I'm from Lithuania and I have to say that you're damn right about these ''loves & hates''. And you don't even have to be a tourist to experience that. Great review!
Honestly I do love visiting Eastern Europe. I lived in Lithuania for 3.5 years and traveled all over for work and for fun. It is definitely worth visiting. THanks for watching and commenting! We really appreciate it when people "like" and subscribe to our videos! all the best! mark
I really enjoyed the Transylvania part of the country. And the train ride coming into Bucharest from Budapest is amazing when the sun is coming up and the mountains. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I am Polish and agree with pretty much everything you have said. Service in bigger cities such as Gdansk, has improved significantly since the time that this video got uploaded/shot and we have a couple of fast train connections but that would be it. Its still worth visiting just like so many other countries in the world !
i am german and i spend nearly all of my holidays in the area called 'eastern europe'. so i appreciate most of your positive views. like you said there is a lot of great nature left! you can move freely there (carpathians, crimea, pirin). this beauty is very rare in western europe and even if existent, then you have to walk on special tourist ways and don't have the chance to find your own camping spot (nearly everywhere wild camping is forbidden). what concernes the trains ... for example czech republic is the country with the 3rd densest train network worldwide. furthermore there are a lot of night trains left, especially in ukraine, czech republic and slovakia. this is a service which doens't exist anymore in western europe. it s quite cheap , too , and even for the locals, so you get in contact with them.
Definitely agreed. Despite some of the pollution problems inherited from past decades, the east half of Europe has a lot of extremely well preserved natural regions and natural habitats, not to mention a high degree of biodiversity when compared with some of the more densely populated European countries. Sadly, I often get the feeling that people over here don't appreciate it enough, taking it for granted, and are still trying to ape decades-outdated "western" approaches to tourism and treatment of the environment (i.e. building pointless giant resorts, hotels and kitsch attractions everywhere, meddling too much in natural old growth forests, etc.). On the other hand, I think many people have started realising that this is a dumb trend, and we should instead use our well-preserved natural environments as one of our main strenghths when it comes to luring in visitors. If anything, ecotourism/agrotourism and smaller family-friendly attractions are the thing of the future over here, IMHO, not all sorts of megalomaniac ski resorts and whatnot.
Brasov and the Transylvania part of Romania is breath taking. THe churches to the east of the country are indescribable (sp). definitely worht a visit if you are wanting to see the family homestead from yesteryear! thanks for watching adn commenting!
I agree. Thanks for watching and commenting and i hope you have a great trip when you get to Eastern Europe. It really is a fun and cultural experience.
My girlfriend & I went to Bulgaria just under a month ago, and you hit the customer service issue on the head. A lot of the store clerks or waiters that we came across were very stone faced & didn’t seem to eager to help or interact. One thing I will say though is that it was very affordable & the natural scenery was sublime.
i have a video on central europe as well and poland is in that video so don't worry :) there is also a baltic europe video coming, we have a south europe video... and europe in general... and scandinvia :) so don't worry you are covered :)
Thanks! Though now I am working my "day job" in the US so its harder to travel around :( but we are trying to keep up! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Travelled central Europe several times in 2018/19. Very impressed with the standards. Since they joined the EU a lot of money has been pumped into tourism from the roads to the facilities. And best of all, a greater sense of freedom.
Hotel Ibis in Bratislava is not expensive, yet the service is excellent (so is the luscious breakfast, which is included in the price) and it is located within walking distance of Old Town as well as of the Castle. And if you walk up the street (toward the Castle), you will find a small store called Samoška, which is a small self-service grocery store. I stayed there for three weeks and couldn’t be happier. I always ate breakfast in the hotel, noon meal in a restaurant, and bought something at the Samoška to eat in the evening.
I lived right by K-grad for years but never got across the border. Always went into "mainland" russia. I really regret it. A lot of my friends would go over rather often for business and they said it was an interesting time. Though the visa can be a bit pricey depending on your nationality
The hotel situation in Romania is much better than it apparently was 9 years ago. You can get a room in a nice pensiunea (small hotel) for a very reasonable price. Also, service still isn’t what you’d expect in the US in a lot of places, but it has improved.
If you want to keep your expenses down when traveling around Eastern Europe, rent a flat instead of staying in hotels. You can find them online. As well, you can buy food at grocery stores and eat a meal at your flat. Also, make friends with a local or two online and they will often be more than happy to not only show you around their city, but to take you to more affordable restaurants and cafes (which often have better food) then the pricey tourist trap restaurants.
Wiktor Klugowski It means you stay shut unless someone asks you about your political views. And even then you try not to offend anyone, because you respect other people. It's called culture. 'Political incorrectness' is usually an excuse for dumb people to be dumb without consequences.
blinski I don't know what kind of world you're living in. It isnt the real one for sure. Assholes are everywhere, left, right and in the middle. People are not inherently good or bad. Funny thing is those who fight for tolerance and political correctness are the biggest assholes of them all. They are the most intolerant people I know, they are calling others assholes, nazi, homophobes and racists without any evidence. They are the "uncultured" ones, they are the most aggressive and violent bullies.
8 років тому+11
+blinski Political correctness is more complex than you believe. Being politically INCORRECT entails much more than simply saying mean things. For example, if you say "stewardess" instead of "flight attendant," then you are being politically incorrect. Stewardess was the correct term for many decades, but when this whole retarded PC movement kicked into high gear about 40 years ago, many things received new and longer names, to water down or hide the truth, basically. During World War 1, it was called "Shell Shock." Succinct, and accurate. During WW2, Shell Shock became "Battle Fatigue." By the Vietnam War, it had become "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." What the fuck? lol If you say "Kaitlin Jenner is a man," that would not be politically correct, even though it's the truth. PC was created to hide the truth.
+blinski your answer is pure bullshit. But it shows lack of education. You dont simply understand what he said. You are mixing lack of political correctness (which is actually great thing) with telling mind without being asked. But I guess you wont understand this difference...
I love how excited this guy is about Eastern Europe. Everywhere you go there will be positives and negatives. He was right on the money on all of them. Much love from Bulgaria come visit us :)
The differences are not so pronounced now that is for sure. i see the difference getting smaller and smaller every year. but there are still big differences like you say with bulgaria and poland. i would put poland a lot more similar to germany than bulgaria especially for tourism
My mom's family came from Poland, Ukraine and Romania and though I've never been I do hope to go, I did get the chance to go to London and seeing as to how my father's family is mainly British it was wonderful to see Brittan. I love Europe and I hope to return there as soon as I can.
I went about a decade ago and really loved it (even if i did have a run in with the militia ;) but hey it made for a fun story the next day... at the time... well might have been a bit different :)
You're comment about poor transportation is true. When I lived in the Czech Republic one of my friends and I decided to take a train to Bucharest (his home city) and it took us more than a day to get there. Plus there are hardly any public restrooms and lots of pickpockets. But the food in Romania is unbelievable!
Yes, taking the plane would have been much easier to do, but we just wanted to enjoy the countryside while we were there and explore places that we hadn't been before (well, at least places I hadn't been to before... Ion was born in Romania). It didn't seem like it would be that far... I stand corrected!
Yes love how proud they are -some friends of mine from Poland, Hungary etc showed me around their city and explained their buildings and ancient architecture etc.
When I made this video I was supposed to head down to Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro and was going to make a Top 10 Balkans video, but my wife went on bed rest for 4 months because of complications with her pregnancy at the time and we kind of closed down Wolters World for half a year until the baby came and was OK. But we left them out for that, not because we were forgetting you guys. Don't worry we will be there hopefully soon (next year or 2 to do the Balkans justice) thank you for watching!
Very informative wouldn't mind visiting those Eastern European countries in the near future. I feel the best way to appreciate a country and its people is to show respect and interest in their culture.
The taxi driver part is also very true. When we called a taxi it was cheap but hailing a taxi home it cost more than 3 times the price plus the driver was groppingf our female friend (who was Slovak).
Thanks for the video, it was accurate and informative. I would like to add two things, 1. Lviv is a gem and you can visit it without a Visa, 2. book an apartment instead of a hotel. You can stay at a great apartment in much of Eastern Europe much cheaper than a hotel room.
Ukraine real travel Thanks Ukraine real travel. I was sad when I lived in Lithuania that I never got down to Ukraine. I had students from there that wanted me to go but I endedup traveling all over theplace but not there and not I regret missing out.
woltersworld You are curious so I expect that you will visit Ukraine at some point. Ukraine does not get a lot of English speakers and it is difficult to find English speakers. Lviv is the exception, you can get by, it is the most European city in Ukraine. By the way train travel is cheap, you can get a second class sleeper from Kviv to Odessa for less than $100, closer to 60 I think.
about service.. I'm from Lithuania and sure people in stores are not helpful at all but waiters in restaurants are nice and in clothing store etc. they are very very helpful. though tourists don't go there so it doesn't matter.. just wanted to say that.. and toilets in malls and big stores are normal and free. so come here!..
Some things changed considerably lately. In Poland (or Czechia most part of the year) you can book modest but good private rooms for about 13 euro. Lviv (Ukraine) is really cheap. In Bratislava accommodation in general is expensive. On the other hand, dining out is progressively getting more and more expensive (although still affordable), and the same applies to their mouthwatering draft beers.
Things have moved on since this was made. Hotels have got better, love Prague , Krakow and Budapest. Taxi you still have to be careful but improving on the hotel front.
I am from Eastern Europe and I agree with every single word you say. Actually, in Eastern Europe if everything is OK on the station, something is fishy. I was in Slovakia and it was cool :)
Usually this channel is extremely accurate, but I've been to every country in central and eastern Europe except Moldova and Belarus and have never noticed bad service, or at least any worse than western Europe. If anything it just might be a lack of English and simple inability to talk to you (not that the English level is much better in France, Italy, or Spain). The hotel thing isn't really true either, you just have to know where to look. If you just get out of the train station and look in your immediate surroundings, yes, there will probably just be a couple nice, expensive hotels, plus hostels. But there are regular hotels there also, just in the less prime real estate slightly out of the way. There are also pretty high-quality pensions the countryside (for 25 to 50 USD) in pretty much all countries there except for Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Ukraine, and those countries have mid-level hotels also (35 to 65 USD), you just have to know where they are (a simple internet search will show you; in fairness the main websites for that weren't as big in 2010).
I have a question for you Wolter. How come you didn't include Romania or any city from Romania in your destinations from the website? You said that you've been there, so what is the problem?
The things you won't like part are either not what I experienced or are applicable to Western Europe as well. For example getting ripped off by cab driver will happen just about anywhere in Europe except maybe the UK.
when I traveled in Romania in 2007 I stayed at a guest house sort of thing. I am not sure how to call it... basically rural people renting out their house, with B&B services. There is an entire policy of developing agro-turism so more of these should pop up. I found it to be excellent quality at low price. You should try it.
I'm still thinking about my vacation at the end of March. now I scratched eastern europe off , all I have is werstern europe which is expensive or Istanbul where I've been the past summer. do you have any suggestion?
yeah, but there is no wall separating Europe but there is a kind of mentality separations. I`m polish living close to german borders and I know we are different.
taxi driver today in Riga 20 euros and should have been 5 euros. I found a great airbnb for 8 days $97 with washing machine. So, I am happy to have saved on washing machine money. I may go to Lithuania too. Watching your videos again to decide
+Angela Cummings have a great trip where ever you do end up. I lived in Lithuania for 3.5 years and had a real nice time. Hill of Crosses, Klaipeda/Nida then Vilnius if you want to drive down from riga and do kind of a circle (Vilnius would be the one place you really should check out)
+woltersworld Just arrived in Vilnius. I decided to go for it thanks. I remember a video you made on this earlier this year and I wanted that cheap food. My hotel is $20 a night and it should be ok. Going to Riga again in few days. Sometime I will go to Iceland. I enjoyed that video too
+Angela Cummings yeah it's shit, I'm from Latvia and don't understand why is it so hard to rein in these people, though it's not that hard to understand it... Corruption everywhere. I'd love to think that things are changing. What kind of taxi was it? I work at a Scandinavian bank and all our guests use the red taxis, also the green Baltic taxis should be fine, not doing these things. But I'm not sure... Vilnius is great, it has this local, smaller town feel that I lack in Riga. Although Riga, of course, is not a big city, it's more flashy, it is more cosmopolitan, due to the large Russian and other Soviet ethnicity population, it's less friendly to people and the Old Town is now mostly for the tourists. I like that instead of 5-6 storey Riga Old Town, we have the 3 storey Vilnius Old Town and tons of locals there, more affordable prices and general atmosphere of the place.
+Angela Cummings when you are in Riga, don't take BalticTaxi 'cause they are very expensive (starting from 10-2o Euros) take Panda Taxi, the prices start from 2 Euros ;)
Overall race based attacks in Eastern Europe has fallen dramatically, however that does not mean there are none. But, Bratislava, Ljublijana you won't have any issues at all, Warsaw should be fine, Riga is turning into Eastern Europe Las Vegas so you all should be fine, where i would be a bit worried is moscow, but in all honesty if you are a tourists you will not get harrassed or at least should not. Though just keep your eyes open at night with drunk youths and you should be fine.
i have a top 10 central europe video and 5 love and hates of central europe and slovaki, czech and hungary are included. also, pretty much every guidebook puts htose countries into eastern europe. it is not me... i put you in central (hence why you are in the central europe videos too ;) all the best!
Taxi drivers in Lithuania are exactly as described. This is a tourist trap. If you need to get to the city center from Vilnius airport, you should use train, and never taxi drivers that are waiting there. It will cost pennies and will take a few minutes. Also, you should call and book them via phone, as catching them in a street will cost a few times more, especially if you are not local.
Great video, man. I've wanted to visit Romania for years since my grandfather's parents emigrated from there. It is cool to explore it on google's streetview for some armchair hiking now, though. The mountains are indeed breathtaking.
I don't think its a bad label we just don't do as much false advertising as Italy for example which proclaim themselves as kings in everything. Los Angeles for example is a complete dump from Malibu to Santa Monica but everywhere you check online and in media you will find only praises. No doubt we have to improve a lot of things but we are a pretty good tourist destinations with a lot to offer as it is.
I agree about service -= especially in a shop - just came back from Latvia, no one talks to you not even in Latvian "have a good day or thank you" they do not even tell you the price after they served you...they just point to the figure as if you're blind! etc - you finish shopping and leave basically. As you know in Western Europe and USA / Canada people say have a good day or thank you etc. in Eastern Europe they don't talk when they serve you - well cashiers at tills don't anyway - in fact some can be dead funny! The only adequate service I have experienced in shops are the touristy ones - like gift shops!
so if tourists cant find them... it means they don't exist to them... its like the old, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound, saying. If there are mid range hotels that tourists don't know about, does that mean they don't exist? a very typical marketing problem :) thanks fro the heads up!
This is great information...loving the charisma do more countries thanks ....ps the cons really do outweigh the pros it feels like but I might be wrong
In some cities in ex-Eastern Bloc countries (among them Moscow, Minsk and some cities in Poland, the ex-Czechoslovakia and the Baltic states), Uber is around; in others (among them cities in Moldova and Ukraine), there really is no alternative than to call a reputable taxi company. And, yes, English-language proficiency often isn't that good, either, particularly in Moldova, Transnistria and some Slavic countries.
Where exactly does eastern Europe begin? I always struggle with that. Is Poland eastern or central Europe? Do the Baltic states belong to eastern Europe? How about the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sloavakia, Croatia and Slovenia?
HunOrwell Yeah but even then its not clear to me. Politically almost all slavic and baltic Countries in Europe belong to the EU/NATO. Culturally they were heavily influenced by the USSR and Yugoslavia. However the "Culture" transitions from east to west very fluently. Czech and Poland are certainly closer to germany and Austria then Russia, same goes for Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. Were do we draw the line?
Franz Ferdinand For the people in Germany eastern europe starts with poland and the czech republik. The east is seen as a little bit criminal(cars, robbery ..), they are among themselves. The countries seem not very modern, and the people do not have as good lifestandards as we have. You could also call them very conservative. The landscapes are beautiful and definitely worth a visit!
HunOrwell "Allhough lets be honest, most of why these countries are poor because they werent rebuilt by the Marshall plan like West Germany and generally Western Europe, but were forced under Soviet style dictatorships. You can even see it in your country, Eastern Germany wasnt more poor because the people were different there." Are you trying to convince me that Communism did not work? Newsflash: All Communist Countries ended in economical ruin, about 30 years ago.... "Hungary before the wars was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire co-governing with Austria. Allthough that is something very German, when i'd visit the Neitherlands or the Scandiniavian countries they are super open, German still have a superiority complex, but the same time they try to force this tolerant picture of them because the whole country lives with a mental complex since WW2. Little akward to be honest." Ok this is a very difficult sentence. I fail to see the connections here... so Austro-Hungaria was something very German? But the Netherlands and Scandinavian Countries are super Open??? And Germans have a superiority complex? Like what has openess to do with a superiority copmplex? And what has the superiority complex to do with tolerance. I can't see any relations between the statements you make in this sentence. But i can explain you how they are completly unrelated. The Austro-Hungarian Empire central Europe. The Netherlands ans Scandinavian Countries are in Western Europe and Scandinavia. They are not Culturally nor histroically or politically related to each other in any way. The Culture in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was probably similar to the Culture in Austria and Hungary today. Non of which is Germany, while one indeed is "very german". People in the Netherlands are considered to be super open, Amsterdam for instance is the #1 to go place for people on drug and sex trips. Noone expects reserved Conservatives there. For Scandinavians you are wrong. Ive talked to people from Denmark and Finland and both cultures do not appear to be naturally "open" they seem to be more reserved like Germans. Germans having a superiority complex is completly unrelated to the openess of scadninavians and Dutch people. Forcing a tolerant Picture of themselve also has absolutly nothing to do with having a superiority complex. A superiority is a Bogus term that different psychologists use for different things and i don't even know which you mean. However in any case it means either a complete lack of self worth or a belief in someones own superiorty, both of which have nothing to do with tolerance or the leck of tolerance. Someone could think of themselve as superior for his tolerance (like an average swedish person). Germans are in a weird state because of a guilt complex and self loathe, reinforced by 70 years of propaganda which is conflicting with the fact that Germany is the most powerfull Country of Europe.
I have visited the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia in 2005, 2007, and 2012. My experiences in all six nations have been wonderful! The service I received at restaurants was always courteous and they let me enjoy my meals in peace. I personally dislike American waiters and waitresses constantly interupting my meals to ask "Is everything alright?" over and over every two minutes. GO AWAY! Most of my accomidations were sobes: rented rooms in the homes of locals. Keep in mind, this was years before Airbnb and Vrbo existed. My many hosts were wonderful people! Antonia and Francesko of Lake Bled, Slovenia --- I miss you both and your beautiful house ovrrlooking the lake so much! ❤
Don't use taxis , they are thieves , there is cheap fast train from the airport into city center (at least in Kraków for like 2-4 euros) Use Uber or main coroprations like Barbakan and agree to the price before you go. (I live there and still I would never use a taxi...) Public transport is great and cheap !
Hahaha this video is actually pretty funny, and my friend is from the Ukraine and travels all around Europe with her family. She says this video is dead-on! This guys has a lot of good videos. Here's another one I like... "Visit Italy: Ten Italian Phrases You Need To Know"... super helpful!
so just wondering? what do you think is a good amount of money (american) to save up to travle to eastern europe? for hmm lets say a week kind of an odd question lol
I go to Poland every year because my mom has family there. My mom is from the eastern part of Poland. My mom was born in Poland and I know fluent Polish. Polish is a very hard language to learn and I think that the grammar is very difficult. I also h think that the communist buildings are really cool and you go back in time from the modern day countries like Germany. You get a different feel that makes you come to the country again. It also shows you what people lived through when they lived in the communist era.
Very good and pretty acurate for a quick review. Being an Eastern European I approve it! Many of us suffer daily from the very cons you're telling about.
Bytheway official name is not UFO bridge, nor is it used by locals. They either call it New Bridge (name that was accepted by folks, not official though till 90s, when it was built) or Bridge of Slovak National Uprising - SNP bridge - (which was and is against official name). UFO is just the name of restaurant atop of it.
hehehe Yeah, I think you are pretty much right about all the things you listed. I´m slovak (ish). Me and my husbnad do love to travel same way as you do, just enjoy the hidden gems.
when westerners say eastern europe they often mean the crappy part of europe...and let's be honest often they are right...although different regions or countries in the eastern part of europe currently go through different phases of economic development objectively speaking we as a region in europe still have a lot to do to fully catch up with the western europe (not to mention scandinavia which probably enjoys the highest standard of living and i am not sure if we ever catch up with them at the present rate)......the main problem are wages artificially kept at the lower lever in the eastern part of europe to "boost" economic development...if nothing changes this will probably go on for another 10-15 years...once wages equalize hopefully people from the eastern bloc won't have to immigrate to western europe and the perception of eastern europe in the west will slowly change......idk just my opinion...btw, i'm from poland
Depends on what you mean by "crappy". I think western Europe is crappy compared to eastern Europe because western Europe is overrun by muslims and non-whites from Africa and Asia. I love Eastern Europe because it is most like Europe before multiculturalism/multiracialism.
you misunderstood, i said that westerners mean "crappy part of europe" when they think about eastern europe, that's not how i think about eastern europe...i don't know if they are overrun but it's clearly becoming a problem for them, especially in france, and germany, and scandinavia too (where the population is sparse)...hopefully they won't get fooled by political correctness and do something about that before it's too late...i love eastern europe too! i love poland, i love europe in general, it's the most diverse, rich and beautiful place on the face of this planet! definitely worth preserving!
Hey, It looks like it's cold over there but when the girls come here forthe summer some of them wear skimpy tops and check showing skirts or daisy duke shorts. Is that how I should dress when I go there? LOL
@woltersworld Can't really point out good/bad things for tourists, i can only agree or disagree with the points you'v made (with which i totally agree). But i guess the most important thing for me was the nature, it doesn't sound like much but when i see kids hanging around malls and in front of PCs in western countries and compare to my semi-wild full of adventure childhood, i really start to fell lucky that i grew up in Russia.
I'm from Lithuania and I have to say that you're damn right about these ''loves & hates''. And you don't even have to be a tourist to experience that. Great review!
Honestly I do love visiting Eastern Europe. I lived in Lithuania for 3.5 years and traveled all over for work and for fun. It is definitely worth visiting. THanks for watching and commenting! We really appreciate it when people "like" and subscribe to our videos! all the best! mark
Wolters World love the videos
Wolters World Lithuania is Northern Europe, not Eastern. Slovakia is central Europe.
Eichhörnchens Curry both countries are considered eastern Europe by the rest of Europe
I really enjoyed the Transylvania part of the country. And the train ride coming into Bucharest from Budapest is amazing when the sun is coming up and the mountains. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Then we had our beautiful forests, nowadays deforestation is the word.
@richtone Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks for writing and watching.
I am Polish and agree with pretty much everything you have said. Service in bigger cities such as Gdansk, has improved significantly since the time that this video got uploaded/shot and we have a couple of fast train connections but that would be it.
Its still worth visiting just like so many other countries in the world !
i am german and i spend nearly all of my holidays in the area called 'eastern europe'. so i appreciate most of your positive views. like you said there is a lot of great nature left! you can move freely there (carpathians, crimea, pirin). this beauty is very rare in western europe and even if existent, then you have to walk on special tourist ways and don't have the chance to find your own camping spot (nearly everywhere wild camping is forbidden).
what concernes the trains ...
for example czech republic is the country with the 3rd densest train network worldwide. furthermore there are a lot of night trains left, especially in ukraine, czech republic and slovakia. this is a service which doens't exist anymore in western europe. it s quite cheap , too , and even for the locals, so you get in contact with them.
Definitely agreed. Despite some of the pollution problems inherited from past decades, the east half of Europe has a lot of extremely well preserved natural regions and natural habitats, not to mention a high degree of biodiversity when compared with some of the more densely populated European countries. Sadly, I often get the feeling that people over here don't appreciate it enough, taking it for granted, and are still trying to ape decades-outdated "western" approaches to tourism and treatment of the environment (i.e. building pointless giant resorts, hotels and kitsch attractions everywhere, meddling too much in natural old growth forests, etc.). On the other hand, I think many people have started realising that this is a dumb trend, and we should instead use our well-preserved natural environments as one of our main strenghths when it comes to luring in visitors. If anything, ecotourism/agrotourism and smaller family-friendly attractions are the thing of the future over here, IMHO, not all sorts of megalomaniac ski resorts and whatnot.
Brasov and the Transylvania part of Romania is breath taking. THe churches to the east of the country are indescribable (sp). definitely worht a visit if you are wanting to see the family homestead from yesteryear! thanks for watching adn commenting!
Things have changed quite a bit in 6 years since this video was made!
I agree. Thanks for watching and commenting and i hope you have a great trip when you get to Eastern Europe. It really is a fun and cultural experience.
My girlfriend & I went to Bulgaria just under a month ago, and you hit the customer service issue on the head. A lot of the store clerks or waiters that we came across were very stone faced & didn’t seem to eager to help or interact. One thing I will say though is that it was very affordable & the natural scenery was sublime.
i have a video on central europe as well and poland is in that video so don't worry :)
there is also a baltic europe video coming, we have a south europe video... and europe in general... and scandinvia :) so don't worry you are covered :)
Thanks! Though now I am working my "day job" in the US so its harder to travel around :( but we are trying to keep up! Thanks for watching and commenting!
He is 1 year old now... you may see him in some of my other videos. he pops up occasionally (sometimes just as a picture) the newer videos at least :)
Travelled central Europe several times in 2018/19. Very impressed with the standards. Since they joined the EU a lot of money has been pumped into tourism from the roads to the facilities. And best of all, a greater sense of freedom.
Hotel Ibis in Bratislava is not expensive, yet the service is excellent (so is the luscious breakfast, which is included in the price) and it is located within walking distance of Old Town as well as of the Castle. And if you walk up the street (toward the Castle), you will find a small store called Samoška, which is a small self-service grocery store. I stayed there for three weeks and couldn’t be happier. I always ate breakfast in the hotel, noon meal in a restaurant, and bought something at the Samoška to eat in the evening.
@otonnis because i put slovakia in eastern europe? I divide it at the iron curtain... i'm old school ;)
@poptherock303 There are medium range price hotels but the amount of them is no where near what you would find in Germany or Spain.
I lived right by K-grad for years but never got across the border. Always went into "mainland" russia. I really regret it. A lot of my friends would go over rather often for business and they said it was an interesting time. Though the visa can be a bit pricey depending on your nationality
The hotel situation in Romania is much better than it apparently was 9 years ago. You can get a room in a nice pensiunea (small hotel) for a very reasonable price. Also, service still isn’t what you’d expect in the US in a lot of places, but it has improved.
If you want to keep your expenses down when traveling around Eastern Europe, rent a flat instead of staying in hotels. You can find them online. As well, you can buy food at grocery stores and eat a meal at your flat. Also, make friends with a local or two online and they will often be more than happy to not only show you around their city, but to take you to more affordable restaurants and cafes (which often have better food) then the pricey tourist trap restaurants.
I think the greatest thing about Eastern Europe is lack of political correctness. People just speak their minds.
Wiktor Klugowski It means you stay shut unless someone asks you about your political views. And even then you try not to offend anyone, because you respect other people. It's called culture. 'Political incorrectness' is usually an excuse for dumb people to be dumb without consequences.
blinski I don't know what kind of world you're living in. It isnt the real one for sure.
Assholes are everywhere, left, right and in the middle. People are not inherently good or bad.
Funny thing is those who fight for tolerance and political correctness are the biggest assholes of them all. They are the most intolerant people I know, they are calling others assholes, nazi, homophobes and racists without any evidence. They are the "uncultured" ones, they are the most aggressive and violent bullies.
+blinski Political correctness is more complex than you believe. Being politically INCORRECT entails much more than simply saying mean things. For example, if you say "stewardess" instead of "flight attendant," then you are being politically incorrect. Stewardess was the correct term for many decades, but when this whole retarded PC movement kicked into high gear about 40 years ago, many things received new and longer names, to water down or hide the truth, basically.
During World War 1, it was called "Shell Shock." Succinct, and accurate. During WW2, Shell Shock became "Battle Fatigue." By the Vietnam War, it had become "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." What the fuck? lol
If you say "Kaitlin Jenner is a man," that would not be politically correct, even though it's the truth. PC was created to hide the truth.
+Wiktor Klugowski Well said. It's a simple matter: lefties are just idiots. In politics stupidity is not a handicap - Napoleon.
+blinski your answer is pure bullshit. But it shows lack of education. You dont simply understand what he said. You are mixing lack of political correctness (which is actually great thing) with telling mind without being asked. But I guess you wont understand this difference...
thanks. I will check it out
I love how excited this guy is about Eastern Europe. Everywhere you go there will be positives and negatives. He was right on the money on all of them. Much love from Bulgaria come visit us :)
The differences are not so pronounced now that is for sure. i see the difference getting smaller and smaller every year. but there are still big differences like you say with bulgaria and poland. i would put poland a lot more similar to germany than bulgaria especially for tourism
I'm going to Eastern Europe next March, thanks for the tips :D
My mom's family came from Poland, Ukraine and Romania and though I've never been I do hope to go, I did get the chance to go to London and seeing as to how my father's family is mainly British it was wonderful to see Brittan. I love Europe and I hope to return there as soon as I can.
I went about a decade ago and really loved it (even if i did have a run in with the militia ;) but hey it made for a fun story the next day... at the time... well might have been a bit different :)
how come you dont have videos about lithuania? Since you have been there for so long, you could give a cool insight on how it is over there
"They were communist…".
No, they were not communists. They were under communist occupation which is a big difference.
Well said.
True... central Europe was sold to the soviets-comunists in Yalta by... USA and UK
That wasn’t even comunism just socialism..but mostly westerners are to stupid to see difference
zepter00 "can I have romania?"
I have only 50 hectares of Poland. 😂
@Dominick629 Thanks. I am glad you like them and I appreciate you watching and commenting! Have a great Christmas and New Years!
you are very welcome. Krakow and Gdansk are my two favorite cities in Poland but there are a lot more towns to see as well
No worries :) I get much worse personally :) Hope all is well! Have a great week!
You're comment about poor transportation is true. When I lived in the Czech Republic one of my friends and I decided to take a train to Bucharest (his home city) and it took us more than a day to get there. Plus there are hardly any public restrooms and lots of pickpockets. But the food in Romania is unbelievable!
TheJacquesStrap Take a plane next time. You can get there in less than 2 hrs. :) Taking a train from CZ to Bucharest is crazy.
Yes, taking the plane would have been much easier to do, but we just wanted to enjoy the countryside while we were there and explore places that we hadn't been before (well, at least places I hadn't been to before... Ion was born in Romania). It didn't seem like it would be that far... I stand corrected!
thanks
Yes love how proud they are -some friends of mine from Poland, Hungary etc showed me around their city and explained their buildings and ancient architecture etc.
When I made this video I was supposed to head down to Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro and was going to make a Top 10 Balkans video, but my wife went on bed rest for 4 months because of complications with her pregnancy at the time and we kind of closed down Wolters World for half a year until the baby came and was OK.
But we left them out for that, not because we were forgetting you guys.
Don't worry we will be there hopefully soon (next year or 2 to do the Balkans justice) thank you for watching!
@RachichiM Thanks!
Very informative wouldn't mind visiting those Eastern European countries in the near future. I feel the best way to appreciate a country and its people is to show respect and interest in their culture.
He says everybody in every country is very nice, the food is good everywhere, lots of things to see etc :)
The taxi driver part is also very true. When we called a taxi it was cheap but hailing a taxi home it cost more than 3 times the price plus the driver was groppingf our female friend (who was Slovak).
@3x0rcyst3m Thanks! I appreciate you watching and commenting!
you'll have a good time but bring a warm coat :)
have a great trip! thanks for watching and commenting! hope you will subscribe and like!
Thanks for the video, it was accurate and informative. I would like to add two things, 1. Lviv is a gem and you can visit it without a Visa, 2. book an apartment instead of a hotel. You can stay at a great apartment in much of Eastern Europe much cheaper than a hotel room.
Ukraine real travel Thanks Ukraine real travel. I was sad when I lived in Lithuania that I never got down to Ukraine. I had students from there that wanted me to go but I endedup traveling all over theplace but not there and not I regret missing out.
woltersworld You are curious so I expect that you will visit Ukraine at some point. Ukraine does not get a lot of English speakers and it is difficult to find English speakers. Lviv is the exception, you can get by, it is the most European city in Ukraine. By the way train travel is cheap, you can get a second class sleeper from Kviv to Odessa for less than $100, closer to 60 I think.
thanks!
about service.. I'm from Lithuania and sure people in stores are not helpful at all but waiters in restaurants are nice and in clothing store etc. they are very very helpful. though tourists don't go there so it doesn't matter.. just wanted to say that..
and toilets in malls and big stores are normal and free.
so come here!..
Some things changed considerably lately. In Poland (or Czechia most part of the year) you can book modest but good private rooms for about 13 euro. Lviv (Ukraine) is really cheap. In Bratislava accommodation in general is expensive. On the other hand, dining out is progressively getting more and more expensive (although still affordable), and the same applies to their mouthwatering draft beers.
man, a video from 8 years ago! it's great to see both the consistency and the evolution of your work.
thank you very much for these tips...i will be traveling solo to the Baltic states in a couple of weeks, so this info is handy to know
Things have moved on since this was made. Hotels have got better, love Prague , Krakow and Budapest. Taxi you still have to be careful but improving on the hotel front.
I am from Eastern Europe and I agree with every single word you say.
Actually, in Eastern Europe if everything is OK on the station, something is fishy.
I was in Slovakia and it was cool :)
@zomglolwoot I am glad you agree :) what are some things you love/hate about eastern europe?
Usually this channel is extremely accurate, but I've been to every country in central and eastern Europe except Moldova and Belarus and have never noticed bad service, or at least any worse than western Europe. If anything it just might be a lack of English and simple inability to talk to you (not that the English level is much better in France, Italy, or Spain). The hotel thing isn't really true either, you just have to know where to look. If you just get out of the train station and look in your immediate surroundings, yes, there will probably just be a couple nice, expensive hotels, plus hostels. But there are regular hotels there also, just in the less prime real estate slightly out of the way. There are also pretty high-quality pensions the countryside (for 25 to 50 USD) in pretty much all countries there except for Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Ukraine, and those countries have mid-level hotels also (35 to 65 USD), you just have to know where they are (a simple internet search will show you; in fairness the main websites for that weren't as big in 2010).
I have a question for you Wolter. How come you didn't include Romania or any city from Romania in your destinations from the website? You said that you've been there, so what is the problem?
Ovidiu Florea Intre orasele pe care le recomandă este si Brașovul.
absolutelly true !!!! As a bulgarian i agree 100 % with the bad and good thing he just said.
The things you won't like part are either not what I experienced or are applicable to Western Europe as well. For example getting ripped off by cab driver will happen just about anywhere in Europe except maybe the UK.
when I traveled in Romania in 2007 I stayed at a guest house sort of thing. I am not sure how to call it... basically rural people renting out their house, with B&B services. There is an entire policy of developing agro-turism so more of these should pop up. I found it to be excellent quality at low price. You should try it.
the amount of shades he throws in this video is amazing!!!
Awesome video ! I'm from eastern Europe (Lithuania) and now I feel even more proud of my country :)
+Simas Bazevičius cccp
In Poland is planty of middle prize and.quality hotels
I'm still thinking about my vacation at the end of March. now I scratched eastern europe off , all I have is werstern europe which is expensive or Istanbul where I've been the past summer.
do you have any suggestion?
Thats nice that people are visiting eastern europe.
Aciu labai
yeah, but there is no wall separating Europe but there is a kind of mentality separations. I`m polish living close to german borders and I know we are different.
just a bit chilly in the winter ;)
I gotta say you have the best job on earth wish I could travel like you do
With the advent of AirBnB would you say there are still no good mid-range accommodations?
The James Bond movie with Bratislava in it was The Living Daylights from 1987, but what you see in the movie is actually Vienna :-)
taxi driver today in Riga 20 euros and should have been 5 euros. I found a great airbnb for 8 days $97 with washing machine. So, I am happy to have saved on washing machine money. I may go to Lithuania too. Watching your videos again to decide
+Angela Cummings have a great trip where ever you do end up. I lived in Lithuania for 3.5 years and had a real nice time. Hill of Crosses, Klaipeda/Nida then Vilnius if you want to drive down from riga and do kind of a circle (Vilnius would be the one place you really should check out)
+woltersworld Just arrived in Vilnius. I decided to go for it thanks. I remember a video you made on this earlier this year and I wanted that cheap food. My hotel is $20 a night and it should be ok. Going to Riga again in few days. Sometime I will go to Iceland. I enjoyed that video too
+Angela Cummings yeah it's shit, I'm from Latvia and don't understand why is it so hard to rein in these people, though it's not that hard to understand it... Corruption everywhere. I'd love to think that things are changing. What kind of taxi was it? I work at a Scandinavian bank and all our guests use the red taxis, also the green Baltic taxis should be fine, not doing these things. But I'm not sure...
Vilnius is great, it has this local, smaller town feel that I lack in Riga. Although Riga, of course, is not a big city, it's more flashy, it is more cosmopolitan, due to the large Russian and other Soviet ethnicity population, it's less friendly to people and the Old Town is now mostly for the tourists. I like that instead of 5-6 storey Riga Old Town, we have the 3 storey Vilnius Old Town and tons of locals there, more affordable prices and general atmosphere of the place.
+Angela Cummings when you are in Riga, don't take BalticTaxi 'cause they are very expensive (starting from 10-2o Euros) take Panda Taxi, the prices start from 2 Euros ;)
Overall race based attacks in Eastern Europe has fallen dramatically, however that does not mean there are none. But, Bratislava, Ljublijana you won't have any issues at all, Warsaw should be fine, Riga is turning into Eastern Europe Las Vegas so you all should be fine, where i would be a bit worried is moscow, but in all honesty if you are a tourists you will not get harrassed or at least should not. Though just keep your eyes open at night with drunk youths and you should be fine.
Do you recommend booking a flight and hotel to Bucharest on Expedia? I looked it up and the deal looks pretty damn good.
i have a top 10 central europe video and 5 love and hates of central europe and slovaki, czech and hungary are included. also, pretty much every guidebook puts htose countries into eastern europe. it is not me... i put you in central (hence why you are in the central europe videos too ;)
all the best!
Taxi drivers in Lithuania are exactly as described. This is a tourist trap. If you need to get to the city center from Vilnius airport, you should use train, and never taxi drivers that are waiting there. It will cost pennies and will take a few minutes. Also, you should call and book them via phone, as catching them in a street will cost a few times more, especially if you are not local.
not yet. was there before I started doing the travel videos :(
Great video, man. I've wanted to visit Romania for years since my grandfather's parents emigrated from there. It is cool to explore it on google's streetview for some armchair hiking now, though. The mountains are indeed breathtaking.
Greatings from Brasov.! Good list of bad and good points.
I don't think its a bad label we just don't do as much false advertising as Italy for example which proclaim themselves as kings in everything. Los Angeles for example is a complete dump from Malibu to Santa Monica but everywhere you check online and in media you will find only praises. No doubt we have to improve a lot of things but we are a pretty good tourist destinations with a lot to offer as it is.
CHeers! I appreciate it! ALl the best!
Dear Wolter u r doing Real
Good Job
I agree about service -= especially in a shop - just came back from Latvia, no one talks to you not even in Latvian "have a good day or thank you" they do not even tell you the price after they served you...they just point to the figure as if you're blind! etc - you finish shopping and leave basically. As you know in Western Europe and USA / Canada people say have a good day or thank you etc. in Eastern Europe they don't talk when they serve you - well cashiers at tills don't anyway - in fact some can be dead funny! The only adequate service I have experienced in shops are the touristy ones - like gift shops!
so if tourists cant find them... it means they don't exist to them... its like the old, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound, saying. If there are mid range hotels that tourists don't know about, does that mean they don't exist? a very typical marketing problem :) thanks fro the heads up!
Great video. Greetings from Poland!
Some good information, thanks.
This is great information...loving the charisma do more countries thanks ....ps the cons really do outweigh the pros it feels like but I might be wrong
In some cities in ex-Eastern Bloc countries (among them Moscow, Minsk and some cities in Poland, the ex-Czechoslovakia and the Baltic states), Uber is around; in others (among them cities in Moldova and Ukraine), there really is no alternative than to call a reputable taxi company. And, yes, English-language proficiency often isn't that good, either, particularly in Moldova, Transnistria and some Slavic countries.
Aciu labai!
Where exactly does eastern Europe begin? I always struggle with that. Is Poland eastern or central Europe? Do the Baltic states belong to eastern Europe? How about the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sloavakia, Croatia and Slovenia?
HunOrwell
Yeah but even then its not clear to me. Politically almost all slavic and baltic Countries in Europe belong to the EU/NATO. Culturally they were heavily influenced by the USSR and Yugoslavia. However the "Culture" transitions from east to west very fluently. Czech and Poland are certainly closer to germany and Austria then Russia, same goes for Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. Were do we draw the line?
Franz Ferdinand For the people in Germany eastern europe starts with poland and the czech republik. The east is seen as a little bit criminal(cars, robbery ..), they are among themselves. The countries seem not very modern, and the people do not have as good lifestandards as we have. You could also call them very conservative. The landscapes are beautiful and definitely worth a visit!
HunOrwell
"Allhough lets be honest, most of why these countries are poor because they werent rebuilt by the Marshall plan like West Germany and generally Western Europe, but were forced under Soviet style dictatorships. You can even see it in your country, Eastern Germany wasnt more poor because the people were different there."
Are you trying to convince me that Communism did not work? Newsflash: All Communist Countries ended in economical ruin, about 30 years ago....
"Hungary before the wars was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire co-governing with Austria. Allthough that is something very German, when i'd visit the Neitherlands or the Scandiniavian countries they are super open, German still have a superiority complex, but the same time they try to force this tolerant picture of them because the whole country lives with a mental complex since WW2. Little akward to be honest."
Ok this is a very difficult sentence.
I fail to see the connections here... so Austro-Hungaria was something very German? But the Netherlands and Scandinavian Countries are super Open??? And Germans have a superiority complex? Like what has openess to do with a superiority copmplex? And what has the superiority complex to do with tolerance. I can't see any relations between the statements you make in this sentence. But i can explain you how they are completly unrelated.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire central Europe. The Netherlands ans Scandinavian Countries are in Western Europe and Scandinavia. They are not Culturally nor histroically or politically related to each other in any way. The Culture in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was probably similar to the Culture in Austria and Hungary today. Non of which is Germany, while one indeed is "very german".
People in the Netherlands are considered to be super open, Amsterdam for instance is the #1 to go place for people on drug and sex trips. Noone expects reserved Conservatives there. For Scandinavians you are wrong. Ive talked to people from Denmark and Finland and both cultures do not appear to be naturally "open" they seem to be more reserved like Germans.
Germans having a superiority complex is completly unrelated to the openess of scadninavians and Dutch people.
Forcing a tolerant Picture of themselve also has absolutly nothing to do with having a superiority complex. A superiority is a Bogus term that different psychologists use for different things and i don't even know which you mean. However in any case it means either a complete lack of self worth or a belief in someones own superiorty, both of which have nothing to do with tolerance or the leck of tolerance. Someone could think of themselve as superior for his tolerance (like an average swedish person).
Germans are in a weird state because of a guilt complex and self loathe, reinforced by 70 years of propaganda which is conflicting with the fact that Germany is the most powerfull Country of Europe.
I have visited the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia in 2005, 2007, and 2012. My experiences in all six nations have been wonderful!
The service I received at restaurants was always courteous and they let me enjoy my meals in peace. I personally dislike American waiters and waitresses constantly interupting my meals to ask "Is everything alright?" over and over every two minutes. GO AWAY!
Most of my accomidations were sobes: rented rooms in the homes of locals. Keep in mind, this was years before Airbnb and Vrbo existed. My many hosts were wonderful people! Antonia and Francesko of Lake Bled, Slovenia --- I miss you both and your beautiful house ovrrlooking the lake so much! ❤
Don't use taxis , they are thieves , there is cheap fast train from the airport into city center (at least in Kraków for like 2-4 euros) Use Uber or main coroprations like Barbakan and agree to the price before you go. (I live there and still I would never use a taxi...) Public transport is great and cheap !
Man Mark in these older videos vs Mark in the most recent videos is a complete personality shift😂😂😂 love this channel
Hahaha this video is actually pretty funny, and my friend is from the Ukraine and travels all around Europe with her family. She says this video is dead-on! This guys has a lot of good videos. Here's another one I like... "Visit Italy: Ten Italian Phrases You Need To Know"... super helpful!
so just wondering? what do you think is a good amount of money (american) to save up to travle to eastern europe? for hmm lets say a week kind of an odd question lol
I go to Poland every year because my mom has family there. My mom is from the eastern part of Poland. My mom was born in Poland and I know fluent Polish. Polish is a very hard language to learn and I think that the grammar is very difficult. I also h think that the communist buildings are really cool and you go back in time from the modern day countries like Germany. You get a different feel that makes you come to the country again. It also shows you what people lived through when they lived in the communist era.
Very good and pretty acurate for a quick review. Being an Eastern European I approve it!
Many of us suffer daily from the very cons you're telling about.
Bytheway official name is not UFO bridge, nor is it used by locals. They either call it New Bridge (name that was accepted by folks, not official though till 90s, when it was built) or Bridge of Slovak National Uprising - SNP bridge - (which was and is against official name). UFO is just the name of restaurant atop of it.
hehehe Yeah, I think you are pretty much right about all the things you listed. I´m slovak (ish). Me and my husbnad do love to travel same way as you do, just enjoy the hidden gems.
when westerners say eastern europe they often mean the crappy part of europe...and let's be honest often they are right...although different regions or countries in the eastern part of europe currently go through different phases of economic development objectively speaking we as a region in europe still have a lot to do to fully catch up with the western europe (not to mention scandinavia which probably enjoys the highest standard of living and i am not sure if we ever catch up with them at the present rate)......the main problem are wages artificially kept at the lower lever in the eastern part of europe to "boost" economic development...if nothing changes this will probably go on for another 10-15 years...once wages equalize hopefully people from the eastern bloc won't have to immigrate to western europe and the perception of eastern europe in the west will slowly change......idk just my opinion...btw, i'm from poland
You said everything! Good luck for you all hugs from Portugal :)
Depends on what you mean by "crappy". I think western Europe is crappy compared to eastern Europe because western Europe is overrun by muslims and non-whites from Africa and Asia. I love Eastern Europe because it is most like Europe before multiculturalism/multiracialism.
you misunderstood, i said that westerners mean "crappy part of europe" when they think about eastern europe, that's not how i think about eastern europe...i don't know if they are overrun but it's clearly becoming a problem for them, especially in france, and germany, and scandinavia too (where the population is sparse)...hopefully they won't get fooled by political correctness and do something about that before it's too late...i love eastern europe too! i love poland, i love europe in general, it's the most diverse, rich and beautiful place on the face of this planet! definitely worth preserving!
I'm going to Eastern Europe which is Poland soon, Thank You for the tips
Hey, It looks like it's cold over there but when the girls come here forthe summer some of them wear skimpy tops and check showing skirts or daisy duke shorts. Is that how I should dress when I go there? LOL
I got into bratislava train station and the cheapest taxi i was being offered was 20 euros.... it was 2 euros on the bus
@woltersworld Can't really point out good/bad things for tourists, i can only agree or disagree with the points you'v made (with which i totally agree).
But i guess the most important thing for me was the nature, it doesn't sound like much but when i see kids hanging around malls and in front of PCs in western countries and compare to my semi-wild full of adventure childhood, i really start to fell lucky that i grew up in Russia.
Wow, you’ve been doing these videos for a really long time 😮 Can’t believe you don’t have a million subs by now