Need help narrowing!

Laurie, Americans sometimes perceive Eastern Europe as all one culture with a shared history and that is not the case. You might have a better experience if you limit yourself to fewer East European countries. Seeing a single city or bit of scenery per country would leave me feeling a bit overwhelmed, and I think I'd never experience the unique qualities of each country. Since you're committed to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tallinn, one idea is to spend more time in Russia and the Baltic countries, and then leisurely explore Poland. Gdansk and Malbork Castle, Torun, Wroclaw, Krakow and Warsaw would be an easy route by train. My only concern about Poland this year is that they're co-hosting the European Cup in soccer and I don't know the dates for that competition. I'm sure other readers will suggest alternative limited itineraries. Good luck and let us know how your plans evolve.

Laurie: Go for it. For the most part, the majority of the places you want to see fall in a somewhat logical progression from North to South though there are some places that don't seem logical. If you go all the way W to Munich, I'm assuming you will then fly? to Ljubljana/Lake Bled. If not, it seems a long way to go to see Munich and you will then have to backtrack. If you go to Munich, I would drop Budapest and Eger since the remainder of places follow a logical progression. An alternative is from Krakow, make your way through E Slovakia to Eger and then Budapest. This route will probably necessitate dropping Prague/CK/Munich. The main gaps I see are:
1) How are you getting from Munich to Lake Bled 2) How are you getting from either Berat or Ohrid to Istanbul An alternative is from Prague/CK, travel to Vienna and then S to Slovenia and bypass Munich/Budapest/and Eger on this trip. You can add places in Albania/Macedonia/Bulgaria if going overland to Istanbul.

Okay, PART ONE My impressions of what you might encounter west of Paris. This is just me. So if any disagrees don't take offense. It's all personal and what works for me. I will be leaving out a dozen tiny places in-between which isn't correct because it's the places in between that make the trips worthwhile. Moscow: I am glad we went. It was fascinating and represented such prominent part of the history of my generation. Would never return. If you go in the winter Moscow's costs are reasonable. Because it was the dead of the winter we could afford to stay in a hotel of presidents and dignitaries that faced on to Red Square. Prague, Czech Republic: Disneyland. But memorable.
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic: one of the most beautiful baroque fairy tale towns you will ever find. There is a hotel at the corner of the bridge that goes from the town to the castle. Get the Presidential Suite and you get a little balcony with the most amazing views – especially at night. This is a great overnight trip Prague and there are at least two wonderful castles between Cesky Krumlov and Prague. Vienna, Austria: Can we leave now? Melk, Austria: Fascinating and the reported the model for In the Name of the Rose. My wife says anything associated with Sean Connery is worth seeing. Budapest, Hungary: Picture being in some sort of fluttering time machine that puts you not quite in 1900 and not quite in 2012 but flickers you back and forth. Stunning. This is not a place to "see stuff" this is a place to become part of a culture. So impressive that we now have a home of sorts in town. Paris is often called the Budapest of the West. Eger, Hungary: Is to Hungary what Cesky Krumlov is to the Czech Republic. Only the wine is much better in Eger. Well worth an overnighter. Stay at the Senator Haz Hotel.

PART TWO Bucharest, Romania: Really? You would go to this part of the world and not see Bucharest? Spend a day and see the Palace of the People all lit up one evening. Then escape the packs of wild dogs and head into the country. Bran, Romania: Okay, Dracula maybe never came here but it's a fascinating castle. Sibu, Romania: Wonderful fortress town Peles Castel, Romania: Sort of a must see if you are into late 18th century royal palaces. As wonderful a palace as you will find any place in the world. Sighisoara, Romania: The Cesky Krumlov of Romania. Never, never, but never miss an opportunity to see this hill top fortress town. Sofia, Bulgaria: Yes Bulgaria!! Dear g-d what a wonderful country! This town is full of architecture the like of you will see no place else in the world.
Plovdiv, Bulgaria: Yes, this is the Cesky Krumlov of Bulgaria, but this town has the added wonderment of being a Roman town the remains of which rival Roman ruins you will find any place in the world. V. Tarnovo, Bulgaria: A rare hillside town that defies gravity. Varna, Bulgaria: To dip your toes in the Black Sea.

Have to second James suggestion to take in Romania if at all possible. It is an amazingly beautiful country and a culture that is quite interesting. It is really easy to rent a car and just explore this beautiful country plus the fact that the food was amazing and to travel there is really reasonable compared to other places. The people were very friendly and it was nice to visit someplace a bit off the beaten path. I would go back again in a minute.

Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria: The ideal two week tour. Ohhh, I left out the Banska towns in Slovakia and the Tatra mountains between Poland and Hungary. WOW!! I know drivers, guides and accomodations in quite a few of these places if you need help.

Yep, You guys are sure helping Laurie NARROW things down! LOL. Seriously, though wherever you decide to go, you will have the fantastic time. These are all great suggestions. My only caution don't plan so many stops that you are in constant travel mode and never get to relax and just experience where you are.

Hmmm...30 days, 17 places.....

We did the Mos/St P thing last fall and it was great. You've almost got to allot 9-10 days, tho. Two days/three nights for Mos, one day on the hi-speed train, the 5-6 full days in St. P. Peterhof, Cath Palace, Hermitage all consume a full day. St. Isaac's, Ch of Spld Blood, museums can fill a couple more days. Don't skimp on time...you might never get back to Russia. Tallinn is a cool little town but a day bus ride from St. P. Crummy scenery but only way to get there. You might want to consider flying into Warsaw from Tallinn for a couple nights. Neat city, great Castle Square and Old Town. Then see some of Poland with bus/train to Krakow. In KRK you'll want to see the Salt Mine, Auschwitz, Castle...another 3 days. The rest of your trip could be planned based on most convenient travel accomodations. Budapest is easily worth a few days...Eger is great but be careful if you visit the Valley of Beautiful Women wine caves. The wine sampling can be LETHAL! Istanbul is also worth a least a few days for the mosques, spice market, bazaar. Prague...same thing...at least 2-3 days. You've picked some great cities to visit. Dubrovnik and some of the others might be tough accomodations travel-wise so schedule to minimize time wasted in airports. Don't schedule too much....enjoy the cities you do visit because they're all super!

I found Bucharest a bit dreary, but the surrounding area is beautiful. Check out the many orthodox monasteries in Romania as the art and architecture are incredible. Rather than going to Bran which is rather fabricated and very touristy, check out the Snagov Monastery outside of Bucharest where Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler is supposedly buried. You will need a guide as people have stolen signs for the metal and it made it very hard to find. You will have to take a small boat across a lake to get to the island where the monastery is located. Call the monastery and they will come and get you for free. Do not get sucked into the locals who will offer to take you for lots of money. We spent some time there with just us and the caretaker, and it was personal and definitely a highlight of the trip. No one there spoke English. I have a friend who is a guide if you are interested. In Budapest we stayed at the Hotel Metro which was inexpensive, centrally located and very quiet. They were extremely helpful. Only downside was no AC. You will fall in love with this city. It takes 4 days to really take it in, with one day at the Gellert Spa and its amazing art deco pools. (Go online and check out the pics!) I agree that you might enjoy the trip better with fewer places to try to see in such a short time.