What’s new in Eastern Europe for 2015

  • By Rick Steves
  • Friday, January 23, 2015 4:53pm
  • Life

Eastern Europe has experienced more change in the last generation than any other corner of Europe. With war-era grandpas now gone, across the former Warsaw Pact zone new museums and memorials deal candidly with the dark side of communism — and fascism before that. And now that the economy is perking up (with European Union help), impressive renovations and infrastructure improvements are springing up across the region. Here’s the latest:

In Prague, the National Museum on Wenceslas Square is slated to wrap up a years-long renovation. By mid-2015, visitors should be able to see its interior, richly decorated in the Czech Revival style that heralded the 19th-century rebirth of the Czech nation. At Prague Castle, the St. Vitus Treasury recently opened in the Chapel of the Holy Cross, displaying precious reliquaries dating as far back as the reign of Charles IV. The city’s Vysehrad river embankment is a fun place to hang out, having been recently spiffed up with cafes, restaurant barges, and a lively farmers market on Saturdays.

Direct trains from Prague to Vienna will now be run by RailJet (Austrian high-speed service) rather than EuroCity, making the journey in just over four hours and cutting a half-hour off travel time. Prague is no longer connected to Amsterdam via a night train.

It was huge news when Poland’s own John Paul II became a Catholic saint, causing construction at sights dedicated to the pope to go into full swing. In Krakow, construction is ongoing at the new St. John Paul II Center, which will have a sanctuary and museum. In Wadowice, about an hour outside of Krakow, John Paul II’s family home has been renovated and turned into a museum.

In Warsaw, the Museum of Polish Jews recently opened its permanent collection, showcasing a thousand years of Jewish history in Poland through multimedia displays, paintings, and artifacts. A new airport train conveniently zips travelers to downtown, and an east-west Metro line will open early this year. The Srodmiescie (“Downtown”) district has emerged as the city’s hipster dining mecca.

Gdansk’s new European Solidarity Center, located in a rusted-metal building at the entrance to the shipyards where Lech Walesa’s 1980 strikes took place, is one of Europe’s best sights about the end of communism. The shipyards themselves are undergoing a multiyear redevelopment into a “New City” residential and commerce zone — though key Solidarity landmarks are unaffected.

Gdansk has a surprisingly rich Shakespearean tradition. Its new Shakespeare Theater, with its controversially minimalist, blocky, black facade, will host the annual Shakespeare Festival in early autumn, as well as Polish-language productions year-round.

In Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, a fun way to travel is via green electric carts, called Kavalir, which transport people around the downtown core for free (just flag one down).

The Joze Plecnik House, dedicated to the famous Slovene architect, is closed for renovation until the fall. Metelkova City, a former military installation, is now a colorful, funky, graffiti-slathered squatter’s colony. This Habsburg-built complex — with barracks, warehouses, and a prison — has been transformed into galleries, theaters, bars, and nightclubs.

In Hungary, Budapest’s spectacular Parliament building, with its soaring Neo-Renaissance dome, is one of the city’s top attractions. To ensure a spot on a tour, visitors should pay the extra 75 cents per ticket to book online a day or two in advance (www.jegymester.hu). Same-day tickets are sold at the new underground visitors’ center.

The city has gorgeously restored the March 15 Square as a fine park, with partially excavated Roman ruins on display. Liberty Square’s new Monument to the Hungarian Victims of the Nazis gives the impression that Hungary was a peaceful land unwittingly caught up in the Nazi war machine (when it actually was an ally of Nazi Germany for three years).

The square in front of the Nyugati train station will be renovated over the next few years, so the station area will likely be in transition, with many services and tram stops temporarily relocated.

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music has been stunningly restored inside and out, and concerts here are much more affordable than at the Hungarian State Opera.

The Museum of Fine Arts, a giant collection of mostly European art in Budapest’s City Park, is likely closed for renovation through 2017.

The Budapest Zoo turned an old amusement park into Holnemvolt Park, with exotic animals, puppet shows, pony rides, and some favorite rides from the amusement park.

From north to south, the countries of Eastern Europe are experiencing extensive growth and change, making this an especially exciting and vibrant time to visit.

Rick Steves, www.ricksteves.com, writes guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.