Note: This entry has been edited on 7/20 to provide more information about the itinerary
I am in the process of planning a summer trip to East Central and Eastern Europe. Only two cities will be included that I have visited before. One of those is Budapest, because it makes a good starting place for the area I want to explore. The other is Prague, because Wes is going with me for the first few weeks and wants to stop there. Actually, I have planned the trip to go further west than I originally intended because Wes wanted to see both Prague and Dresden. The route, therefore, became a bit of a trade-off. I have to travel further west than I want, but I will get to see Dresden which I have always wanted to visit. Wes will have to leave without seeing some of the places I thought he would enjoy in Slovakia and southern Poland. Fortunately, I will still be able to go to those places before heading further eastward.
We will leave on July 21. Wes will return on Aug. 24, but will actually leave me a few days before that, because he will be flying back from Berlin and will have to make his way to there. Also, since he has never visited Berlin before, he will spend 1-3 days there before his return flight. (At the present time, he is still undecided on the length of time there.)
Here is the itinerary for the trip:
Tu July 22--Arr. in Budapest (Randy at 16:15/Wes on Air Berlin 8638 at 18:25) Hello Leo Apartment
W, 23--Budapest
Th, 24--Budapest
F, 25--Budapest
Sa, 26--Train to Pecs Green Garden Apartment
Su, 27--Pecs
M, 28--Bus to Kesthely (Lake Balaton) Apartment Swiss Style
Tu, 29--Kesthely (Lake Balaton)
W, 30--Train to Budapest/Train to Bratislava
Th, 31--Bratislava Hotel Saffron
F, August 1--Bratislava
Sa, 2--Train or Bus to Brno Hotel Europa
Su, 3--Brno
M, 4--Brno (Side trip one of these days to Olomouc)
Tu, 5--Train or Bus to Prague Dlouha 25 - one bedroom apartment
W, 6--Prague
Th, 7--Prague
F, 8--Prague (Side Trip to Kutna Hora one of these days)
Sa, 9--Train (10:29) to Dresden NH Dresden Hotel
Su, 10--Dresden
M, 11--Dresden
Tu, 12--Train (8:57) to Wroclaw Apartment in the Center of Wroclaw
W, 13-- Wroclaw
Th, 14--Wroclaw
F, 15--Train or bus to Poznan Cozy Place Near City Park
Sa, 16--Poznan
Su, 17--Train or bus to Warsaw Hampton Hotel Warsaw City Centre
M, 18--Warsaw
Tu, 19--Warsaw
W, 20--Wes takes train to Berlin; Randy takes train or bus to Krakow
Th, 21--Krakow
F, 22--Krakow
Sa, 23--Krakow
Su, 24--Bus to Poprad Area of Slovakia
M, 25--Poprad Area
Tu, 26--Poprad Area
W, 27--Travel to Kosice
Th, 28--Kosice
F, 29--Early morning bus (6:40) to Uzghorod
Sa, 30--Uzghorod
Su, 31--Early morning bus (6:25) or train (5:41) to Lviv
M, Sept. 1--Lviv
Tu, 2--Lviv
W, 3--Lviv; Night Train to Odessa
Th, 4--Odessa
F, 5--Odessa
Sa, 6--Odessa
Su, 7--Train or Bus to Kiev
M, 8--Kiev
Tu, 9--Kiev
W, 10--Kiev
Th, 11--Kiev
F, 12--Fly to Batumi on DniproAvia via Kharkiv--Dep: 9:30, Arr: 15:10
Sa, 13--Batumi
Su, 14--Batumi (Day trip in area?)
M, 15--Travel to Tbilisi
Tu, 16--Tbilisi
W, 17--Mini-Bus to Gyumri or Yerevan
Th, 18--Yerevan
F, 19--Yerevan
Sa, 20--Yerevan
Su, 21--Yerevan
M, 22--Yerevan
Tu, 23--Yerevan
W, 24--Yerevan
Th, 25--Yerevan (Day tours/trips to Garni/Gerhard, Lake Savan/Dilijan, Echmiadzin/Zhartnots, Khor Virap/Noravak/Areni, and maybe Gyumri)
F, 26--Flights begin at 4:25 for return to San Antonio
