Budget Update: Eastern Europe and Greece

The last leg of my journey cost about $5,000 over nine weeks.

My single biggest expense of the entire year was $875 for a weeklong yacht cruise in the Greek islands... and it proved to be one of my worst experiences. With this splurge, Greece added up to $2,415 for 23 days ($105/day).

Bulgaria was the cheapest of the bunch where I spent $130 over 4 days ($32/day). In many Eastern European countries beer really is cheaper than water.

Six days in Romania worked out to only $49/day ($295 total), super-cheap considering all of the towns I visited.

Two days of Jewish holidays in Hungary totaled $328 ($164/day) because I treated myself to two nights at the Budapest Marriott.

Back on the budget trail, Slovakia was $39/day ($230 over 6 days) including a classical music concert ($3.60) and travel through the countryside.

Poland came to $410 for nine days ($46/day) including car rental and gas but excluding damage from Eduardo (I'd rather not think about it).

Czech Republic was an expensive $125/day (three days in Prague) where I stayed in a nice hotel instead of a youth hostel and did a bit of shopping. Things in general are not cheap due to the tourist factor.

Finally, my last week in Spain cost $700 ($70/day for 10 days) including some new clothes and lots of sangria ($12 per pitcher).

Barcelona, Spain

This last travel entry is being posted from the comfort of a friend's apartment in Manhattan. A few days in Madrid plus a week in Barcelona were not as relaxing as I had hoped. I entertained myself with flamenco along with delicious tapas, washed down with plentiful sangria. It was a bit too cold for the beaches but the sunshine was pleasant for walking around town marveling at the creative genius of architect Gaudí. To me, his buildings, parks, and little touches to the city will always be the highlight of Barcelona.

I also expended a lot of energy with the police and US embassy going after Eduardo the professional con artist. Long story short, I discovered that he also stole my credit card numbers and -- to my great frustration -- ended up being set free on a technicality after being caught by Spanish immigration. Perhaps now I am more sensitive to thievery, but Barcelona (especially the ultra-tourist La Rambla zone) is rife with pickpockets/bag snatchers and much seedier than I remembered. Suffice it to say that I am ecstatic to be home.

Prague, Czech Republic

I ended my jaunt through Eastern Europe on a high note with Prague. While I expected the city to be similar to the other big cities I visited in the region (such as Budapest), it is more compact, more fun, and is gorgeous everywhere you look.

Unfortunately, it is also packed with tourists (even in low season) and consequently is the rip-off capital of Europe. It has been quite a while since I have been overcharged while buying train tickets, subway tickets, and burning CDs.

In addition to these little irritants, I "lost" my ATM card and in the process learned that Eduardo -- my travel companion in Poland and Jordan -- is a con artist. It has been an experience talking to police and immigration officers in Madrid, Spain with my limited Spanish. I am certain that these are signs that my trip is winding down. For now I think I'll take it easy for awhile in Barcelona and maybe Mallorca before wrapping up this trip with a flight back to the USA.

Poland

My week in Poland was intense. As a country, I loved it: the people are welcoming, the Tatra Mountains (near Zakopane) and the countryside are pretty, and the old town centers are as charming as any in Europe (Kraków, Zamość, and Lublin). But Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year, was a good introduction to Kraków. Services were awful and I saw firsthand how the neighborhood that was once the heart of a vibrant Jewish Europe is now lifeless.

Next I visited two concentration camps: Majdanek (near Lublin) was smaller and quieter than Auschwitz (near Kraków) and both were powerful in different ways. The only evidence that Jews ever lived in my grandparents' hometown of Żółkiewka is a small memorial in the park. Nearby the small town of Izbica has an old Jewish cemetery (now there are only fragments of headstones) that was also the site of executions and several mass graves.

Thankfully I had company: my friend Eduardo and I rented a car together for the tour. He and I met in Petra, Jordan a few months ago; now we're in Prague for a few days.