quarters. Colombia was the runner-up. Among the top 10 reformers, 2 other European Union entrants—Lithuania and Poland—significantly lightened the burden on businesses. India made progress in improving credit markets.Five other European countries—Belgium, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Spain—reduced the cost
of doing business and entered the top 10 list (table 1.1).


The World Bank Group:

Washington D.C., September 8, 2004 — Slovakia and Colombia were the world's most successful investment climate reformers over the past year, creating electronic one-stop shops for new businesses, shrinking regulatory delays by weeks, improving credit registries, and increasing the flexibility of labor laws, according to a new report from the World Bank Group.

To me, that does not seem like a degenerated country stuck in communist hell.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally posted by InCoGnEtO+Jan 25 2005, 04:42 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (InCoGnEtO @ Jan 25 2005, 04:42 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

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.

Oh man! Thanks for the tips! I am sooo Excited for this trip to get started!! [/b][/quote]
No worries I`m happy to help out

Keep us informed how you doing over there!

[Flame Of Liberty]

Some more stuff on "communist hell:"

The government privatized the banks and engaged in major privatization efforts throughout the economy, with many reforms quickly completed. It also decided to follow the example of Estonia and introduced a 19% flat tax on all people, regardless of the income they make

As a result of the Slovakian government’s efforts to privatize the economy and reduce taxes, last year’s economy grew by 4.2% and salaries rose at 11.4%, faster than any place else in Europe. Between 2001 and 2003, the country’s economic growth exceeded international estimates, despite a slowdown in both European and world-wide economies. A survey by the German Chamber of Commerce found that about half of all German businesses consider Slovakia to be the best destination for investment.

And so while it may take some time for Slovakia and the rest of the “New” Europe to catch up to the “Old” Europe, the country’s fiscal policies have certainly put it on a path of rapid economic growth that will lead the coming generation of Slovakians to have a better life than their Western neighbors.

Slovakia: Best Investment Environment in EU After Recent Economic Reforms

[Table 5]

sorry, bad choice of words. when I said communist hell, i should have said mafia hell. Because the same ***holes who were a part of the communist system before, are now part of organized crime syndicates......in the end, they still rule the the country.

Look, I was born in the country and have tons of family living in Slovakia, and they all speak the same message: to be successful and make money in that country right now, you need to cheat and deceive your way to the top. There is a massive blackmarket ( those fancy Audi's and BMW's you see everywhere are not owned by people trying to make and honest living you know)

It's not as bad as in many Russian sattelites, but the mob plays a pretty big part in that countrys way of life unfortunately. And of course Slovakia is a good palce for investment...it's still somewhat dilapidated and therefore the opportunities are there to make it better. There's nothing wrong with that all all, as I think it's getting better all the time. But the dishonest mentality that prevailed under communism is still there, and it will probably take a generation or two to weed that out.

[Flame Of Liberty]

sorry, bad choice of words. when I said communist hell, i should have said mafia hell. Because the same ***holes who were a part of the communist system before, are now part of organized crime syndicates......in the end, they still rule the the country.

Well of course, in every post communist country, old nomenclature is somwhat still in power (see president Kwasniewski in Poland for example, and he is not alone). It is a big problem but slowly its changing. I dont think any country in history made a complete transition from tyranny to democracy without some kind of growing pains.

But again, you have probably no country in the world that is not ruled by criminals at least to some extent.

Look, I was born in the country and have tons of family living in Slovakia, and they all speak the same message: to be successful and make money in that country right now, you need to cheat and deceive your way to the top. There is a massive blackmarket ( those fancy Audi's and BMW's you see everywhere are not owned by people trying to make and honest living you know)

Prior 1998 I would totally agree with you. But since then its gotten much better and mafia is actually fought against by the police (which wasnt always the case in the past). Some of the biggest fishes actually faced trials and ended up behind the bars. And this is not always the case in other countries within the region (in Czech Republic, the prime minister is surrounded by people from communist secret police Stb. Kind of like Putin and his KGB hitmen. Now thats something.)

Another thing is big pessimism among some (mainly rural) people. They arent exactly happy about the reforms and all, and they might be preffering for the old times to come back. If you speak to those people, you would think that everything is going to hell, no matter the real progress. But thats a long story.

It's not as bad as in many Russian sattelites, but the mob plays a pretty big part in that countrys way of life unfortunately. And of course Slovakia is a good palce for investment...it's still somewhat dilapidated and therefore the opportunities are there to make it better. There's nothing wrong with that all all, as I think it's getting better all the time. But the dishonest mentality that prevailed under communism is still there, and it will probably take a generation or two to weed that out.

I can agree with this, and it is getting better and better. Sometimes it just irks me when people who have never been there, think that Eastern Europe is like Subsaharan Africa.

[Agamemnon]

I stayed in rural pig-farming Hungary for 3 months when I was 18. It was a lush paradise... and I don't speak Hungarian! It shocked me, the country was like a rain forest... not what I was expecting from East Euro at all.

[Incogneto]

Originally posted by Agamemnon@Jan 26 2005, 04:26 PM
I stayed in rural pig-farming Hungary for 3 months when I was 18. It was a lush paradise... and I don't speak Hungarian! It shocked me, the country was like a rain forest... not what I was expecting from East Euro at all.

want to hook a brother up with a job?

[Incogneto]

repost...sorry....

[Agamemnon]

Originally posted by InCoGnEtO+Jan 26 2005, 11:52 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (InCoGnEtO @ Jan 26 2005, 11:52 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Agamemnon@Jan 26 2005, 04:26 PM
I stayed in rural pig-farming Hungary for 3 months when I was 18. It was a lush paradise... and I don't speak Hungarian! It shocked me, the country was like a rain forest... not what I was expecting from East Euro at all.

want to hook a brother up with a job?[/b][/quote]
Farming pigs? Sure! Though you'd have to work for Hungarian minimum wage... it'll get you a decent life there, but here... I don't think the Forint goes that far here

[Table 5]

Originally posted by Agamemnon@Jan 26 2005, 06:26 PM
I stayed in rural pig-farming Hungary for 3 months when I was 18. It was a lush paradise... and I don't speak Hungarian! It shocked me, the country was like a rain forest... not what I was expecting from East Euro at all.

haha.....I'd love to hear how and/or why you got to be in that position.