[QUOTE=Rayne Man]
Do you know the location of the one in southwest Poland?
[QUOTE=zagloba]
I can’t remember the name of the village but it’s southwest of Wrocław and the town of Kłodzko in Silesia. The village is right on the Czech border. In fact the border runs through the middle of the village. It’s ten years since we were there so it’s a bit hazy.
[QUOTE=Rayne Man]
Looks like it’s in the Czermna section of Kudowa Zdroj, but in my quick search I’ve found no information in English and only a couple of small photos. What took you to such an out of the way corner of the country?
[QUOTE=zagloba]
We were staying in the attractive spar town of Polanica Zdroy. This is one of several such spar towns in the area all originally developed by Germany when then were part of that country . In my opinion this is a forgotten and over-looked part of the country with very attractive scenery . A lot of Polish people seem to go there on vacation, not only to “take the waters” but to hike in the nearby hills.
Jodi, that sounds marvelous. I’ve been itching to get back to that part of Europe myself.
Even if you’re not an opera-lover, while you’re in Vienna I encourage you to catch a performance at the Staatsoper (the State Opera House) or the Volksoper (the People’s Opera House). When I was there, you could buy standing room tickets very inexpensively on the day of the performance. I saw Aida at the Staatsoper and Boris Gudunov at the Volksoper. Both performances were wonderful.
I liked the Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest. It was also a fascinating city just to walk around in. The food was great, too—spicy and rich.
Foodie stuff in Vienna:
Tips in general:
Many if not most of the better (not just fancy ones) resteraunts will be fully booked for dinner. The Viennese tradition is to keep a table for the entire evening, thus if a table is booked for 8pm, you will not be allowed to sit down there at 6:30. However, if you promise to leave by a certain time, you can often be seated even though they are fully booked.
None of the desserts in the coffeshops taste as good as they look. While they taste good, they look awsome.
Schnapps in Germany/Austria is not the near cough syrup americans think of...not really a liquour at all, more like flavored Vodka, and worth sampling.
You can’t leave Vienna without trying a Wienerschnizel. Nothing to do with hot dogs, and I never found a bad one. There are Gasthauses everywhere that serve them. Also most excellent Apfelstreudel.
If your at the Prater (where the big ferris wheel is) and feeling like you need lots more fat in your diet, the Schwizerhaus at the very end serves a mean Eisenbahn (deep fried hamhock) and REAL Czech Budwiser beer.
Speaking of Beer: The Siebenstern has an excellent Mischung (dark and light beer mixed, sounds dreadful, but it somehow works) and the best Tierramisu ever. Fisschebrau has the best Helles (light). The prettiest barmaids are at the Bierhof off the end of the Graben…they also serve a fried Kiwi dessert with icecream that is killer, and they serve Kalbsreiter braunes which is decent brown beer. Off the narrow allyway between the Graben and the Bierhof is a tiny irish pub. Go in there, have a pint of Guinness, and use the toilette. That toilette defies discription…you just have to see it.
The Vienese Wurstelstands (sausage stands) are everywhere, and I never found a bad one. Order a hot dog (comes in a hollow baugette) with either the Paprikawurst or Kaisekrainer. Beware the napalm-like chunks of melted cheese in the Kaisekrainer.
The Huerigens are famous. Vienese overwhelmingly drink Gruener Vertliener wine at these, which tends strongly toward the acidic. (translation: It is sour as hell!) Most off the other wines are good. Due to older tax laws, now preserved by tradition, the food a Huerigen is mostly what you’d expect at a deli.
I spent a long weekend in Prague, but the posts above have covered anything I could offer.
Kevbo, you’re killing me! I need to go to Vienna right now for wienerschnitzel and pastries. Unfortunately, I’ll just have to root around in my desk drawer for a stale granola bar instead. 
A year later than we expected, but we’re doing a Vienna (2 days*)/Budapest (3 days)/Prague (4 days) circuit next month. Woo hoo! Anyone who has anything else to add here is most welcome!
And Jodi–how did the trip go?
*Note “days” indicate full days and don’t include the partial days that we’ll have in each city before/after our train trip or plane flight
Tons of good suggestions in this thread. Prague and Vienna are two of my favorite cities. Try every Czech beer you can find (ignore Pilsner Urquell), particularly the Czech Budvar, as noted above. Soft pretzels! There is (or was) a restaurant in Vienna, on the Danube, that served the best damned dry-rub ribs I ever ate. The architecture in both cities is wonderful and the Charles Bridge is worth seeing alone. I agree with taking the tram from the Prater (in Vienna) to the church at the top of the hill. You can get off anywhere along the way that strikes your fancy, such as the wine joint I can’t remember the name of.
If you like a good cocktail, you have to go to Loos American Bar in Vienna. It’s a real classic place; small, dark, classy, top notch drinks. I went in on a lark, thinking it would be an “American Bar” in the sense of an Austrian take on TGI Fridays. Boy was I wrong. I guess American Bar means the bar is long and on one side of the joint.
When I went in, I was pleasantly surprised not to find a bunch of goofy trinkets on the wall. The barman acted like he knew me, which I thought was strange. After a while, he admitted he thought I was someone else… none other than Clint Eastwood’s son, who I apparently look like, and who apparently frequents the place.
I’ve drank in 36 countries by my count, and I can’t think of a bar I’d rather tip one back in.
Wow, only one day in Vienna. I was there for 8 days, and couldn’t see everything. If you appreciate the paintings of Klimt, don’t miss the Belvedere Palace, that has several of his works, including “The Kiss.” But the most fascinating place I visited was the Music Museum that fills an entire 6-floor building. It has some truly amazing hands-on stuff, including different ways of creating your own music. Then sample some authentic Viennese pastry at the Café Sacher Wien. And if you want to see some unique architecture, head for the Hundertwasserhaus . . . similar to the architecture of Gaudí in Barcelona.
For a day in Budapest, I’d definitely recommend the Fisherman’s Bastions as the view is terrific (similarly, you could try to get up to the Liberty Statue on the Buda side of the river). The Statue Park has some amazing stuff to see but I’d also try to fit in Heroes Square - which also puts you very close to the Szechenyi Spa which has some fantastic pools. One day there just isn’t enough!
Like pravnik, I am a former Prague expat (I like the term repat, by the way).
Prague is a great city for just a nice long walk as long as the weather is nice (and it should be crisp and cool in October). I would second more or less all the recommendations made so far - Wenceslas Square, Old Town, Charles Bridge, Mala Strana, and the Castle. St.Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle never failed to amaze me even after seeing dozens of cathedrals all over Europe. There is a little marketplace of stalls at Havelske Trziste that you’ll pass along your route where you can get handmade crafts/souvenirs/etc. Look out for pickpockets anywhere there are tourists.
I am also a big fan of the gigantic statue of Jan Zizka (sorry, don’t know how to make the hacek on the z!), but it’s a little out of the way. I’ve never been to the bar near there that Pravnik mentions, but Prague is full of great pubs, mostly off in side streets. Don’t be too tempted by the tourist bars on the main roads. If you like beer there is lots to try, like the great Czech Budvar. The food tends to be heavy, but I love the potato and garlic soup Bramborova, and the latke-like potato pancake Bramborak, both served in most pubs.
If you like the theatre at all I would heartily recommend catching a performance of Black Light Theatre. It’s really cool and I’ve never really seen it done anywhere else. Ta Fantastika and Lanterna are the two big companies as I recall, but there are lots of little ones too. Here’s a website that lists shows on in October - Prague Theatre in 2023 | Official Guide & Tickets | Prague Experience - but I personally wouldn’t bother buying tickets online. There is a booth that sells tickets to everything in the city that I think is on either Wenceslas Square or the street that intersects it, Na Prikope. Prague also has great and generally very affordable Opera and Ballet, the National Theatre, and marionette shows (never liked those so much, but they are pretty popular).
Jodi,
Do you have a guide book? I suggest Lonely Planet. Obviously, you do
need a map.
Two 'must do’s, everything else is a suggestion:
- Go to the baths (Fu:rdo") on your first day. If you do not go to
the baths until your second day, you will regret the time you could
have been checking out more baths. It is THE best thing
to do in Budapest. - Skip going to the Castle District (Va’r). It is touristy and
overrated. If you want to buy kitsch, go to the Great Market Hall (Nagy
Csarnak?), and I will recommend plenty of quintessentially Budapest-y
things below. It can waste a whole afternoon. Skip Va’ci Utca, too.
Well, walk up it once, quickly, and with your hand on your wallet.
Vorosmarty ter is pretty.
Baths:
- Szeczenyi (in the City Park (Va’ros liget)) is the best. After you
figure out the weird pay scheme and the lockers, you will emerge into a
courtyard with three large pools. Check out the two outer ones, and most
importantly notice that there are two doors in the back of the courtyard
which lead to all the mineral baths, sauna, steam room. Make sure you
find (and try) everything. You must go from 40C to 10C to 40C in quick
succession. It is awesome. On second thought, maybe you emerge from the
lockers into the mineral baths, in which case, don’t forget to check
out the outside pools! Very crowded on Saturday. - Gelle’rt is also good. Picturesque as fuck. Check every nook and
cranny. Again there is both an inside and an outside (with wave pool).
Mineral baths are gender specific and clothing optional (not creepy
though). - I like Luka’cs a lot, but it is hard to find, and harder to navigate
once inside. Renting a bathing cap is required and cumbersome. Do go
outside, AND find the mineral baths inside. Again, hard to figure out,
but well worth it. - Tip the locker attendants (100HUF?)
Hike up Gelle’rt Hill (hegy):
If you want a cool view from the top of Buda, skip the castle and do this.
Start at Gelle’rt Baths (or actually almost anywhere around the hill) and
walk UP. You cannot go wrong with this strategy. All paths go to the
Citadalla. Go into the Citadella (360 panorama view) and check out the
leaf lady outside. She is a monument to Soviet liberation of Budapest
from the Nazis. A bus takes you from near the Citadella to Villa’nyi U’t
(where I used to live), but it is more fun to walk down the steep face of
the hill (ie, toward the Freedom Bridge (Szaba’dsag Hid).
On the way up Gelle’rt (About 1 hour, plus a stop at the cave church):
- Cave church. There’s a freakin church in a freakin cave! You can see
it if you stand near the bath entrance, which, by the way, is around back
on the right. - Finnish embassy. What?
- Used-to-be Swedish Embassy. This is where Raoul Wallenberg housed
hundreds of Jews during WWII. I will direct you to a cool memorial below. - Nice garden/park near the top. Only if you happen to see it.
Near Gelle’rt:
- On Barto’k Be’la Ut, between Gelle’rt Te’r and the (Mo’ricz Zsigmond)
Ko:rte’r, there is a place called Marcello’s. Really good pizza.
Gourmet-ish. Some of the best food in town. I recommend the Bolognese,
and not the four cheese. - For authentic Hunky lunch, go to a place on the Ko:rte’r called
Wikinger’s (German for ‘viking’). Cafeteria style grossness. I wouldn’t
eat here if I was me. Or you.
Jewish Quarter: Start at the Great (Nagy) Zsinago’ga. Second largest in
the world. I went to Yom Kippur here with M—, and it was mostly empty.
I never took the tour, but you may want to. In any case, go around back
on the left, and you will see a memorial park with a crazy-cool silver
tree thing dedicated to Raoul Wallenburg. Facing the memorial, go down
the street behind you (Rumbach utca) (steet signs are usually on the
buildings). After about 1.5 blocks*, you will see (and easily miss) a
large abandoned synagogue on your right. [Optional: go on to Mada’ch
Imre U’t, turn right and have some tea at Kicsi a Vila’g Teaha’z (Small
World Tea House) where M— and I did much math.] *Turn left at Dob utca
here to eat at: Green’s on your left, or Dob pizza on your right. Greens
has authentic Hunky pub food (try fruit soup! Hunky specialty!), and Dob
has authentic Hunky street pizza (Make sure you order tomato sauce!).
Moszkva (Moscow) Te’r (square), which is a red metro stop and really ugly:
- Mine and M—'s all-time favorite food is Szent Jupa’t. Corner of
Retek and Fe’ny utcas. It has 4 entrances: courtyard seating, downstairs
pub seating, regular restaurant, and fast food window. The first 3 are
all the same menu. Enter on Fe’ny, just left of the fast food window. - Mammut (big shopping mall, with a good grocery in the basement. Worth
a gander.) - Crazy trip up the Buda Hills (2-3 hours, 6 modes of trasport,
beautiful views): Start at Moszkva Te’r. Take the #18 Tram (Villamos) 2
stops to Va’rosmajor. Get onto the Coggwheel railway, and take it to the
end. Walk 5 mins to find the Children’s Railway, actually run by
children! Take it to (I think) Ja’nos Hegy. Hike up (follow everyone
else) 20 minutes to the chairlift (libego"), but before you get on, hike
another 10 minutes to the lookout tower on top of the hill. After the
chairlift, take the bus (only one here) back to Moszkva Te’r. Again, this
sound weird, but it is really pretty, and worth the time.
Batthanyi Te’r:
4. At Batthya’ny Te’r (adjacent red metro stop to Moszkva Te’r) There is
a place called Nagyi Palacsinta. (Grammy’s yummy-best-hunky-food)
Palacsintas are crepes. Two kinds: savory (so’s) and sweet (e’des). Eat
for meal AND dessert. Did I mention best hunky food?. Ask for English
menu.
5. Facing Nagyi go left, then turn right at Markovits Utca. Little place
on your left is a good little typical restaurant. Also, Batthanyi Te’r
has one of the best views of the river.
Transport:
I would buy a 7-day transport pass, (not the BudapestKartya). It covers
EVERYTHING, except Children’s reailway, HEV (out of city limits), and
Siklo’. You then show it to anyone with a red ‘BKV’ armband. (Subway cars
and exits, and sometimes on the buses or trams they accost you.) The best
chocalate (csokolade’s) croissants in town are in Princess Bakery, a chain
located in most subway stations. More likely to be hot at rush hour.
Pickpockets are on the 4/6 tram and #7,7A,7Gy buses. (Gyors=fast,
Gyros=usually yummy, usually chicken)
Margi’t Island (Sziget):
Cute Island in the Danube (Duna) which is a park with no cars. All kinds
of cute. Rent a two seater bicycle thingy. Eat at a little Gyros stand
on your left just as you enter the island from Margit Bridge. (take the
4/6 tram) See the Japanese gardens in the back. See the monastery ruins.
Maybe, go to the baths here (I never did, and they are supposed to be
mediocre).
Most romantic:
Walk across the Sze’czen’yi Chainbridge (lanchid) at night.
Andra’ssy U’t/Yellow metro (every stop is pretty, except Mexicoi Ut):
[0. Vo:ro:smarty Te’r at the start of the yellow metro is pretty.]
- Definitely go to the Saint Stephen’s (Szent Istva’n) Basillica. Take
any metro to Dea’k Te’r, and this is on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky U’t, thought the
entrance is around back. Go inside and in the way-back, to the temple
of Saint Stephen’s 1000 year old mummified right hand (Szent Jobb
templom), and pay 100 HUF to light it up. Crazy-assed Catholics. Just
outside to door, pay to take the elevator to the top. (you will walk down)
Best view in Pest. - Walking up Andrassy U’t, you will pass the opera house (only 500
HUF!), Oktogon (Used to be Hitler Te’r, then Stalin Te’r), some nice cafes
(european coffee is good), I think one called Mu"ve’sz is pretty good.
Worth walking the length of the street, but take the Yellow M1 from
Oktogon to Hosok Tere if you are tired. - Near Oktogon is Liszt Ferenc Te’r. At the end of the block, on your
left, around the corner (I think) is the List Ferenc Zeneakademia
(Zene=music). They have concerts. See one. There is a nice cafe on
Liszt Ter, but the restaurants are too touristy.
4:
City Park:
Get off the yellow metro (also called the mellenium metro) at Ho:so:k
Tere. I would tell you who all the statues are, but whatever. Mostly
kings. Used to have a huge Stalin. Got torn down in ‘56. They would
parade the troops up this wide street past the statue! Walk straight back
into the park, on your right there will be a faux-castle on an island in a
lake. Cross the bridge, and see the statue of Anonymous, where Paul
Erdos’ crew did a lot of math. Walk a bit further and you will find
Szeczenyi baths, so go there again, why don’t you? The circus here has
elephants. Grey ones.
Parlaiment:
Blue metro to Kossuth Lajos Te’r. Walk to the opposite side of the
Building to entrance X. Come here once to find out when the fuck the
English tours are, cause they aren’t always, come again for the tour. I
don’t remember it being that cool, but L–, B—, and M— all said it
was one of the coolest things, and I’ve probably seen it too many times.
20-30 minute tour. See the coronation regalia! [Optional: Walk down
Ve’csey Utca to Szabadsa’g Te’r. On the way, not far from the Metro
station, there is a statue that I really like of a guy looking out from on
a small bridge. He is Imre Nagy, the leader of the '56 revolution. It’s
my favorite statue in town. (you will note by now that there are many) On
Szaba’dsa’g Te’r, you can find the building with guys with big ass guns,
and tell the American Govt that you’re in Europe]
National museum:
I get Museum feet, but the National Museum on Mu’zeum Ko:ru’t has a good
(2 hour?) crash course on Hungarian history. They are a bit touchy about
Trianon. Next door is a cafe called Muzeum (I think. I get it and
Mu"ve’sz confused), and if you walk past Kalvin Te’r to Va’mha’z Ko:ru’t,
you will see the big market hall on your left (second to last building
before the river), which is good for buying souvenirs, fresh produce and
meat, and having lunch. Definitely get a pastry called langos. You can
even walk across the bridge to get to Gelle’rt.
House of Terror:
On Andra’ssy U’t, there is a museum which is where the SS and the commie
secret police were HQed. about 2 hours. Really creepy. See other stuff
first. A bit gimmicky, too.
You probably already have lodgings, but I really liked this place last
summer
http://www.citycentreapartments.hu/english/index.html
(Near the Astoria red metro stop on Szentkiralyi utca)
On edit: My diacritical shorthands are o: for ö, u" for ű, e’ for é, etc.
Oh, and I spent a semester in Budapest, plus 2 weeks for a conference, plus 1 month later on for fun.
I lived in Prague too, and I’ll second anything **Pravnik **and Meyer6 have said. I wouldn’t advise going to Kutná Hora, though. Even when it’s not far away from Prague, getting there by public transport is something of a hassle and apart from the Ossuary and Saint Barbara’s Cathedral (Chrám Svaté Barbory) there’s not much to see so I wouldn’t waste valuable time going there.
I got two tips for drinking a pivo and one more for getting away from tourist hell. I’ll discuss drinking first.
- there’s a marvellous beer garden up on Letna hill, overlooking most of the city. It’s really an astonishing view. So, as Pravnik suggested, hike up to the Metronome and then take a right and after something like 500 meters you’ll hit the beer garden. Ask for the pivní záhrada if you need to.
- If you’re in the Vinohrady area (where you can visit the TV tower discussed in some recent thread I can’t seem to find), there’s a place in a park called ‘Riegerovy Sady’ which is nice.
The reason I’m recommending these places is that it can be nice to get out of the beer cellars and smoky places you usually end up in, and go outside. When you see outside places in the center of Prague, it’s usually a tourist trap and to be avoided (any place asking more than 30 crowns for half a liter of beer is too expensive) but these places are out of the center and combine being outside with drinking cheap beer.
If you want to get out of the thick of things, I can really recommend taking a metro (red line) down to Vyšehrad, just south of the center. It is an old castle, one of the oldest parts of Prague, as well as the place where, as legend has it, Libuše founded the city sometime in the ninth century. It’s nice and calm, it has the national cemetery where Antonín Dvořák is interred and it has a nice view over the river and the city.
Finally, I understand that you want to make as much of your time visiting Central Europe as you can, but you’re schedule is a bit crazy, frankly. If it were up to me, I’d skip Vienna and maybe also Budapest and focus on Prague, to get the most out of it. But that’s just me. Anyway, have a great time there, hope this helps. I meant to include google maps links to the places I mentioned but my computer is too slow - might get round to it later. PM me if you have more questions.
While in Prague, try a shot of Becharovka (spelling may be off, but pronounced bek-a-rove-ka). Potent stuff, try not to make a face.
My husband and I live in Budapest. We can heartily recommend Radáy Utca in the IX District. It has 28 or 29 restaurants and many of them not touristy. Most of these restaurants have outdoor seating and the street life is dynamic and charming.
If you want any additional information, just PM me. Have a great trip.
I will definitely take you up on that, legalsnugs, when things get a little closer (we’ve got another trip before that one).
Thanks to everyone who’s added their thoughts and experiences since I revived the thread. Keep 'em coming!
One final pre-departure bump. 
Have a wonderful time, ArchiveGuy, and report back!
Since you asked, my trip was 100% awesomeness from start to finish, and I hope yours is the same.