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Eastern Europe



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 20th, 2005, 04:33 PM
irishtraveller
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Default Eastern Europe

Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going on a
trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on doing is,
flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno (with
Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From there, to
Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after that to St.
Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there to Tallinn in
Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly back to London
Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more than 4 weeks away.
Does this route seem reasonable, are there any places i'd be advised not
to visit due to safety issues and what not. Also, i can't seem to find
much information on train prices so i don't know how much it is all going
to cost. If you have any advise regarding any part of this trip, please
respond.

  #2  
Old April 20th, 2005, 05:00 PM
jcoulter
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Posts: n/a
Default

"irishtraveller" wrote in
lkabouttravelling.com:

Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going
on a trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on
doing is, flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno
(with Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From
there, to Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after
that to St. Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there
to Tallinn in Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly
back to London Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more
than 4 weeks away. Does this route seem reasonable, are there any
places i'd be advised not to visit due to safety issues and what not.
Also, i can't seem to find much information on train prices so i don't
know how much it is all going to cost. If you have any advise
regarding any part of this trip, please respond.


other than possible visa problems in Russia (don't recall their EU stand
these days) They can be incredibly stuck in the cold war in regard to
travel
  #3  
Old April 20th, 2005, 05:28 PM
Leland Windreich
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Posts: n/a
Default

It would be a shame to miss Prague. It is about 2 hours by train or bus from
Brno. I'd cut down on time planned for Minsk and spend it in the Czech
republic instead.
I have no idea what visa will be required for Irish citizens, but be sure to
check with a travel agent and see if you will need to apply in advance to
any of the countries you plan to visit. Visas for Russia continue to be
tricky, and you may have to reserve hotel rooms first in advance.
Expect lower service standards on trains than you may have at home.



"irishtraveller" wrote in message
lkabouttravelling.com...
Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going on
a
trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on doing is,
flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno (with
Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From there, to
Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after that to St.
Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there to Tallinn in
Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly back to London
Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more than 4 weeks away.
Does this route seem reasonable, are there any places i'd be advised not
to visit due to safety issues and what not. Also, i can't seem to find
much information on train prices so i don't know how much it is all going
to cost. If you have any advise regarding any part of this trip, please
respond.



  #4  
Old April 20th, 2005, 06:45 PM
Deep Foiled Malls
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 11:33:33 -0400, "irishtraveller"
wrote:

Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going on a
trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on doing is,
flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno (with
Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From there, to
Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after that to St.
Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there to Tallinn in
Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly back to London
Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more than 4 weeks away.
Does this route seem reasonable, are there any places i'd be advised not
to visit due to safety issues and what not. Also, i can't seem to find
much information on train prices so i don't know how much it is all going
to cost. If you have any advise regarding any part of this trip, please
respond.


Others have mentioned that the Russian visa is difficult (and it is)
but I would expect the Belarus one to be even harder. The visa process
is expensive, and time consuming. I would suggest skipping Belarus for
this reason, as that is what I did.

Sounds like a good itinrary otherwise, although I found a lot more
interesting stuff in Lithuania that Latvia. The Hill of Crosses is
worth the trip alone. Perhaps go into Russia via Lithuana instead of
Belarus!

Brno is not that exciting, but has a striking cathedral that sits high
on a rock in the middle of town.

Krakow is just great, even if it's well discovered now.

Moscow is the heart of Russia, and you will love it and hate it.

St Peter is almost European, and you will just love it.

Tallin has a nice old town but has waaay too many cloned souvenir
shops.

Riga is big, and sports a collosal market that is a must see.

Safety is not a great issue anywhere, even in Moscow. Just exercise
the usual caution you would anywhere else.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--
  #5  
Old April 20th, 2005, 06:45 PM
Deep Foiled Malls
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 11:33:33 -0400, "irishtraveller"
wrote:

Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going on a
trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on doing is,
flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno (with
Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From there, to
Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after that to St.
Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there to Tallinn in
Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly back to London
Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more than 4 weeks away.
Does this route seem reasonable, are there any places i'd be advised not
to visit due to safety issues and what not. Also, i can't seem to find
much information on train prices so i don't know how much it is all going
to cost. If you have any advise regarding any part of this trip, please
respond.


Others have mentioned that the Russian visa is difficult (and it is)
but I would expect the Belarus one to be even harder. The visa process
is expensive, and time consuming. I would suggest skipping Belarus for
this reason, as that is what I did.

Sounds like a good itinrary otherwise, although I found a lot more
interesting stuff in Lithuania that Latvia. The Hill of Crosses is
worth the trip alone. Perhaps go into Russia via Lithuana instead of
Belarus!

Brno is not that exciting, but has a striking cathedral that sits high
on a rock in the middle of town.

Krakow is just great, even if it's well discovered now.

Moscow is the heart of Russia, and you will love it and hate it.

St Peter is almost European, and you will just love it.

Tallin has a nice old town but has waaay too many cloned souvenir
shops.

Riga is big, and sports a collosal market that is a must see.

Safety is not a great issue anywhere, even in Moscow. Just exercise
the usual caution you would anywhere else.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--
  #6  
Old April 20th, 2005, 07:31 PM
tile
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

First of
in all the countries of the EU you do not need any visa
you need a visa though for Belarus and Russia.
forn info on Baltic countries pls go to
www.inyourpocket.com

www.rigathisweek.lv

you will find a lot of info.

In the baltic states there are no international trains almost.

you move by bus
mainly eurolines

www.eurolines.com

pls check. but bus might be convenient for you even in other countries you
are going to visit..
both for prices and times required.

are you sure there is an airport in BRNO ??

pls note there is a local low cost in Slovakia
called skyeurope

www.skyeurope.com

and you might find good prices and good routes too.
hope having been of help
"irishtraveller" ha scritto nel messaggio
lkabouttravelling.com...
Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going on
a
trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on doing is,
flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno (with
Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From there, to
Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after that to St.
Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there to Tallinn in
Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly back to London
Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more than 4 weeks away.
Does this route seem reasonable, are there any places i'd be advised not
to visit due to safety issues and what not. Also, i can't seem to find
much information on train prices so i don't know how much it is all going
to cost. If you have any advise regarding any part of this trip, please
respond.



  #7  
Old April 20th, 2005, 07:31 PM
tile
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

First of
in all the countries of the EU you do not need any visa
you need a visa though for Belarus and Russia.
forn info on Baltic countries pls go to
www.inyourpocket.com

www.rigathisweek.lv

you will find a lot of info.

In the baltic states there are no international trains almost.

you move by bus
mainly eurolines

www.eurolines.com

pls check. but bus might be convenient for you even in other countries you
are going to visit..
both for prices and times required.

are you sure there is an airport in BRNO ??

pls note there is a local low cost in Slovakia
called skyeurope

www.skyeurope.com

and you might find good prices and good routes too.
hope having been of help
"irishtraveller" ha scritto nel messaggio
lkabouttravelling.com...
Greetings, in the month of June me and 3 friends are planning on going on
a
trip to eastern europe. Roughly, the route we're planning on doing is,
flying from Dublin to Stanstead, then from Stanstead to Brno (with
Ryanair). From there, a train to Krakow, then to Warsaw. From there, to
Belarus (Brest - Minsk), then to Moscow via Smolensk, after that to St.
Petersburg. The final leg of the trip will be from there to Tallinn in
Estonia and finally on to Riga in Latvia, where can fly back to London
Stanstead. Ideally we'd like to spend not much more than 4 weeks away.
Does this route seem reasonable, are there any places i'd be advised not
to visit due to safety issues and what not. Also, i can't seem to find
much information on train prices so i don't know how much it is all going
to cost. If you have any advise regarding any part of this trip, please
respond.



  #8  
Old April 20th, 2005, 07:34 PM
Markku Grönroos
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"tile" kirjoitti viestissä
...

are you sure there is an airport in BRNO ??

Of course there is one.


  #9  
Old April 20th, 2005, 08:10 PM
Gregory Morrow
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Markku Grönroos wrote:

"tile" kirjoitti viestissä
...

are you sure there is an airport in BRNO ??

Of course there is one.



http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2005/Art/0331/busi9.php

Second-city skies open to Europe

Budget airline Ryanair launches daily flights on direct London-Brno route



By Jeremie Feinblatt
For The Prague Post

March 31, 2005


Six months ago the idea that Ryanair would fly to Brno, let alone Eastern
Europe, was far-fetched. The outspoken chief of Europe's largest and most
aggressive low-cost airline, Michael O'Leary, had surprised industry
observers when he declared -- in opposition to a number of other low-cost
airlines -- that the company's growth would come from Western Europe, and
that Eastern Europe remained a "low priority."

"There's a lot of talk that Eastern Europe is the Holy Grail; but talk is
all it is," he said at the World Low-Cost Airline Congress last September.

Things change. On March 24, the Irish airline introduced two new eastbound
flights between London Stansted and the Central European cities of Wroclaw,
in Poland, and Brno. It estimates that some 40,000 people will fly its
service to Brno this year.

The low-cost carrier has picked its destinations cautiously. Think of
Beauvais near Paris, Charleroi near Brussels or Hahn near Frankfurt -- all
three deserted airports until Ryanair came in a few years ago. Now they are
among of the fastest growing in Europe. Hahn and Charleroi each receive over
2 million passengers a year.

Ryanair received an offer from the south Moravia region, which owns Brno
Airport, in July 2004, after ownership of the regional airport was
transferred from the state to the region.

"We were offered low landing and handling charges and decided to try out the
market," said Caroline Baldwin, the airline's sales and marketing manager
for Germany, Austria and Central Europe. She added that these charges are
comparable to what the airline pays in France or Germany -- very low.

The Ryanair flights will create 100 new jobs and provide an influx of
British tourists and businessmen. "We expect a significant amount of
business traffic, because there's no other way to get there [directly],"
Baldwin said.

Tourism boom

The new service could also potentially triple the number of British
travelers in south Moravia and significantly increase tourism revenues. Of
the 7.9 million tourists who visited the Czech Republic last year, south
Moravia received only 330,000 of them, or 4.2 percent. Most came from
Germany, while a mere 10,000 came from the UK.

The mayor's office in Brno registered only 180,000 foreign tourists to the
city last year, With a population of over 360,000, the Czech Republic's
second largest city has generally been off the map for foreign visitors.
Until last week, Brno Airport only had chartered flights to southern Europe,
a figure far below its potential as the historic capital of Moravia.

"There will be a huge upsurge of interest in Brno," Baldwin said. "Prague is
over in the UK. Been there, done that."

Brno city officials agree.

"We are working to improve tourist services and extend offers to the [south
Moravia] region," said Michal Jelinek, a tourism official from the city's
strategy office. And the city plans important infrastructure improvements.
Renovation work has started on tourist information centers, the historical
underground, Svoboda Square and parks throughout the city. As for the
airport, it will introduce direct bus services to Vienna and Ostrava and
will increase public transport to the city center.

The government also has high hopes for the new Brno-London flights.
CzechTourism, the national agency in charge of promoting tourism, has chosen
the city of Olomouc (less than 50 miles from Brno), the Moravian wine
country and the Moravian folklore festivals as future growth areas. Regional
development is also on the spotlight at the Transportation Ministry. "Our
priority is to develop international westbound traffic from the country's
regional airports," Josef Turecky, director general for civil aviation said
a few months back.

Brno Airport Director Tomas Placek has big plans. The airport official has a
booked agenda, talking with 10 different European airlines -- though he
declined to say which ones -- doing his best to convince them to add Brno to
their network. "We have enough capacity to handle more flights and are open
to all airlines," he said.

For Ryanair in Brno, the future could be promising, though the airline is
cautious about prospective routes as it begins its financial 2005-06 year.
"We have no experience in the Czech market but reservations have been
particularly good up to now," said Ryanair's Baldwin. 17,000 tickets were
already sold before the service started.

The airline is considering adding new flights to France and Italy next year.
Meanwhile, the cost-conscious airline is looking to develop joint marketing
campaigns with the south Moravia region, to lower marketing costs.

So what's next? The airport director wouldn't say. New flights next year? "I
hope so," he conceded."


DAILY FLIGHT: BRNO-STANSTED

Flights

.. Brno M-F: 18:00-London 19:15

Wknds: 17:50-London 19:05 . London M-F: 14:30-Brno 17:35

Wknds: 14:20-Brno 17:25

Prices

.. Tickets from about 120 Kc ($5.20) + tax

.. Average return fare 1,200 Kc + tax

Reservations www.ryanair.com








  #10  
Old April 20th, 2005, 08:18 PM
Gregory Morrow
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Default


Deep Foiled Malls wrote:

Tallin has a nice old town but has waaay too many cloned souvenir
shops.



Plus which it's the hottest new hen/stag party destination!

--
Best
Greg



 




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