Germany/Poland or Serbia/Slovakia with Older Teens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Polish food isn’t great. And the political and social climate are very Catholic and borderline white supremacy. Plus: the Russia/Ukraine war.

Have you been to Norway? I’m watching a great show on Bergen on pbs right now.

Wow, have you been there? Or are you just stereotyping? Because Polish food is awesome, and the people are very kind and welcoming. And nothing against Bergen (it’s naturally stunning), but very expensive and pretty boring. But my guess is you’ve never been there either.

I’m Polish, and I stand by my comment that the food isn’t great and neither are the politics. I mean, come on. It’s a very white, very Catholic, very conservative country. Those are just facts.

Tell me which parts of Poland are fun for tourists? I’ll counter with better options.

[Anonymous]

I’m a PP and Wrocław was beautiful, sue me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a PP and Wrocław was beautiful, sue me

I’m the pp poo pooing Polish food and politics, but I agree that Wrocław is beautiful and the people and vibe are cool. Artsy even.

But it’s one area, and there are better places to visit—especially with teens.

[Anonymous]

I love Krakow - charming walkable city and such a fascinating history. check out palaces in the region like Lancut and then Go down to Zakopane and go hiking in the mountains. It is a great experience. Wrocław is not far if you want to hit that. Maybe combine that trip withPrague or Budapest.

[Anonymous]

Also if you are interested in food - try their nalesniki (pancakes) best in the world. Also any meal that has mushrooms in it is delicious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^PP with the suggestions here. I just want to add that I think it’s great you’re thinking outside the box and taking your kids beyond Portugal, Copenhagen and the usual drivel I see here .

Thanks, PP. Yours is exactly the type of detailed info we were hoping to get! Partially for my job we traveled a lot with the kids. Through that they’ve already done a lot of Western/Central Europe and on family vacations we’ve headed to China, Romania… bunch of places. Their dad is not from the US and he and his family are big travelers so that plus my job has really afforded us lots of opportunities. We often go on family trips with his side of the family. We’re very lucky to be able to do this.

The kids love traveling. They have one of those travel maps where you scratch off the country. I love how they aren’t afraid to take off on their own and explore (always together, tho).

Any more ideas or details please share, definitely helpful to get input.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also if you are interested in food - try their nalesniki (pancakes) best in the world. Also any meal that has mushrooms in it is delicious.

Will def be on the list if we go there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Polish food isn’t great. And the political and social climate are very Catholic and borderline white supremacy. Plus: the Russia/Ukraine war.

Have you been to Norway? I’m watching a great show on Bergen on pbs right now.

Wow, have you been there? Or are you just stereotyping? Because Polish food is awesome, and the people are very kind and welcoming. And nothing against Bergen (it’s naturally stunning), but very expensive and pretty boring. But my guess is you’ve never been there either.

I’m Polish, and I stand by my comment that the food isn’t great and neither are the politics. I mean, come on. It’s a very white, very Catholic, very conservative country. Those are just facts.

Tell me which parts of Poland are fun for tourists? I’ll counter with better options.

Well you sound like a self loathing Pole to be honest, so probably best you moved abroad. There are loads of places in Poland that are great for tourists. I named a number of them in my prior post, but easily could add a ton more, like Sopot and other spots on the Baltic Sea coast, the Masurian Lake District, Poznan, and even Łódź is up and coming. Do you get out much when you’re there?

[Anonymous]

I was mildly surprised by how much I liked Poland. I probably had the best vegan food ever in Poland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP,
Of course the kids have provided input and of course we have done research online, so we came here to get opinions of people who have personal experience. Reading about something and looking at photos online and even talking to a
travel agent only tells you so much.

We’ve been to Slovenia and Bulgaria. And yes, they are lovely and interesting! We all talked and narrowed it down to these countries for various reasons.

Montenegro wasn’t on the list initially by Albania was. Haven’t been there so we’ll take a look!



I personally went to part of Germany (Munich), but that was decades ago when I went with my family as a teen. We were thinking Berlin and maybe one other city if we chose that option.

I would avoid Germany. Most German cities are dirty and unpleasant these days, as are the people who are deeply rigid and unlikeable. Some of the smaller towns in Germany are OK, but honestly Austria is a much better choice for that kind of thing. Poland is a fascinating country. Most people just visit Krakow, which is nice, but a bit too touristy for my taste. I vastly prefer Warsaw and Gdansk. Other smaller cities such as Wrocław and Torun are very interesting also. Slovakia in my view is not the best choice. Bratislava is not very appealing, and the second city in the country (Kosice) is quite small, although there is a nice historic center and a few attractions. If you like hiking, you might enjoy a trip to the High Tatras in Slovakia. Serbia is quite nice, and Belgrade is interesting for a couple days. It’s walkable, and I would recommend a day trip to Novi Sad, which is very pretty and compact. There are also small wineries nearby. You may have been to Hungary already, but I would suggest you visit smaller places like Eger and Lake Balaton if you are visiting Slovakia and Serbia anyway. I also really like Albania, and you won’t find a nationality that is kinder and more welcoming to Americans. Seriously. Some places to visit there include Tirana, Shkoder, Sarande, Berat (a bit rundown but popular), and the “other side” of Lake Ohrid. I haven’t been to Kosovo yet, but want to visit. And it was a while ago that I was in Montenegro, and I liked it very much, but I do think places like Kotor are a lot more touristy these days.

Avoid Germany? Really? It's a big place, and I haven't spent a lot of time there, but Berlin is spectacular, one of the most interesting places I've been.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t do Serbia now for political reasons, they are too pro putin now. Germany / Poland or combine Slovakia with Czech Republic or Austria. Both Germany and Poland are quite big countries, so the choice really is what specific things they’d like to do / or see. All options are great, but I’d avoid Serbia for now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Polish food isn’t great. And the political and social climate are very Catholic and borderline white supremacy. Plus: the Russia/Ukraine war.

Have you been to Norway? I’m watching a great show on Bergen on pbs right now.

Wow, have you been there? Or are you just stereotyping? Because Polish food is awesome, and the people are very kind and welcoming. And nothing against Bergen (it’s naturally stunning), but very expensive and pretty boring. But my guess is you’ve never been there either.

I’m Polish, and I stand by my comment that the food isn’t great and neither are the politics. I mean, come on. It’s a very white, very Catholic, very conservative country. Those are just facts.

Tell me which parts of Poland are fun for tourists? I’ll counter with better options.

Well you sound like a self loathing Pole to be honest, so probably best you moved abroad. There are loads of places in Poland that are great for tourists. I named a number of them in my prior post, but easily could add a ton more, like Sopot and other spots on the Baltic Sea coast, the Masurian Lake District, Poznan, and even Łódź is up and coming. Do you get out much when you’re there?

I suppose I’ve just found other places more interesting.

Tip: check out Albania and Montenegro before they become the new Croatia and Portugal. Better food than Poland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do Serbia now for political reasons, they are too pro putin now. Germany / Poland or combine Slovakia with Czech Republic or Austria. Both Germany and Poland are quite big countries, so the choice really is what specific things they’d like to do / or see. All options are great, but I’d avoid Serbia for now.

You wouldn’t do Serbia yet you would still do Poland?

Biden is slated to visit Poland. Poland is already a potential target for crazy Putin given its role as the staging ground for military support of Ukraine. Why anyone would vacation in Poland during the war is just baffling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Polish food isn’t great. And the political and social climate are very Catholic and borderline white supremacy. Plus: the Russia/Ukraine war.

Have you been to Norway? I’m watching a great show on Bergen on pbs right now.

Wow, have you been there? Or are you just stereotyping? Because Polish food is awesome, and the people are very kind and welcoming. And nothing against Bergen (it’s naturally stunning), but very expensive and pretty boring. But my guess is you’ve never been there either.

I’m Polish, and I stand by my comment that the food isn’t great and neither are the politics. I mean, come on. It’s a very white, very Catholic, very conservative country. Those are just facts.

Tell me which parts of Poland are fun for tourists? I’ll counter with better options.

Well you sound like a self loathing Pole to be honest, so probably best you moved abroad. There are loads of places in Poland that are great for tourists. I named a number of them in my prior post, but easily could add a ton more, like Sopot and other spots on the Baltic Sea coast, the Masurian Lake District, Poznan, and even Łódź is up and coming. Do you get out much when you’re there?

I suppose I’ve just found other places more interesting.

Tip: check out Albania and Montenegro before they become the new Croatia and Portugal. Better food than Poland.

PP here, thanks. Yes, I have been to Albania (a couple of times actually) and Montenegro (and also Croatia and Portugal). I enjoyed them both, and agree that the food was great in Albania. It was more Italian in Tirana, and more Greek in Sarandë. But I still prefer Polish food. If you have any other favorite spots in Poland, please let me know. I still have not made it to Lublin and Zamosc, but they are on my list. Another place I have enjoyed now that I think of it is Kazmierz Dolny. Even though it is touristy, it’s mainly domestic tourists, so still a nice experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was mildly surprised by how much I liked Poland. I probably had the best vegan food ever in Poland.

Yes. Actually I have heard that Warsaw has the most vegan restaurants per capita in Europe.