The first step in figuring out our summer plans is researching if it’s even feasible for us to take a family trip somewhere in Europe or if that will break the bank. We also want to go back to Crete in the fall, but maybe I’m being optimistic to think we can afford to do both. Josh was thinking it would be fun to go to England and Ireland and I was ready to start drinking tea and practice eating crumpets until I looked into it and found it’s number one on the list of most expensive tourist destinations in Europe. Nope.
So I thought, “how about we try the opposite of that?” and I googled cheapest countries in Europe. And then I had to get out a map, because I hadn’t heard of a bunch of them. But hey, two of the most beautiful places in the world are ones I had never heard of before we went there: Oman and Cappadocia. It might be worth a shot.
I bought an Eastern European guidebook (on its way from Amazon right now) because I’m not sure how to decide where to go. Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Macedonia (that’s a real place?) all mean nothing to me. Italy: I think of pasta and wine country, the Vatican and Venice. France: cafes and the Eiffel tower, Tour de France and fashion. Croatia??? Nothing. Slovenia??? No associations at all. I think it must be cold there because they both sound Russian and just like in Rocky 4 all Russians wear fur coats and hats, right?
I asked a group of friends (online ones who all live overseas) if they had any ideas for a cheap European vacation and my list grew — and I had to reference a map a few more times. Here’s how it breaks down:
Croatia is the most popular destination with 10 recommendations. Budapest got 8 (but that’s a city in Hungary — I know that because it’s not one of these newfangled countries that popped up since I left school). Prague and Slovenia got 6 recommendations each. Though many people noted that Prague isn’t as cheap as it used to be. There were several for Poland, 2 for Romania and 5 for Malta (yes, I had to get out the map to see where Malta was — it’s an island in-between Italy’s boot and the northern coast of the African continent). It’s a pretty well traveled group of military wives! There were other suggestions, but they overlapped with locations that I hope to see on a different trip (Italy and Spain). There were also suggestions to visit one of the bases in southern Germany for inexpensive outdoor fun. I’m keeping that in mind as a plan B.
So armed with my list, I now need to look up these countries (or cities), see where they are, what makes them special, discover why someone would want to go there, and determine general prices for food, lodging and transportation. Thank God for the internet, Trip Advisor, and Google street view. I don’t know how anyone traveled internationally before this century. Between reviews for hotels, apartments and restaurants I can have a great idea of what to expect once we arrive. I can even look up a hotel and using Google street view, “walk” around the area to see if there are restaurants, bike rentals, or grocery stores in the immediate area. I guess the next step will be “virtual travel.”
We may not end up going anywhere new this summer, but I can promise I’ll know a lot more about Eastern Europe after travel planning for this region!