Central Europe Trip
[01] Context
This was a very well planned trip and by that I mean planned and booked about a week before. Yet it worked out too well, with much lore. The entire trip including all the hostels, transport including flights, food, literally everything came to a grand total of around £1150, peak budgeting honestly...
I have had to compress the pictures and videos so much to have them all be on the same webpage, my optimisation is likely not as optimised as it could be, but its a good start. I think the quality is still pretty decent though.
I'd say the best city here is Vienna without a doubt and the worst is certainly Zagreb (sorry, but also not really).
Sparkling water was also accidentally bought a total of too many times
[02] Berlin, Germany
Berlin was honestly not as bad as people make it out to be, apart from a gypsy throwing a glass bottle at me, it was decent. Although, most the interesting history has been removed.
Potsdam is a must if you visit Berlin, I went to Sanssouci Palace where the grounds are honestly massive. Not too sure if the ticket is worth it to see the interior though, was very short and nothing felt too extraordinary, I prefered the exterior.
It seems too that Germany loves slides? There was a slide in one of the Berlin shopping centres, I was also told that there is a slide in the Technical University of Munich...? Sadly the slide was shut at the time I was there
[03] Dresden, Germany
Dresden's very beautiful despite being completely obliterated during WWII, the Frauenkirche which I've labelled was reconstructed stone by stone and only re-consecrated in 2005. Would definitely recommend two days, as there are also other great stuff nearby like Pillnitz Castle, Mortizburg Castle or Bastei Bridge, I'd definitely return to visit those in the future.
[04] Prague, Czechia
Very nice city, I think its maybe a little overrated but it isn't bad by any means. Very very dense with people, especially Brits, very many of them. Also its definitely not as cheap as people make it out to be either, but you can get good priced meals as long as you don't go to tourist traps. Would recommend though.
[05] Bratislava, Slovakia
Very mixed feelings on Bratislava, it's nice enough for a day trip, but nothing more really. The castle is the main attraction really. Did find a soviet memorial statue though, very brutalist Stalinist architecture, very cool, especially given the stormy clouds. Did piss it down on the way back though.
[06] Vienna, Austria
Certainly the best city out of all, Vienna is a masterpiece. Vienna is full of mindblowing architecture and has genuinely so much you can do. Definitely could've spent longer than three days, I definitely plan to return in the future. The coffee shops are genuinely perfect too, you get given a glass of tap water with your coffee, this should be the global standard. The apfelstrudel was way too delicious, pricey though. Then the flak tower remains in a park, I'm glad they kept it, the structure is uncomparable.
[07] Slovenia
Slovenia is a genuinely underrated country. The landscape is honestly breathtaking. Ljubljana was decent but really wasn't anything special, it can be generally done in a day. But taking a day trip to Lake Bled is well worth it, you can go for a small little hike to get to vantage points that give you a great overlook of the lake. Additionally, you can also rent a row boat for quite cheap and row to the church in the middle. I'd definitely return, I didn't have enough time to see the Vintar Gorge or Bled Castle.
[08] Croatia
Zagreb was genuinely the worst city on the trip. There really is not a lot there, I would not recommend visiting, on the last day I got more enjoyment from staring at a fishtank for an hour. The only attractions really are St. Mark's Church, which has the tiled roof and the Cathedral of Zagreb which has had scaffolding for over 35+ years... it's become a running joke to the locals.
On the flipside, you can visit the Plitvice lakes, it is genuinely very beautiful but unfortunately ram-packed with people. I think if you want to visit Croatia, cities like Split may be a better bet... honestly looks nicer than Zagreb, sorry for the shade.
