Europe in Two Weeks – Part II

We are going on a 340 kilometre long way to Prague, Czech Republic. You can stop at Brno in a pub Blahovka where you will see people standing in line to by a glass of beer or go for lunch to Vietnamese neighbourhood Oloumucka and enjoy in exotic culinary. After a great lunch, continue your way to the beautiful Prague where you will find a lot of interesting things. If you want some cultural education, check free entrances that are offered by museums. National Museum offers free entrance twice a month and the dates are changing. Seeing Czech symphonic orchestra will cost you a fortune but you will still hear some European classics just walking through the city. You will be able to enjoy in a beautiful view on the city near monastery Strahov on the one side of hill Petrin and on the other side you will find beer gardens, picnic places and a sunset. Enjoy in a picnic and try local cheese tvaroh (cottage cheese) and bryndza (goat milk cheese) from the local market. Brewery U Fleku is producing beer for over 500 years and its beer garden, live music and cabaret have made it even more popular. A beer will cost you 2 Euros, and you can also find a map of the cheapest beer in Prague on the website nelso.com. This way you will be able to save some money for two nights. One night at a hostel Advantage will cost you around 10 Euros.

After Czech beer relaxation we go to Berlin that is 360 kilometres away from Prague, which means that a 4,5 hour drive will call for a good book or a good radio station. Berlin is a city of bridges. It has 1700 of them and easily beats Venice with that number. If you like philharmonics, you will be amazed as you can see them every Tuesday for free. If you don’t have enough of culture already, you can buy a ticket for 24 Euros that allows you an entrance to more than 50 Berlin museums. You can get the view from the Reichstag and save some money that you’d spend for a view from the TV tower. Walk by the Berlin Wall and visit Checkpoint Charlie, a famous border control or admire the graffiti and pictures, painted at the east side when the wall was demolished. Do you like to sing? Flea market Mauerpark is the place for you, as people like to sing karaoke there. If you’re hungry, go to markets Kreuzberg, Kollwitzplatz or Markthalle Neun, a historic market that is even more fun on Thursdays when they celebrate international street cuisine. Berlin Youth Hostel International will cost you around 24 Euros a night but Berlin truly is the city where you must spend a little more time and breathe the energy of this unique city.

After four days in this wonderful city it is time to travel back to Slovenia but you can visit a few places on the way there. You can go to Lake Constance, to Friedrichshafen. Why this stop? Because of the beautiful lake Constance that lies on the border between Germany, Austria and Switzerland and offers beautiful landscape with 270 kilometres of coast. Near Konstanz that is a possible destination for a day trip lie many islands that you can visit with ferries or by car as many are connected with bridges. Hiking and biking enthusiasts can go to Constance hiking path that will lead you through natural reserve and towns Lindau, Konstanz and islands Reichenau and Mainau. If you like adrenalin, you can go surfing, windsurfing, wakeboarding, sailing, sup-ing and more. You will also find some hostel near the lake that will cost you around 30 Euros per night so I recommend HI hostel Friedrichshafen. If you want some romance after an adrenalin kick, you can visit the castle Neuschwanstein. This castle is one of the most popular castles in Europe. It is visited by 1,4 million people and for a reason. The castle couldn’t be more magical. It is supposed to showcase the love of Ludwig II. to Wagner’s operas so you can see romantic, gothic and byzantine styles of architecture in one building.

Only one more stop is waiting for us. Salzburg is part of Unesco’s world heritage sites and is a city of salt, Mozart and surprisingly Red Bull. Even the old city centre is worth a visit for at least a day. The old city was transformed from medieval city to a baroque masterpiece by Vincenzo Scamozzi. The heart of the city is a cathedral, surrounded by three squares, writes Telegraph. Salzburg is also a city where movie The Sound of Music was filmed so you can jump on the same stairs as Marie Von Trapp’s children in the gardens of Mirabell palace while singing the famous “Do Re Mi”. But maybe get some musical education before singing on the stairs and get to know Mozart’s birth house that is now a museum. I’m not saying that learning about music will give you a talent for singing on the stairs, but it may give you the courage. Mozart wrote his famous The Magic Flute in the cottage Zauberflötenhäuschen in the gardens in Vienna. This house also has an interesting history. Mozart was locked into this cottage by Emmanuel Schikaneder because he wanted to make sure that Mozart will meet all his deadlines. The cottage was moved from Vienna to Salzburg in the gardens of Mirabell mansion. You can find an accommodation in the hostel Aigner Strasse, which offers free parking area, vicinity of city centre and many more.

 

A car hire with a gas for 14 days of unforgettable trip across Europe will cost you 600 Euros. If four people take this trip, it will cost them 150 Euros per person. If you have a Hostelling International member card that offers 10 % discount on accommodation, sleep in hostels and enjoy some culinary treats this is going to be a trip worth trying and won’t empty your pocket completely. Don’t forget to take an audio book, some pillows and blankets, first aid or some board games with you. Travel and enjoy your life.