2 weeks was just enough time for me to get a good glimpse of Romania. I suggest 2 countries only.

I haven’t been to those places you mentioned but I read about them and asked friends.
Bulgaria isn’t spectacular, neither is Romania (just my opinion). But both are considered bargain destinations.

But if I were you, I’d go to Budapest in Hungary and Lake Bled in Slovenia.
They both beat Bulgaria and Romania in architecture and scenery. On the downside, they’re a bit more expensive, especially Slovenia.

I haven’t been to Bulgaria, but I’ve been to Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. I absolutely loved Slovenia. It’s gorgeous and has to be the most “user friendly in English only” place I’ve ever been. The Lake Bled area (there’s a lot more there than just Lake Bled) is great. We rented a car which was a great way to explore the Julian Alps.

I liked Romania and it has a good rail system so it’s pretty easy to get out of Bucharest to interesting places. Transylvania has gorgeous scenery and I enjoyed the area of the “painted monasteries around Succeva. Bucharest is a little dicey, but interesting to imagine what it once was and what it probably will be again someday. It’s pretty easy to get around using English since all Romanian TV seems to be broadcast in it’s original language with Romanian sub-titles. Everybody speaks some English — although it’s often the dialog from a Rocky movie.

I just been to Budapest in Hungary. It’s a great city and my teen-aged (at the time) son loved it — not sure why since he was unimpressed with a number of other cities.

Your opinion is wrong.

And I dont know how you can say that Buda and Bled are better than all the architecture and scenery of the entire countries of Romania and Bulgaria when you havent been to either. There are some impressive buildings in Budapest and its a more lively city, but I dont think it compares to an fully-intact 13th century fortified Saxon village, which people still live in, despite Dracula being born in one of the restaurants.

How can an opinion be “wrong”? It’s just my opinion. Yours may be different.
Oldlady has been to both. She said she ‘liked’ Romania, but “absolutely loved” Slovenia. That’s what I hear from most people.
Also nowadays, with the advantage of the net, videos and virtual tours you don’t have to travel somewhere to know what it looks like. Actually, you see more in videos than you manage to see in real. Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, yet not everyone has been to Paris.
I’m sure Romania is beautiful, but Slovenia looks more stunning (at least from the pics and the travelogues). There’s a reason why Paris and Rome for instance are more famous than Sofia and Bucharest. There’s no comparison.

wrong opinion = sarcasm. But seriously, you shouldnt cast out negative opinions about places you havent been and know little about. Of course Sofia and Bucharest don’t compare, they are not the highlight of their countries, people that live there and have traveled there will usually even suggest that you not visit them. Thats probably a big reason those countries get a bad rep, people go to crummy tourist attractions like Bran and Brasov, or even worse, just assume that the capitol is good place to visit, then they spread bad rumors about the country.
And basing your opinions only on pictures is pretty one dimensional, first of all, pictures don’t do justice. But even if they are great shots, they only show buildings and landscapes, you cant tell anything about how food, culture, how friendly the people are, or any of the other things that can make for a great experience. Traveling is about more than just looking at old buildings.

Rob, I agree that the pictures don’t do justice, but they sorta give you an idea what to expect.
Anyways, you conquer. My opinion IS wrong I was thinking of Romania only in terms of Bucharest. But after seeing some pics of Translyvania, I’m really starting to like the place.
I had no idea it was that densely forested. The Saxon village you mentioned looks awesome too.
Were you referring to Sighisoara?

The Herr didn’t enjoy Budapest but admits he didn’t have enough time to fully explore the city. To me that sounds like he’d be willing to go back if he had the opportunity to do so. Slovenia may be a good bet as you’ve been given first hand accounts. When traveling blind the advice of others can be important. For some reason I think Romania would be an amazing place to visit although I don’t know much about the country other than Vlad the Impaler, The Keep, and that Borat was filmed there.

Eastern Europe is a place I would really like to visit one day. Please report back about your trip when you return.

Going a bit off topic I agree 100%, So many people get hung up on going to see big pretty building’s. In my view seeing buildings and scenery although an important part for anyone travelling are only a part. For example i actually quite liked Sofia despite it not having many great attraction’s, the people there were brilliant and the place had a warm and friendly atmosphere about it.

I think either of the two places would be great to go to, Bulgaria is a very nice country with great people and also nice and cheap, Slovenia although i have never been looks great one of the reasons i am going there this summer. What ever you choose i am sure you will have fun.

I kinda disagree. For me the historical sites and the landscape are the MAIN part of traveling.
Food, locals, clubbing, shopping… are not enough reasons to go somewhere.
You don’t have to travel miles to eat a pizza, to party or to meet an Italian family. Most interactions abroad are with taxi drivers and vendors, who are only interested in selling you tacky souvenirs or with other American travelers.

You can eat a pizza, and meet an Italian down your street, but you can’t bring the Colosseum or St Peter’s to your town.

I partly agree with you Discobolus, and partly not. Food itself isnt worth a $1000 plane ticket (although Czech beer might be), but at the same time neither is a large, crumbly colosseum. Plenty of people go to Germany just for Oktoberfest (there are certainly better sights to be found in other cities), and plenty go to Spain just to run with the bulls, etc. I think they are pretty silly for doing so, but I also think people that go to Paris just for the effiel tower and that art museum are equally silly. They are chasing some preconceived experience rather than seeking out new discoveries.

And actually, the looking at photos thing can be a double edged sword. While it can definitely inspire you to visit certain places, it can also dull down the experience. It kind of ruined Budapest for me…after seeing numerous pictures and movies of the chain bridge, parliament building, and the castle, when I saw them for the first time with my own eyes it just didnt give me that surprise and awe that I usually get. Of course I hadnt seen the entire city, so it was still worth the stop, but I felt somewhat deprived about the sights that the city had to offer. For this same reason, I have zero desire to ever visit Rome. Bulgaria on the other hand, I had not seen or even known very much about what was there, so each new city was full of surprises.
Of course, thats just the way I like to travel, to each their own.

Or write a travelogue on here so everyone can benefit from your experience…

Gday,

I have been to Hungary myself for about a week and a bit, absolutly loved the place. even though i was bed ridden for several days of it due to a bad bug i got from one of the 100+ year old Thermal baths that are simply wicked! but yes go at your own risk! Budapest is a decent city, very western though i thought, and very smoggy due to the large amount of cars buzzing through it. The best part about the place was the amount of nice people i met and great places to eat, and eat realtively cheap compared to west europe! Though the place is getting more and more expencive.

I recomend if going to budapest to catch a train out to one of the many wine regions in hungary. I met an english bloke and we went to Eger for the day. Needless to say we had an awesome time. The locals were really nice, the food in the country towns is a hell of a lot cheaper then Budapest, plus the wine was dam tastey and cheap. Im talking full 3 course meals in nice resteraunts with a glass or 2 of wine for roughly $10-$15 australian, ($8-$14 US).

What ever place you go to im sure u will have a ball, cant wait to head back and see more of the eastern side. Good luck!