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Darby · 04-02-2004, 12:22

Been to a few "Different" places not too far from home (Germany). I have a house in the Bayerische Wald (Bavarian Forest) which is just north of the Danube and south of the Czech border. The place is a walkers paradise, and, funnily enough very cheap, not what you would expect for Germany.

Lovely hotels, with excellent conditions, cheap (about £25 a night for a double room, not per person), beer at £1.20 a half litre, and all the forest you want to walk through for free. Fly to Munich, hire a small car, and drive eastwards on the motorway (Autobahn) for 80 miles and lo and behold you're in the middle of it.

Another nice and very interesting place is a small town called GRADO (Jo should know about it, but I can't vouch for the men) which is on the north coast of the Adriatic. Before the first WW it use to belong to Austria. It has a quiet relaxing atmosphere, good beaches, excellent Italian food and wine, and the nearby Lagoon brings in lots of seafood. Not far away is Aquilea, which was the second largest city of the Roman Empire, but now is just a large area of ancient ruins. The climate is not quite as hot as the rest of the Adriatic, and is a god send in summer (still gets up to 35°C occasionally) The town itself is full of little alleyways, and cafe's and restaurants. It's still relatively unknown and most of the tourists are either Italian, German or mainly Austrian. I've only ever seen 1 Brit there.

Another unknown gem is Oberwiesenthal which is on the Czech/East German border, and has several ski-jumps and walking paths through the forest, a steam train narrow gauge railway, and the big hill (Erzberg) at the edge of then town. The Czech border is about 200 yards away, and the easiest way is across a footpath! and small bridge. Definitely different, and also v.cheap.

Not far away across in the Czech republic is Karlsbad, which is a Victorian Spa resort. Now mainly owned by the Russian Mafia!! It has a superb city center with victorian arcades, and free spa water sampling points dotted every 20 yards or so. The hotels are excellent and not really expensive (about £50 per night B&B for the double room). Meals in the restaurants are very cheap (avg.£5 with beer or wine) and the pubs are very cheap with beer at £0.60 a half litre. One very positive aspect of this lovely old place is that the locals think that the British are the best thing since sliced bread, and they all want to learn English (not much help if you come from Accy or Ossy).

We've been to some really out of the way spots in central Europe, which are nearly always very cheap, and very friendly. As I also use to live in S. Spain, I know of some out-of-the-way resorts and towns within easy reach of the Costa.

However, if it's sand, sea, sun, booze, food, night-life, and hangovers....well, the Mediterranean is for you, and Turkey is cheap........

04-02-2004, 12:22	#13
Darby Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Albions End Posts: 691 Liked: 2 times Rep Power: 42	Been to a few "Different" places not too far from home (Germany). I have a house in the Bayerische Wald (Bavarian Forest) which is just north of the Danube and south of the Czech border. The place is a walkers paradise, and, funnily enough very cheap, not what you would expect for Germany. Lovely hotels, with excellent conditions, cheap (about £25 a night for a double room, not per person), beer at £1.20 a half litre, and all the forest you want to walk through for free. Fly to Munich, hire a small car, and drive eastwards on the motorway (Autobahn) for 80 miles and lo and behold you're in the middle of it. Another nice and very interesting place is a small town called GRADO (Jo should know about it, but I can't vouch for the men) which is on the north coast of the Adriatic. Before the first WW it use to belong to Austria. It has a quiet relaxing atmosphere, good beaches, excellent Italian food and wine, and the nearby Lagoon brings in lots of seafood. Not far away is Aquilea, which was the second largest city of the Roman Empire, but now is just a large area of ancient ruins. The climate is not quite as hot as the rest of the Adriatic, and is a god send in summer (still gets up to 35°C occasionally) The town itself is full of little alleyways, and cafe's and restaurants. It's still relatively unknown and most of the tourists are either Italian, German or mainly Austrian. I've only ever seen 1 Brit there. Another unknown gem is Oberwiesenthal which is on the Czech/East German border, and has several ski-jumps and walking paths through the forest, a steam train narrow gauge railway, and the big hill (Erzberg) at the edge of then town. The Czech border is about 200 yards away, and the easiest way is across a footpath! and small bridge. Definitely different, and also v.cheap. Not far away across in the Czech republic is Karlsbad, which is a Victorian Spa resort. Now mainly owned by the Russian Mafia!! It has a superb city center with victorian arcades, and free spa water sampling points dotted every 20 yards or so. The hotels are excellent and not really expensive (about £50 per night B&B for the double room). Meals in the restaurants are very cheap (avg.£5 with beer or wine) and the pubs are very cheap with beer at £0.60 a half litre. One very positive aspect of this lovely old place is that the locals think that the British are the best thing since sliced bread, and they all want to learn English (not much help if you come from Accy or Ossy). We've been to some really out of the way spots in central Europe, which are nearly always very cheap, and very friendly. As I also use to live in S. Spain, I know of some out-of-the-way resorts and towns within easy reach of the Costa. However, if it's sand, sea, sun, booze, food, night-life, and hangovers....well, the Mediterranean is for you, and Turkey is cheap........