Since Latvia is going to take a big place in the guide section, an individual guide for the second biggest city of this amazing country should be made! With a population of 100.000, this is Latvia's second city, in the last century, it was one of the biggest jewish hubs in the north of Europe, and some synagogues still stand in the city centre, it used to be a rich cultural city and famous artist were born here like Mark Rothko (the one whose paintings sell for more than 45 million dollars). The city had also Polish and German influence as you can appreciate in it's old name, Dinaburg. But the WW2 hit this city very hard and almost 80% was destroyed, along with the Jewish population, today you can just see the remnants of old Daugavpils in the Old Town and more specially in Rigas Iela. After the WW2 Daugavpils became a very important Soviet industrial hub, and it experienced a reborn, along with a big russian migration and therefore russification (now 60% of Daugavpilites speak russian, but most of them are not ethnic russians). After the independence many of the industries lost the connections to Moscow and went bankrupt, and thats why there are some parts of the city with a lot of abandoned factories, but since Latvia joined European Union, the city is recovering, starting to renew it's old past, but adapting and not hiding it's Russian legacy. So... why is this city interesting? It is incredibly interesting because is not the typical cozy turistical town but a huge historical and cultural place in the north of Europe, in fact you can visit different areas and places of the city where you can easily recreate how the life was in the Baltics since the 18th century until the recent years. The city is located in the south of Latvia, it takes 3h from Riga by train (a little bit more by bus) and the same from Vilnius (making it a nice place to start visiting Latvia if you come from Lithuania). There are regular trains and buses from Riga and one bus per day at 17:00 from Vilnius of Ecolines company. In Daugavpils, both train and bus station are very close to the centre since the first is in Riga Street (the main street of the city) and the bus station is just 2 minutes from it. Very close to the bus station the is an original park which has a lot of diferent benches, made by a lot of alternative designers. One of the places that first will get your attention is the huge fortress that is close to the centre of the city, in fact, is becoming the symbol of the city and there has been a lot of ongoing efforts to restore this magnificent complex to it's former glory, entrance to the fortress is free, but you may head to the information office inside (the red building) where very skillful guides will explain you all the history of the site (like how a fortress thought to stop Napoleon became the training place for future aviatiors and soviet cosmonauts). Inside the fortress is also the city most famous museum, the Mark Rothko Art Centre, where you can find many paintings from this artist as long as other modern art exhibitions, all in an incredible building with very nice indoors, the restaurant of the museum, Arsenals, is a perfect place for lunch since even if it looks very fancy, the prices are quite cheap (Chef's pasta dish plus soup for 5 euro). In the way to the Old Town, you should visit the Zoo (Latgale Zoo), which in the outside looks (let's be realistic) terrible, but inside is the coolest mini-zoo I ever was, with snakes, monkeys (even exotic smaller ones), kaimans and fishes... and the coolest ant colony ever and the best is that all this for 30 cents! In the centre you should head to the information office in Vienibas Square (the one with Latgole hotel), there they will explain you where the oldest buildings are, the centre is a mix between 19th century buildings, the first independent latvia architecture and 90's architecture. The best street to walk by is Rigas Iela (Riga Street) which is the city main pedestrian way and is fully restored. The street finishes in the train Station but thats the opposite direction to centre, so after you explore it a bit, you should head back to check the rest of the old town. In the Saules Street is the Latvian house (Latviesu Maja), which opens on Wednesdays and Fridays, if you speak Latvian or Russian you can hear the explanation of the traditional Latvian everyday objects since the 19th century, but any foreigner can also check them for free. Around the University is the city most famous restaurant, Gubernators, and definitely my choice if I would be a tourist, they have awesome local beer as well as a wide selection of food, the interior is very original since it combines traditional Latvian and Russian tools with any other kind of things from all over the world (actually is the place which inspired me to start WTF Worldwide). Also very close the university is Galerija Bunkurs (Bunker Gallery), which is in my opinion, the best collection of Soviet and WW2 (Allied and German included) things I have ever seen, from Air raid alarms, encrypter machines and horse gasmasks to secret KGB documents and the first Tvs which appeared in this part of the globe, to go there you need to go on Saturdays from 10-14 or make an appointment with the owner (Phone in this link, open comment) at the moment the visit is just avaliable in Russian, but maybe in the future there would be some English explanation to some of the huge amount of objects displayed. Recently, a new exciting activity has opened in Daugavpils... the Escape room! As somebody with experience on them, I really recommend it due to its atmosphere and a different way to make the puzzles, involving a lot of out-of-the-box thinking! Check it out here If you want to learn some history of the city, for very good price, you should go to Daugavpils Museum, with a big amount of objects from the last century (carts, pictures, ortodox icons, soviet propaganda, old clothes and furniture...). In the centre there are several places to eat such as Taller (which also works as disco) and Ukrainska Hatka (where you can try Ukranian food for around 3 euros). If you want to have a coffee or bakery in a fancy french-style place without emptying your pockets you should go to Shokoladna (in the centre and also in Riga street), but if what you are looking is for a cool place to have a beer, you are lucky, a pub with strong character is in the town: Artilerijas Pagrabi, located in the non-pedestrian part of Riga Street is a very Latvian place where live music, original decoration and regional beer makes an excellent combination. So as you see, this city will be an unusual but interesting place to see if you are visiting Latvia, I hope you have a great time here!
If you think that apart from the Tatras, the north of Slovakia has nothing to offer, you are mistaken! Two of the country most visited attractions are there! The best places to start exploring this region are Poprad and Spiska Nova Ves, both cities are quite similar and have nothing specially remarkable but a cozy main square (Spiska Nova Ves is better) but they will be a nice spot to eat and get ready to visit the nearby attractions. As most places in Slovakia, the region is easily reachable by train, both public and private (RegioJet, Students get -50% in this, but never for free) taking from 5h to Poprad and 15 minutes more to Spiska Nova Ves, this line is country main one, so trains are the best here, (actually Slovakia has EU best railway system accoriding to land/price/quality) so expect Dining cars, Plugs and sometimes even WiFi. There are trains from Bratislava starting late in the night and early in the morning (circa 5:50). There are also buses but since trains are for free the most obvious option will be that, anyway, remember that if you want to check any transportation in Slovakia www.cp.atlas.sk is the solution. So going back to what to see here, we have the most beautiful national park: Slovensky Raj and the biggest castle of Slovakia, Spis Castle. Spis CastleSpis Hrad (Castle) is the biggest walled complex in Central Europe, and it's preserved in quite good condition (the roofs are missing, but almost all the stone floors and walls are still there), it becomes the main sight from several kilometres away, since it's situated in a hilltop sourronded by a flater area and dark green forests. The castle itself is in Spisky Podhradie, which is non reachable by train but by bus from either Poprad or Spiska Nova Ves (closer option, but check both timetables). Once in Spisky Podhradie, the center is 50 metre from the bus stop and from the main square there is about half an hour treck to the castle entrance (unfortunately, the gate is in the oposite side), but there is an easy trail so don't worry too much, you can even do it with sandals and a little caution. Castle entrance is 4 euro for students, but well worth it, since a fast tour will take you more than an hour and half, but if you go in a relaxed way, you can spend 2 hours easily, there are also some tourist attractions inside, like medieval costumes, bar, souvenirs, bow and crossbow shooting, and a theatre play which unfortunately is in Slovak (actually makes sense since the castle is crowded by little kids in school excursions). The castle has a chapel, a big tower, long walkable walls, weapon expositions, torture room and incredible sightseeing (you can see the village below with the High Tatras at the end). For people arriving by car, there are 2 parkings, one close to Spisky Podhradie, which is 3e, but you need to walk 20 minutes, and another 5 minutes from the castle gates (I didn't check the price but makes sense that would be more expensive). Remember to check the timetable for your bus to the next destination, but keep in mind that going downhill is much faster and the bus station is almost in the main square, if you have time, see the village a little bit, get to the Info Office in the main square where a friendly local will meet you with information about the things to do and places to eat in the village. There are 2 churches in the village itself, but around 10 minutes walking there is an old walled monastery (except the ugly socialist building) with the best church of the village. Another village you should visit is Levoca, you can well see it in 1 h, so plan your way back to Poprad or Spiska Nova Ves throught here and spend some time seeing its walls or town hall, they worth a visit. Buses between all this towns are villages are cheap, for example student ticket S.N.Ves-S.P. Is 0,95 € and S.P-Poprad is 1,50 € and take from 40 minutes to one hour, depending if it is direct or not. But the best nature outside Tatras in Slovakia is also very close to here, the most famous National Park: Slovensky Kraj (Slovak Paradise) is a few kilometres from Spiska Nova Ves or Poprad, it's prepared for the tourist with beautiful wooden trails and amazing natural beauties like waterfalls or canyons. Slovak ParadiseThe Slovak Paradise is not very easy to reach, but not imposible, happens the same as Spis Castle, you can either go to Poprad or Spiska Nova Ves and once there take a taxi (about 15 € for taxi) or you can go by bus (be ready to see a lot of gypsies) connections checking them in cp.atlas.sk beign the destination Hrabrusice (actually the bus stop is passed the village, is in a crossing between Hrabusice and Betlanovce, ask the driver about Slovensky Raj and he will drop you there). Once in the crossroads bus stop, walk about 10 minutes towards the mountains, following the main road across the bridge, and you will arrive to the base camp, called Podlesok. Here there are bars, restaurants and accomodation, in case you want to spend some more days in there. There is a symbolic price t enter the park, being 1,5€ or 0,5€ if you say that you are student (and the ticket officer is in a good mood). The park has a lot of trails, but the most common one is Sucha Bela, in which you hike in platforms in a narrow river between stone walls. If you get to the top and also go to Klastorisco (ruins of a castle) and go back, the route will be around 16 km and will be aproximately 5h, there are many other natural routes as Prielom Hornadu, where you go in a bigger river canyon. In the base camp you can get a lot of information about which trail will suit you better. So if you want to have an amazing spontaneus weekend trip, come to this part of Slovakia! You won't regret it!
Poland is not just Warsaw and Krakow, there is a lot more to see! Some of the best places are true hidden gems but they are very easy to reach! Some this places are Bydgoszsz, Torun, Lodz and Poznan, each city has a special charm, and even if they are not so famous as Krakow, it doesn't mean they lack a strong turistical network, because some of them are visited every year by thousands of locals. LodzThe easiest way to reach any of this places is from Warsaw, reachable by Polskibus, and again, use Polskibus.com to book your ticket to each city, why Polskibus? Because is not only the cheapest way (if u book it with enought time) but also the easier to organize since you just need a code and not a printed ticket, and there are a lot of buses doing the same route everyday. Just pay attention to the bus stops (check them in google maps) and remember that there are two Polskibus stops in Warsaw: Mlocyny and Wilanowska, reachable by metro, but far from each other. For some people this is the ugliest city in Poland, but for almost every friend who came here, it surprised them with its special charm. The city is one of the main industrial hubs of the country and in the past used to be even more important, keeping a lot of red brick factories open for tourist. You can see it all in one day, but I recomend to see it in the afternoon and spend a night to keep seeing it in the morning, since sleeping is really cheap here. The main place where you should be hosted is around the Piotrowska street, a very beautiful and long pedestrian street, most buildings are renovated and doesn't envy those in Viena, making this street one of the most beautiful ones in Poland. Here you can find many shops and places to eat and drink, as well as the tourist information, but what makes this city unique is not in this street, it's that you have the oportunity to see old industrial complexes mixing with XXI century like in Manufaktura, a huge old factory now hosting museums, cinemas and restaurants. In the city map, all those old factories are marked, you should not miss the old mill and the textile factory since they really look from the end of XIX century (actually they are). In one corner of the city there is also the Jewish Cementery, build to bury the victims of the Holocaust, and just close to it is the Radegast train station, where the trains to concentration camps were departing. Also, Lodz is cheaper than Krakow and Warsaw, so don't miss this oportunity and go to a proper Polish restaurant and try a lot of beers in one of the several breweries the city has. PoznanOne of the most beautiful cities in Poland, well preserved and full of student life. This city has a more serious feeling as it's in fact a important city for the country. Here the Polskibus leaves you kinda in the middle of nowhere, don't panic, take a tram to the train station Dworzec Glowny and once there look for one to cross the bridge and go to your area in the city centre, and if your place is close to the university you can simply walk. When you will depart from Poznan, you don't need to go again to that far away parking in the outskirts, the stop is in the Bus-Train station this time, and has a shopping centre to spend your waiting time. The old town is like most of the Polish big cities, with a square shaped main square and colorful houses around as well as many beautiful churches. To visit it properly you should go to the tourist information, where there are some of the most skillful employees I have ever seen, they will make you a guide in a few minutes and will answer most of your questions. The musical instrument museum is a must if you are interested in music, since it has a very big collection of all kind of instruments, some of them used by Chopin too, and a hidden secret: An Oscar awarded because of best sountrack. As many old clocks in central Europe town halls, the one in the town hall has a special action, everyday at 12, two goats go out and clash their horns twelve times, later you can see them closely in the museum inside the town hall. But the city centre is not just the old town, if you go to the east side you will see the oldest cathedral of Poland, just crossing the bridge, and if you go to the west side, you will be in the magnificent university district, which combines old architecture with modern art. Do not miss the Poznan university since the building is really unique. In this city there are a lot of nice turistical places to eat and drink, but if you are looking for really cheap and good food go to the restaurant of Explorers hostel (Wszystkich Świętych 6), where you have a dish of pierogi for 8 PLN, and is just 2 minutes from the main square. Also if you want to party, there are several places to go since it's a student city, it even has a branch of the most famous discos: Pacha. You should book your accomodation around the city centre, it doesn't need to be inside, can be around it since everything is easy to walk once you are in the old part, and the prices will be higher the closer you get to Ratusz. Update 2016: I recommend the touristical restaurant: Wiejskie Jadło in the main square, also visit Park Citadela, and Manekin, a restaurant where you can eat 300 gram crepes for just 3 euro!!! Also Galeria Browar is a shopping centre you should consider visiting, since it's a huge restored beer factory. BydgoszszThis is probably the city with less things to do of the whole group, but it can be a calm destination if you are looking for a rest, or it can be seen in the morning in your way to Torun. The bus leaves you on the other side of the river, you need to cross the bridge (follow the big red brick tower) to get to the old town, but remember the place since you will need to come there again to get the bus, if you need to keep busy while waiting for it, there is a mall just 100m from it. As I said before, this town can be seen quite fast, like 3h but it has nice things to see. They have a very nice simple map, which highlights the main things to see, ask it in the tourist information in the main square. You should not miss the views from the water tower in the southern hill, or the mill island, since both places are sometimes overlooked. Around the main square there are some cozy streets and once you cross the main bridge (which has a very nice view) you will see a bigger kind of streets, more from the XIX century, there are some nice buildings and statues in this streets such as the statue to one of the mathematicians who broke the Enigma machine code, who was born here. This town is the cheapest, since is not that turistical, you will see it in the prices. If you want something from other country, I recommend the Ukrania restaurant in Dluga street, the food is similar to the Polish one but the waitresses and the atmosphere is 100% Ukranian, which can be a nice change since probably you would have been eating Polish food for some days. TorunTorun is among my top 3 of beautiful cities in Poland, because instead of being a big XIX century city, it's more medieval, and has a lot of building still standing from that age, the old town is so cozy that you will believe that you are not living in XXI century anymore. The bus stop is in one corner of the Old Town, so in 3 minutes you will be in the tourist area, if you arrive by night, check the map closely since many streets look similar. Again your first stop should be the tourist information, because this city is full of museums an each person likes different things, I recomend to see Nicolas Copernicus house, to see how the famous Polish astronomic had his studio. Another interesting museum is on the main square, the house of exotic things, which has inside a wide variety of objects and furniture from all over the world, from a majestic stair, to a nice colection of chinese ceramic as well as a budist temple in the coutyard. A nice small museum is the Tony'Ego Halika exposition, which tells you the life of this famous cameraman who traveled the world with his camera in the XX century, and you can see his pictures and things he brought from his adventures. The city itself is so nice to walk, with so many towers and churches to see, also pay a visit to the old Teutonic castle, one of the first places where the people revolted against medieval lords. There are a big amount of hostels and cozy hotels inside the old town walls, so I recomend to be located there (but it doesn't need to be in the main square). As you can see, Poland has amazing places to see, not just Krakow and Warsaw, for me it's the best country to do tourism as student, since the infraestructure is perfect and the prices are affordable.
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