Eastern Europe

John, my husband and I prefer to make reservations for lodging, but not for trains. In Ljubljana we'd suggest Hotel Emonec because of it's low price and central location. For Warsaw, we enjoyed Duval Apartments in the old city, and St. Andrews Palace near the train station. Fell free to write if you have any specific questions.

Wow! Im jealous. But i didn't see Budapest, Prague or Pesky Krumlov on the list.

Wow! Im jealous. But i didn't see Budapest, Prague or Pesky Krumlov on the list.

Lodging - It depends. Based on when you are going I would say no, but check if your visit coincides with a religious or other festival or school holidays. Train - No. Just show up and buy a ticket. Keep in mind that on a few of your routes, trains may not be an option or a very good one. i.e. Tallinn to Riga and Riga to Vilinus - bus is the way to go. Similarly, between Eger and Budapest, I found the bus more convenient than the train (though it seems like you aren't go to Budapest).

John, I think most people have various ways of arranging lodging. You can reserve well in advance which I do depending on what time of year and if it's a big city. Last trip we took we did that for about half the places we stayed and the other half we just booked a few days in advance We are both in our 60's and had no problems. We always had a list of places to choose from and we did not lock ourselves into firm dates except in a few cases at the beginning and end of our trip. As far as where to stay you will receive plenty of advise here. In Krakow we liked Globtrotter Guest House. In Bled we loved Hotel Berc. As for Plitvice Lakes I suggest you rent a car in Zagreb and drive down and spend the night. We rented from Active Rent a Car and stayed at Hotel Jezero. Driving was easy and we walked right into the park the next morning.
Train reservations? I reserved only those routes I felt we were locked into and felt had to have. Otherwise I buy in country.

should have no problem finding rooms with private bath. look at both train and bus and if bus is available take bus first. you may have problem with train transfer, if it involves a change in a soviet style small local train station where you won't find much info at all.

Last summer, we did Vienna-Budapest-Zagreb-Split-Ljubljana-Vienna. Lots of fun. We stayed in 6 places, most for 2-3 nights. In Ljubljana, we stayed in Pension Celica, which is a converted former prison. We had a very pleasant evening in the Pension meeting with locals, including college students and others. A good time and meeting of locals, which is a nice thing. We made all arrangements ahead of time. That way, we always knew where we were going, and needed to waste no time looking for over-priced hotels. I would recommend this approach. Half of our contacts were right in Rick's books, 1/2 were from the internet.

Lithuania is a fabulous county with a rich history. Vilnius is the capital. The old town or Senamiestas was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1994. It is one of the largest in Eastern Europe. It is located between two rivers Vilna and Neris. The city is very multicultural and has great architectural diversity. It can be described as southern architecture beneath the northern sky! The ruins of castles, network of meandering streets, church spires, bell towers, and red tile roofs make Vilnius a charming city just waiting to be discovered! Tourist say that Vilnius looks like Prague or Rome. You will experience Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical and art nuavuo architecture. It has the largest Old Town of the Baltic capitals. Best Airline Rates: Finnair/ Lot Polish Air (My trip April 2012 Finnair ticket $888 USD round trip) Best Travel Guides: Brandt Best Hotels Narutis Hotel (Best **) Rudninku Vartai () Grybas Namas () Rinno Hotel () Hotel Tilto () Best Restaurants: Zemaiciai (Lithuanian) Lokys (Lithuanian) TORES Restoranas (Panorama view of Old Town) Prie Katedros (European) Bunte Gans (German) Best Cafes: Bistro 18 What to See: Vilnius University Genocide Museum St. Anne's Cathedral Vilnius Cathedral Presidential PalaceB Valdoviu Rumai (Will open in 2013) Lower Castle Gediminas Tower Saint Casimir Church Major Streets: Gediminas Prospectas
Pilies Gatve TAKE AN AIR BALLOON RIDE OVER VILNIUS!***

I know there is a Group on FACEBOOK called "Lithuanian Travels" you will find more information about where to stay, what to do, and where to eat in Lithuania. Take care!

I suggest Hotel Berc in Bled, Slovenia. They book up fast since it's a popular vacationing spot. Recommend walking through the Vintgar gorge as well.

I am looking at a similar trip. Berlin, Praque, Krajow (maybe) Vienna, Budapest and Salzburg and then I was thinking of heading into Slovenia and Croatia but I am concerned about getting around. Did you drive , bus, train or rent a car and how did it go?

We were in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Slovakia. We were 5 adults. We rented a car, and used it for inter-city but not intra-city transport. In Buda-Pest, Vienna, Split, we just walked or used public transport. As such, this was very successful. I had no problems driving, except for some really insane drivers on the back roads of Croatia. All of these countries have pretty modern western-style roads, superhighways, gas stations, etc. You do need to buy the voucher for highway use ASAP in each country, but these are readily available, and I had no problem with English only, some German.