EASTERN EUROPE (the rest)

DISEASE INFORMATION:
http://www.oie.int/eng/info/hebdo/AIS_49.HTM

Rick Steves:
http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti_menu.htm
http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti81.html - ATMs
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours05/eeu05/itin.cfm

AUSTRIA - VIENNA:
http://www.thetravelzine.com/Austria_2005_10_Vienna.htm
http://www.burger.si/Austria/AustriaIndex.htm

SLOVENIA - between Italy and Croatia

http://www.burger.si/SLOIndex.htm
International Folklore Festival SloFolk Slovenia - http://users.volja.net/slofolk/

CROATIA
http://www.map-of-croatia.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plitvice
Brioni Islands Croatia - Google Search
http://www.gradpula.com/c5558/croatia_tourism_-_brijuni_-_brioni_islands/
Brijuni - Brioni Islands
THE BRIJUNI ARCHIPELAGO comprises a group of two larger and twelve smaller islands lying along the west coast of Istria, not far from the mainland town of Pula, and which have a total land area of only 7 km2. But since a protection regime extends over a significant sea area around the archipelago, the total area of this national park is 36 km2. The Brijuni archipelago, part beautiful landscape and part safari park, is famed for its preserved Mediterranean flora. It is also noted for its valuable cultural heritage dating from Roman and Byzantine times. Because of their extraordinary beauty the Brijuni have been a favourite tourist destination for world statesmen and members of the international aristocracy for over a hundred years. 1 2 Although the islands are not populated on a permanent basis, because of the frequency of visiting tours people are to be found there the year round. Tourists can be accommodated on the island of Veliki Brijun in any one of the three small hotels that provide their guests with an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity set amid wonderful nature far from the bustling crowds in nearby mainland Pula, just across the water. The island is also the site of Croatia’s oldest golf course. Almost half the archipelago is covered with landscaped parks and meadows containing solitary holm-oak trees with trimmed crowns. The safari park was introduced over twenty years ago, when the late Josip Broz Tito, the then President of the former Yugoslavia, had his summer residence here. The residents of the safari park include mostly exotic herbivores: elephants, antelopes, gazelles, zebras, llamas, and other species. The area was declared a national park because of its quite specific cultural and historical heritage. Particularly rich is its heritage dating from the Roman period when, in the Bay of Verige, 1st-century Roman emperors maintained their summer residence here; also dating from the Byzantine period when, in the Bay of Dobrika, a well fortified castle was built and was used as a residence until the 14th century. In the 19th century, in the times of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, an impressive system of forts was built on the islands, designed to protect the city of Pula and used as a main harbour for its battle fleet. These forts, among the largest of their kind in the Mediterranean, have been preserved down to modern times and represent the finest examples of fortification architecture in Europe. However, an Austrian industrialist, one Paul Kupelwieser, is deserving of the greatest credit for the present-day cultural landscape of the islands. He purchased the islands in the late 19th century and, with the able assistance of a certain Robert Koch, a doctor of great renown, succeeded in eradicating malaria from the islands; then, in the early 20th century, he converted the islands into a park and an elite tourist resort.


POLAND - WROCLAW

June 25,2005 - July 3,2005 - Polish Jewish Arts Festival
http://www.whatsonwhen.com/partners/amadeus/query.asp?month=7&overview=0&loc_id=135388

Historic, Traditional, Sometimes Magical Poland -
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/52/Travel_in_Poland.html

http://www.visit.pl/to/guides.php?link_id=629&st=0

http://www.warsaw-life.com/
http://www.wroclawcity.com/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=85&Itemid=73
Poland Wroclaw Japanese garden - Google Image Search
http://www.albytravel.com/world.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HUNGARY - BUDAPEST
http://www.budapestinfo.hu/en/programmes/evesjelentosprogramok.phtml
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam3/Budapest_Expats.html
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam9/Living_In_Budapest.html
Richard's Budapest Journal - http://www.greatestcities.com/users/rap123/Europe/Hungary/Budapest/
Discount Budapest Hotels - http://www.talkingcities.co.uk/
Sziget Festival 2006 - http://www.szigetfestival.com/
Basics - Hungary, real estate for sale - http://www.casa-mia.at/information.php/language/en
Bela Halmos - Google Search
Budapest Spring Festival 2007 - http://festivalcity.hu/btf2007/?t=h&id=2096&l=en&PHPSESSID=45fbe385bd1e44d408e2b70f2bd22c84

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BULGARIA
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/45/Living_in_Bulgaria.html
http://www.travel-bulgaria.com/content/festivals_and_customs.shtml
RECIT VOYAGE - BULGARIE - le monastère de RILA - http://www.bourlingueurs.com/bulgarie/page_03.htm
BULGARIE récit de voyage en Europe de l'est - http://www.bourlingueurs.com/bulgarie/index.htm
http://www.picturesofbulgaria.com/article/kazanluk.html
Bulgarie Rila - Google Image Search

http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/
http://www.bestbulgarianproperties.co.uk/
http://www.ilmuseums.com/Bulgarian_Property.asp
http://www.bulgarianrealestate.net/
http://www.tourism-bulgaria.com/documents/properties/cheap-investment-property-bulgaria.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ROMANIA
http://www.leafpile.com/ - (expats who live there)
Transylvania Sibiu - Google Search
http://www.therealtransylvania.com/
http://romania.8k.com/sibiu/ - Sibiu, Medieval City in Transylvania
http://www.aboutromania.com/
Magazin - http://www.gkrte.hu/public/magazin4.php?id=202 (pictures)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

GEORGIA
http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~ci4/georgien/
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam26/georgia.html
Tedsnet - http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~ci4/georgien/tedsnet-index.htm
Tbilisi - http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~ci4/georgien/suratebi/imereti.htm
Most Beautiful:
http://www.deepdownproductions.com/world/georgia%20travels.shtml
http://www.georgica.caucasus.net/culturetoursgeorgia.htm
Google Search- Ushguli (images)
GEORGIE récit de voyage et visite des lieux touristiques, pays de l'est - Tourisme, photos - http://www.bourlingueurs.com/georgie/index.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ESTONIA
Town Hall Square - http://www.cis.nctu.edu.tw/~whtsai/World%20Highlights/New%20Side%20Show%20Webpages/imagepages/image29.html
http://www.seewald.com/order_form_part_II.htm
http://images.google.com/images?q=Saaremaa&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
MAPS - http://www.estonica.org/eng/maps/euroopahaldus-eng.html

Estonia pictures
http://www.visitestonia.com/ - Visit Estonia site - excellent!Very nice site about Estonia!
http://www.estonica.org/
and great map - http://www.estonica.org/eng/maps/index-eng.html
Another great map - http://www.europarl.eu.int/presentation/maps/applicants/estonia.htm
Estonia's tourism site - http://www.turismiweb.ee/en/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
www.scantours.com/GLIMPSE_OF_ESTONIA.htm
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/countries/estonia.html
http://www.seewald.com/estonia_photographs.htm
http://www.cis.nctu.edu.tw/~whtsai/World%20Highlights/New%20Side%20Show%20Webpages/imagepages/image25.html
http://www.cis.nctu.edu.tw/~whtsai/World%20Highlights/New%20Side%20Show%20Webpages/imagepages/image29.html
Lots of pictures of Talinn
http://images.google.com/images?q=Talinn&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
Lots of pictures of Haapsalu, on the west coast
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&q=Haapsalu&btnG=Search
Lots of pictures of Pärnu, on the west coat
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&q=P%C3%A4rnu&btnG=Search
Lots of pictures of the island of Saaremaa
http://images.google.com/images?q=Saaremaa&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
Lots of pictures of the island of Hiiumaa
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&q=Hiiumaa&btnG=Search
This place looks nice! Maybe I'll visit . . .

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

RUSSIA
Waterways (Looks Good $$$) - http://www.eastwest-tours.com/russianwaterways.htm
River Cruises - http://www.expresstorussia.com/russian_river_cruises.html
Semipalatinsk - http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/semipalatinsk-16_nuc.htm
Most Beautiful: Moldova-Prutul de Jos - http://www.iatp.md/arii/text/eng/prut.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

GENERAL EASTERN EUROPE:

http://www.trafalgartours.com/USA/DisplayTour?TourID=3317
http://www.folkdanceonthewater.org/
http://www.craftworldtours.com/
http://www.gumbopages.com/festivaltours/europe2006.html
Scottish Country Dancing in Central Europe - 1999. - http://www3.sympatico.ca/nlink.household/prague/prague99.htm

Top Bicycle Greenways Vienna - Prague Map - http://www.topbicycle.com/BTW-PMapProfile.htm
Bicycle Tours in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Austria -
http://www.topbicycle.com/BicycleToursSlovakia.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

RICK STEVES ITINERARY
Day 1-3: Prague — Wonderfully preserved Old Town, Jewish Quarter. Prague Castle area and St. Vitus Cathedral.

Day 4: Rural Czech Republic — Drive into Moravia (the eastern part of the country), explore a typical hill town, and set up in the village of Trojanovice under the Beskydy Mountains (1 night). Bus: 6 hours.
Day 5: To Krakow — Poland: Auschwitz. Kraków, historic melting pot. Sleep in Kraków (3 nights). Bus: 4 hours.

Day 6 & 7: Krakow — Walking tour, Jewish district, tour the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Castle, the Czartoryski Museum, St. Mary’s Church, one of Europe’s most colorful market squares.

Day 8: To Slovakia — Beautiful Tatra Mountains as our backdrop. Town of Levoca (1 night). Bus: 4 hours.

Day 9: To Hungary — Drive to Eger, home to Hungary’s most beloved castle, set in the hills of the country's best-known wine-growing region. Sleep in Eger (2 nights). Bus: 4 hours.

Day 10: In and around Eger — Baroque beauty and bustling produce market, then explore the surrounding countryside: wine caves, rural villages, a Stalin-era gulag (work camp)…and a minaret. Bus: 3 hours.

Days 11 & 12: Budapest — Guided walk through the historic castle district of Buda (on the west bank) and through bustling Pest (on the east). Sleep in Buda (2 nights).

Day 13: To Croatia — South to Plitvice Lakes National Park, where a system of boardwalk trails lead to magical waterfalls. Sleep at Plitvice (1 night). Bus: 7 hours.

Day 14: To the Adriatic — Morning hike through the park. Drive across mountains to the Adriatic Sea. Boat for island of Rab, where we'll sleep (2 nights). Bus: 3 hours.

Day 15: Free day on the island

Days 16 & 17: Slovenia — Lake Bled, set in the midst of Slovenia's Julian Alps and ringed by fine hiking paths. Ljubljana, Slovenia's small and charming capital. Sleep in Bled (2 nights). Bus: 5 hours on day 16, no bus on day 17.

Day 18: Slovenia's international airport is a half-hour away.