Bucharest, Bratislava, Budapest??

rebelccfc

Anyone been to any of these places?

3 of us thinking of heading away for a weekend soon.

Are they safe? Also, any other good vities in eastern europe to go to?

Thanks

undo

They may all start with the letter B... but these are vastly different cities. Budapest is safe and an interesting place to visit. Bratislava is safe but much smaller and so might not keep you busy as long. Bucharest is a completely different story. Tourism is far less developed and there are some rather shady areas. But it is also an amazingly fascinating place. The huge palace, the never finished huge boulevards, the churches that have been literally moved out of the way of grand construction projects...

I personally loved exploring Bucharest. But if you are not adventurous and experienced with traveling around Eastern Europe, it is probably not a good destination for you.

Lifelike

If you go to Bratislava you must go on a day out to Vienna. It's only 50 minutes away by train from Bratislava, and the fares are very cheap. Vienna is one of the nicest cities I've ever been in and it would be sad for you to miss it if you go to Bratislava.

Airline fares to Bratislava are normally very cheap, however expect to pay more to go to Budapest or Bucharest.

bills

i would really reccomend budapest. Great city with loads to do. Have not been to the others.

irishh_bob

bills wrote: »

i would really reccomend budapest. Great city with loads to do. Have not been to the others.

nice city , shame about the people

P. Breathnach

irishh_bob wrote: »

nice city , shame about the people

I never found anything much wrong with Hungarian people.

I can't comment on Bucharest, as I haven't been there.

The old town in Bratislava is nice, but relatively small. I am told that the rest of the city, which I did not see, is a bit grim. My impression is that it is more suited to a day trip (from Vienna) than a weekend.

Cavehill Red

Bratislava - grim.
Bucharest - dodgy, dangerous and an utter craphole, I'm afraid to say.
Budapest - stunning imperial capital with amazing architecture, open air hot baths, wonderful restaurants and bars, and just as inexpensive as the other two.
This choice is a no-brainer, OP.

Boom_Bap

I was in Bucharest recently and thought it was great. As undo said earlier, tourism is seriously underdeveloped, it took us about 2 hours to find a map. But it's a facinating place, old buildings mixed with new buildings mixed with communist stuff give it a really unique image.

People by in large are friendly but there are a few dodgy areas. if you have your wits about you you should be grand there. If you do go, stay away from the train stations at night, lots of didgy folk around them. Although i didnt have any problems, i did increase my pace a few times and crossed streets to avoid some charaters, in particular the teenage glue sniffers around the train stations. But they are far too out of thier heads to do anything

There is also a lively bar area which is really cool. I'd highly recommend Bucharest.

irishh_bob

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Bratislava - grim.
Bucharest - dodgy, dangerous and an utter craphole, I'm afraid to say.
Budapest - stunning imperial capital with amazing architecture, open air hot baths, wonderful restaurants and bars, and just as inexpensive as the other two.
This choice is a no-brainer, OP.

wonderfull restaraunts in budapest :eek: , hungarian food is regarded by most as universally awfull , mcdonalds is seen as fine dining in hungary

undo

irishh_bob wrote: »

hungarian food is regarded by most as universally awfull , mcdonalds is seen as fine dining in hungary

You might have had a horrible experience in Budapest. I guess that happens even though it is very unfortunate.

But deciding that because of that, all things Hungarian must be terrible is a bit much. Hungarian cuisine can be excellent. Other dishes will be less exciting. That is normal. Try going to Liszt Square, visiting one of the better restaurants and then reevaluating your opinion.

P. Breathnach

irishh_bob wrote: »

wonderfull restaraunts in budapest :eek: , hungarian food is regarded by most as universally awfull , mcdonalds is seen as fine dining in hungary

Perhaps you should be upfront and admit that your dislike of Hungary and Hungarians is based on something other than tourist experience.

I have had some very enjoyable meals in Budapest, in places that range from the top-of-the-market Gundel's to a stall in the Central Market where you eat while standing at a counter (if you find it, try the stuffed goose leg, a Hungarian specialty).

irishh_bob

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Perhaps you should be upfront and admit that your dislike of Hungary and Hungarians is based on something other than tourist experience.

I have had some very enjoyable meals in Budapest, in places that range from the top-of-the-market Gundel's to a stall in the Central Market where you eat while standing at a counter (if you find it, try the stuffed goose leg, a Hungarian specialty).

so you have to be a tourist to be allowed dislike a place or people , i dont like the tone of your post , you snidely insinuate that i had some sinister dealings in budapest and as such , have unwarranted criticism of the place

P. Breathnach

irishh_bob wrote: »

so you have to be a tourist to be allowed dislike a place or people , i dont like the tone of your post , you snidely insinuate that i had some sinister dealings in budapest and as such , have unwarranted criticism of the place

I invited you to explain your dislike, because from previous discussions here I believe that you do not have an ordinary tourist perspective on Budapest. I infer that you made an investment that was not satisfactory to you, and I suspect that your attitude might have been coloured by that.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58090127&postcount=12
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58600311&postcount=7

irishh_bob

P. Breathnach wrote: »

I invited you to explain your dislike, because from previous discussions here I believe that you do not have an ordinary tourist perspective on Budapest. I infer that you made an investment that was not satisfactory to you, and I suspect that your attitude might have been coloured by that.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58090127&postcount=12
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58600311&postcount=7

you meet the same people while in budapest as a tourist as you do when buying or selling a property , hungarians

undo

This thread could probably do with closing by a mod. It is very sad how a simple and reasonable question has been turned into Hungarian-bashing by irishh_bob.

Shzm

I'd recommend Bratislava.. you could spend a day there, then another in Vienna which is a quick enough trip by train.

2 birds 1 stone and all that.

Cavehill Red

irishh_bob wrote: »

wonderfull restaraunts in budapest :eek:

Yup, loads of them, and pretty damn cheap too.

irishh_bob wrote: »

hungarian food is regarded by most as universally awfull

By most what? Goulash, Beef paprika and the aforementioned stuffed goose leg all rate as some of the world's classic dishes.

irishh_bob wrote: »

, mcdonalds is seen as fine dining in hungary

By whom? American tourists? 12 year olds?
To be honest, I'm doubting if you've been out and about in Budapest at all. The nightlife is excellent, the clubs buzzing, the bars good fun, the food superb, the restaurants splendid and everything much, much cheaper than at home.
Good wine to be had too, I hasten to add.

Edit: Having now viewed this post: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58600311&postcount=7 - it now seems that the person who considers McDonalds to be fine dining is actually you.

John C

rebelccfc wrote: »

Anyone been to any of these places?

3 of us thinking of heading away for a weekend soon.

Are they safe? Also, any other good vities in eastern europe to go to?

Thanks

Hopefully this is in time. I've been to Budapest and Bratislava.
Budapest was great. Downtown hotel near the Danube was 50€/night with breakfast. Service in restaurants was fine. It was in September during a heat wave. People were great.

Bratislava was fine. It is the smallest capital city in mainland Europe I visited. It had all I needed in walking distance. Prices and service were great.

Vienna was different. It is much bigger. The bus tour was references to Mozart, composers, emperors, soldiers from the past. A modern sight was the OPEC office. The hotel was in the suburbs near a train station. It and its people were grand. The owner was Austrian, most staff were ex Yugoslavian.

Other East European cities are Prague and Warsaw.
In Prague the restaurant service and food were brilliant. The bill was a suprise; it costed half my usual. That was in 1995.

Pilsen, Budweiser and Klatovy in the Czech Republik were also super.

Warsaw was also fabulous in 2004. This is a large city. This time I drove around Warsaw. My German registered car did NOT antagonise the locals despite hearsay from buddies. The hotel building was not great. Service was grand. Prices are less then in Germany. This was my first encounter with the polish language. I could not infer the meaning from word similiarities like I did in Italy and France. This was a part of the break for me. Few people had either English or German

Another polish town is Wraclow/Breslau on the river Oder.

I found all of these cities quite safe. I was in the city centre and main roads.

Tordelback

I'll pile in here too, in Budapest's defence.

I had one of the best meals of my life in a restaurant in Budapest - we still talk about it more than a year later - as well as the most elaborate hotel breakfast I've ever encountered, anywhere. I also had some pretty uninspiring stuff in another restaurant, some yummy stall-bought fritter/pancake things in a market, and some of the most delicious cakes I've ever eaten in several cafes. A mixed bag, but the good more than outweighed the mediocre, and the value was great.

The city was fascinating to look around, the public transport unbelievably flexible and efficient, and the range of thermal baths was just magic. Most of the people we met were helpful and friendly, a few weren't - and most of the latter were at Ryanairs check-in desk in the airport, but that's a corporate policy that's hardly Hungary's fault.