We are doing the 16 day RS Eastern European tour in September. My question is - when we are in the smaller, out of the way hotels in the countryside and have a group meal, is there a chance to purchase a bottle of wine or a beer to enjoy in the room later. Or do the hotels all have a "social area" to visit and/or have a drink in to relax before bed?. This doesn't pertain to the city hotels we visit, of course. Thanks for replies if anyone has had experience with this.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
295 posts
Judy- about half of your hotels will have a bar or gathering area. Mostly the bigger cities but also at the park hotel. If the place doesn't have a bar then sometimes you will have a mini fridge where you can buy drinks/beer. Or you can always order an extra bottle or beer at dinner. One more thing is that some of the bus drivers sell beer from their coach. That would be another option. I would also pick up a bottle of wine in Eger and then have that for later on the trip. They have some great reds.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
If you do not wan't to carry around the extra weight of a bottle of wine or do not finish one ( I've heard of this happening) we used rum runners - they are food grade, do not leak and pack easily.
Posted by
Arcadia, CA
588 posts
I travel solo and often cannot finish a bottle of wine so I use a PlatyPreserve wine tote. I got mine at REI - http://www.rei.com/search?query=wine+tote . It takes all the air out and is very lightweight. Great to take on a picnic if you don't want to lug a heavy wine bottle around or to carry on the bus.
Enjoy your tour - it's a great one!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23642 posts
The liquor laws in Europe are so vastly difference than the restrictions that we have in the US. If you are asking about carry a bottle of wine back to your hotel room and drinking it later - no problem. We always carry a cork screw and a recapping system because we almost always have wine in the room. We tend to during the day to pick up a little cheese, bread, grapes so that we can have later PM, early evening snack with wine. With the later dinner times of Europe around 8 or so, we enjoy having a glass of wine prior to dinner. And many times, we have skipped lunch so it takes the edge off prior to a 8 or 9 pm dinner. You can buy wine everywhere.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Who likes EU alcohol laws better than US alcohol laws?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19282 posts
Well, I think I paid somewhere around $5 American dollars for a 5th liter bottle of Cabernet Savignon in Germany, so they must be doing something right.