CONTENTS 3 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO EASTERN EUROPE 24

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1 CONTENTS LIST OF MAPS 1 THE BEST OF EASTERN EUROPE 1 1 The Most Unforgettable Travel Experiences The Best Hotel Splurges The Best Hotel Bargains The Best Festivals & Celebrations The Best Outdoor Activities vii 6 The Best Local Dining Experiences The Best Museums The Best Towns & Villages The Best Local Beer & Wine INTRODUCING EASTERN EUROPE 14 1 The Region Today PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO 3 PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO EASTERN EUROPE 24 1 Visitor Information Entry Requirements Getting Your Passport in Order When to Go Holidays, Celebrations & Events Getting There & Getting Around Eastern Europe Money & Costs Health Safety Specialized Travel Resources Sustainable Tourism Frommers.com: The Complete Travel Resource Packages for the Independent Traveler Escorted General-Interest Tours...39 Discovery on Foot Special-Interest Trips Staying Connected Tips on Accommodations Tips on Dining COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

2 iv 4 BULGARIA 45 CONTENTS EASTERN EUROPE 1 Getting to Know Bulgaria Planning Your Trip to Bulgaria Fast Facts: Bulgaria Sofia Fast Facts: Sofia A Great Day Trip: The Village of Koprivshtitsa Walking Tour: Cathedrals to Markets The Rila, Pirin & Rhodope Mountains Getting to Know Croatia Suggested Itinerary: The Dubrovnik Area in 10 days Planning Your Trip to Croatia Fast Facts: Croatia Dubrovnik Fast Facts: Dubrovnik Who Is St. Blaise? Walking Tour: Dubrovnik s Stradun Excursions from Dubrovnik The Rest of Southern Dalmatia Split Scary Monsters: Freddy, Eat Your Heart Out Drinking Wine with Six Fingers Manolev Plovdiv & the Valley of the Kings Veliko Tarnovo & Environs Varna & the Black Sea Coast The Art of Travel The Danubian Plain CROATIA 118 Korčula & Brač Diocletian s Palace Zipping Through Zadar Istria & the Kvarner Gulf Region Church of St. Fosca (Sveti Foška) Grisia Street Standouts Rijeka s MorčićI The Kvarner Islands Zagreb Using Croatian Telephones Fast Facts: Zagreb Let There Be Light Plitvice Lakes National Park THE CZECH REPUBLIC Getting to Know the Czech Republic Planning Your Trip to the Czech Republic Fast Facts: The Czech Republic Prague Fast Facts: Prague Inexpensive Meals on the Run Walking Tour: Old Town (Staré Město) A Romantic Getaway Není Pivo Jako Pivo: There s No Beer Like Beer

3 4 Bohemia Spa Cures & Treatments A Renaissance Pub Endures Keeping Up with the Schwarzenbergs: Visiting a 141-Room English Castle Plzeň s Claim to Fame Moravia v 7 HUNGARY Getting to Know Hungary Planning Your Trip to Hungary Fast Facts: Budapest Budapest Statues, Which Statues? Gellért Hill (Gellért Hegy) Thermal Bathing Walking Tour: The Castle District Contemporary Hungarian Art Lights the Spark Budapest s Youthful Designers The Millennium City Center The Danube Bend The Lake Balaton Region Herend: Home of Hungary s Finest Porcelain An Excursion to the Thermal Lake in Hévíz Northeastern Hungary Southern Hungary EASTERN EUROPE 8 POLAND Getting to Know Poland Planning Your Trip to Poland Fast Facts: Poland Warsaw Łódź Olsztyn & the Mazurian Lakes Hitler s Wolf s Lair Oh, Give Me a Home, Where the Bison Still Roam Kraków The Rest of Malopolska Silesia Gdańsk & the Baltic Sea Coast Sopot Słowiński National Park CONTENTS 9 ROMANIA Getting to Know Romania Suggested Itinerary: Romania in 10 to 12 Days Roma: Dancing to Their Own Tune Fast Facts: Romania Planning Your Trip to Romania Bucharest Fast Facts: Bucharest Hey, Big Spender! Staying in Bucharest s Glitziest Digs Room With a View Understanding the Orthodox Church Wallachia Transylvania Vlad & the Epic Mythology of Count Dracula

4 vi Hobnobbing with Royalty: Romania s Finest Village Stay Bird s-eye Views Will the Real Dracula s Castle Please Stand Up? The Saxon Churches of Transylvania Crişana & the Banat Adventures in the Apuseni Mountains Touring the Revolution Maramureş The Wooden Churches of Maramureş: A Field Guide Moldavia & the Painted Churches of Bucovina A Night in the House of Stags Northern Dobrogea: Romania s Black Sea Coast & the Danube Delta CONTENTS EASTERN EUROPE 10 MOSCOW & ST. PETERSBURG Getting to Know Moscow & St. Petersburg Planning Your trip to Moscow & St. Petersburg Moscow Fast Facts: Moscow Getting to Know Slovakia Planning Your Trip to Slovakia Fast Facts: Slovakia Bratislava Western Slovakia & the Malá Fatra Malá Fatra National Park Banya Bliss Walking Tour: Historic Moscow St. Petersburg Fast Facts: St. Petersburg Walking Tour: St. Petersburg Highlights SLOVAKIA The High Tatras & Eastern Slovakia A Good Walk Rafting on the Dunajec Spišský Hrad The Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art SLOVENIA Getting to Know Slovenia Planning Your Trip to Slovenia Fast Facts: Slovenia Ljubljana Fast Facts: Ljubljana The Julian Alps (Julijske Alpe) Vršič Pass: The Drive of Your Life The Karst & Slovenia s Tiny Sliver of Coast Exploring Eastern Slovenia Slovenia s Undiscovered Southeast INDEX 692 General Index Accommodations Index Restaurant Index

5 LIST OF MAPS Eastern Europe Bulgaria Sofia Lodging, Dining & Attractions Walking Tour: Cathedrals to Markets Croatia Dubrovnik Lodging, Dining & Attractions Walking Tour: Dubrovnik s Stradun Zagreb Lodging, Dining & Attractions The Czech Republic Prague Lodging & Dining Prague Attractions Walking Tour: Old Town (Staré Město) Hungary Budapest Lodging, Dining & Attractions Walking Tour: the Castle District Poland Warsaw Lodging, Dining & Attractions Kraków Lodging, Dining & Attractions Romania Bucharest Dining & Lodging Bucharest Attractions Western Russia Moscow Lodging, Dining & Attractions Walking Tour: Historic Moscow St. Petersburg Lodging, Dining & Attractions Walking Tour: St. Petersburg Highlights Slovakia Bratislava Lodging, Dining & Attractions Slovenia Ljubljana Lodging, Dining & Attractions