Deb, Brett, Jodi and Jessica at a rest stop with a view in Slovakia, on our way from Poland to Hungary.
AHOJ!Ahoy, hello and a warm welcome to my scrapbook highlighting my Rick Steves Best of Eastern Europe tour with my husband Brett, mother-in-law Deb, and sister Jessica. I had a ton of fun creating this scrapbook and reliving all of our amazing travel memories. The pandemic prevented us from traveling to Europe the previous 2 summers, but we were determined to travel this summer and are so glad we did as we had an amazing time! We were so very lucky to travel! I'll be sharing both the everyday and amazing moments of our trip, and what made them special to us. So let's get this party started!
The Astronomical Clock on the Old Town Square of Prague, the starting city of our tour. |
Why Rick Steves?
Brett, myself and Deb in Trier Germany on our last RS tour - Germany/Austria/Switzerland or GAS!
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Well, Brett and I have been on two other RS tours (Greece and GAS) and Deb one other (GAS) and they were both fabulous! So, not wanting to travel independently for this trip why not an RS tour is really the question? What factors go into us deciding to do an RS tour? First of all for us personally it is whether or not we want and feel able to do the trip on our own. 6 countries in 2 weeks was not really something I wanted to have to plan myself so RS it was. The big plusses? Transportation and hotels are taken care of for you, you get to see the biggies in each area, you have guided tours so you know what you are looking at, no lines, and you still have free time to do what you really love and can personalize that time to your interests.
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Scrapbook Navigation & FeaturesI have done this scrapbook chronologically, with a Welcome page (this one) to start out and a Final Thoughts page to wrap things up. At the bottom of each page is a button that will take you to the next page. If you'd like to jump out of sequence just use the drop-down words at the top.
In addition to all of the amazing parts of our tour this scrapbook also has: * Links to websites which are in green underline. Clicking on those words will take you to a separate website page. * Image of the day with an explanation of why. They won't be the most stunning pictures, just the best pictures to encapsulate a special moment from each day. * Practicalities - laundry, packing, bus, electronics, tap pay w/ a CC. * Pro-tips: Highlighted in green will hopefully help you out if you are ever in these locations. |
Meet The Travellers
DebDeb is Brett's mom and a retired librarian. She is a generous soul with a great love of family (ie awesome grandmother!) and enthusiasm for travel. She first traveled with her grandmother back in the early 70's upon college graduation doing Europe's must sees, and is still at it. She came with us on our last RS tour - Germany, Austria, and Switzerland - where we ended on our own in Prague. When I mentioned that maybe our next one should be the Best of Eastern Europe she thought it would be different enough from GAS and cool to start in Prague where we ended our last trip. She is an easy going traveler who likes to extend our travel day with things like amazing concerts.
Deb ringing the bell in the church on the island in Lake Bled, Slovenia. |
BrettBrett is a financial analyst who started traveling with his mom in high school and caught her love of travel. He is a great on the road problem solver, and is an easy going traveler. He thoroughly enjoys wine tasting, ruined castles, music, hiking, and history while traveling. Brett and I met while study abroad students in England, and we haven't been able to stop traveling together since!
Brett in the opulent interior of the recently refurbished State Opera House in Budapest, Hungary. |
JessJess is a Multilingual Learner Teacher at a dual language school. She is a less experienced traveler than the rest of us. Her first trip over the pond was with me as a birthday celebration to England and Wales in 2017. She wanted to come on this trip to see Auschwitz and the other Holocaust and WWII related sites.
Jess on the Charles Bridge with Prague Castle in the background in Prague, Czech Republic. |
Jodi I am an educational aide for 4th grade and the author of this scrapbook. I suggested the Best of Eastern Europe tour as I love this area of Europe with so much to see that pertains to my degree in History and Masters in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. I want to see the places history has happened. I am an avid amateur photographer and travel planner extraordinaire! Travel is my passion & I am always planning my next trip, which currently is RS Sicily & Rome on our own, June 2023.
I am on one of the boardwalks that crisscross the waterfalls and lakes of stunningly beautiful Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. |
Planning Our Tour!
RS is very generous with their free time on the tour so you will have some time that you aren't with your tour mates that you will want to have an idea of what you want to do. You can always rely on your guide for suggestions, but I find it helpful to figure out some ideas ahead of time so that if I need tickets beforehand etc...I can readily get those. And, if you spend extra time in Europe before or after your tour (which I highly recommend), then you'll need to plan that time too. I of course use the RS guidebooks, but also go to websites, and ask more specific questions on the RS forum. Plan the must do's, but also have some time that's negotiable for the serendipitous moments that pop up! |
Our Wonderful Group!We had 22 tour members from all parts of the country including Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, California, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Texas. We had couples, families, singles and sisters and we all learned from each other and our shared experiences!
Our group sitting on the steps of the island in Lake Bled, Slovenia. |
Traveling Internationally During Covid
A word about traveling during Covid. The federal requirements of having a negative test for coming back into the US were dropped 2 days before we hopped on our plane to Prague, which thankfully meant we didn't have to worry about getting home. RS still required us to have a negative Covid test to join the tour (we all did), wear our masks on the bus (we all did without complaint), and if we were to get sick and test positive we would have been done with the tour which would have been pro-rated for us (we all made it to the end). Also, just a helpful recommendation really going forward (we will be doing this for our upcoming Sicily tour) - wear your mask on the plane.
A word about traveling during Covid. The federal requirements of having a negative test for coming back into the US were dropped 2 days before we hopped on our plane to Prague, which thankfully meant we didn't have to worry about getting home. RS still required us to have a negative Covid test to join the tour (we all did), wear our masks on the bus (we all did without complaint), and if we were to get sick and test positive we would have been done with the tour which would have been pro-rated for us (we all made it to the end). Also, just a helpful recommendation really going forward (we will be doing this for our upcoming Sicily tour) - wear your mask on the plane.
Brett and I with Peter on the boat during our hike in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.
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Peter, Our Fearless Leader!Peter is from Budapest and was a wonderful guide for our adventures through, as he explained, what is really the Heart of Europe. Though we Americans think of it as Eastern Europe it is really more centrally located within Europe and is therefore its' heart. After taking this tour with Peter, we couldn't agree more!
Peter has an incredible knowledge of the history of the area that he shared with us and thoughtfully answered our questions about. He knew just where to send us for special meals (or strudel for Brett), and always had a wonderful quote when needed. |