Hello, fellow travellers! I’m hoping you are willing to help an overwhelmed and overexcited Canadian make some difficult decisions around what cities to see. A group of us are heading to Central Europe for the World Jr. Hockey Championship in Ostrava. The core of the trip is part of a package, but of course I’m tacking days on either end to get the most out of my trip to Europe!!! That being said, the cities that we are staying from Dec 25 - January 8 are locked in. Here’s what I know so far:
Dec 21: landing in Europe, city to be determined (TBD) but am leaning toward Bavaria. Initial thoughts were to make Nürnberg the home base for the first portion of the trip, but I’m eager to hear your thoughts!!
Dec 22 - Dec 24: TBD
Dec 25: rest of group landing in Krakow; I’ll fly/train/bus to meet them, depending on where I am. We’ll be staying in Krakow or Bielsko-Biala (trying to find out if there will be any place to eat in Bielsko or if we should stay in Krakow for the night?)
Dec 26: Hotel in Bielsko-Biala (BB); Canada Vs. USA in Ostrava (7PM, day is open...suggestions?)
Dec 27: BB, free day?, welcome reception in evening with larger tour group
Dec 28: guided tour in BB, in Ostrava by 3 PM, game at 7:00
Dec 29: Auschwitz (morning) with larger group, back to BB in afternoon (or splitting off from group to check out....suggestions?)
Dec 30: changing home base to Olomouc, hockey game at 3 PM
Dec 31: FREE DAY?? Game at 7 PM (Canada versus Czechia!!) and NYE in Olomouc
Jan 1: FREE DAY??
Jan 2: Open morning; quarter finals starting at 3 PM
Jan 3: day trip to Vienna
Jan 4: open morning; semi finals at 3 PM
Jan 5: open morning; finals (hopefully watching Canada win gold!!!! ;))
Jan 6: Bus to Prague, optional visit to hockey hall of fame and included city tour (but we can break off from the group if we feel like it)
January 7: free day, farewell dinner in evening
January 8: now I’m flying solo with no plans!!
Jan 9 and 10: TBD
Jan 11 departure :(
Phew!!!! So! I’ve read tons of the forum posts here and the number of cities and towns that I’d love to visit are overwhelming!!! Hoping you kind folks can make some suggestions for day trips, as well as some simple and not too chaotic paths for the beginning/end of the trip. I want to see a city or two in Bavaria that wasn’t destroyed in WWII, and am interested in learning about Germanic culture (not just the Nazi regime!). I’m not an overly experienced traveller (travelled extensively in NA and one trip each to Mexico and Spain); I’m not big on tourist traps; I love street art, architecture, visiting local artisans, and also have a camera attached to my face haha. Caves? Puppet shows? Opera houses? Castles? Fortified cities? Hidden gems? Any and all tips, tricks and suggestions are welcome!