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Rick Steves' Eastern Europe

Updates since the fifth edition:

Transportation

Kraków–Prague daytime trains now require one or more connections. Also, Munich–Vienna–Budapest fast service via Railjet will increase to five departures per day (but in the reverse direction, one of the five will end at Salzburg instead of Munich).

Night train between Kraków and Budapest/Eger: The convenient night train connecting Kraków and Eger, with a transfer in Füzesabony, runs only in the summer (late June–late Aug). At other times of year, there is still a direct night train between Kraków and Budapest (southbound — departs Kraków at 22:15, arrives Budapest at 8:32; northbound — departs Budapest at 19:58, arrives Kraków at 6:33). However, this train is not as convenient for detouring to Eger.

If you're trying to connect between Kraków and Eger outside of summer, you'll likely have to backtrack via Budapest on the train noted above. But because the situation is always changing, it's smart to double-check specific schedules for your trip at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en.

Prague and Český Krumlov

See updates for our Prague & the Czech Republic guidebook.

Poland

In 2012, Poland — jointly with Ukraine — will host the Euro Cup soccer championship. Cities hosting matches include Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, and Wroclaw. Throughout the country — but especially in these four cities — a wave of new construction and refurbishment is hitting dingy old quarters and leaving them refreshed and reenergized. Poland is also using the Euro Cup as an excuse to beef up its rail system, as it creates a network of high-speed trains to more quickly and smoothly link together its major cities. (Unfortunately, in the short term this means that many rail journeys are taking much longer than normal, because of construction-caused delays.)

Kraków

To reach the city from John Paul II Kraków-Balice Airport, you can take public bus #208, #292, or (at night) #902 from in front of the airport to Kraków’s main bus station (3 zl, 50-min trip depending on traffic). To take the train from this airport, exit the main/international terminal, then turn right and look for the PKP sign to catch the blue shuttle bus, which will take you to the station nearby; then buy the 8-zl ticket on the train for the 15-min trip to Kraków’s main train station.

The Czartoryski Museum has closed indefinitely for restoration. The collection's two major paintings (Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine and Rembrandt's Landscape with the Good Samaritan) are temporarily on loan to other cities, but might eventually be displayed in the Museum of 19th-Century Polish Art above the Cloth Hall.

The Wawel Castle Museums have changed their hours slightly: they're generally open April–Oct Tue–Fri 9:30–17:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–18:00, closed Mon; Nov–March Tue–Sat 9:30–16:00, closed Sun–Mon; last entry one hour before closing. Exceptions: The Royal State Rooms are also open — and free — Sundays 10:00–16:00 in winter (Nov–March). The Crown Treasury and Armory is also open, and free, Mondays 9:30–13:00 in April–Oct. The Lost Wawel exhibit is also open, and free, Mondays 9:30–13:00 in April–Oct, as it is on Sundays 10:00–16:00 in winter. In summer, visiting on Mondays has its advantages (Lost Wawel and Crown Treasury and Armory are free and open 9:30-13:00) and its disadvantages (the other three museums are closed). Off-season, similar caveats apply to Sundays, while everything is closed on Monday.

The National Museum has a new branch: the Bishop Erazm Ciolek Palace (Palac Biskupa Erazma Ciolka). It features two separate art collections: Upstairs, the extensive "Art of Old Poland" section shows off works from the 12th through the 18th centuries, with room after room of altarpieces, sculptures, paintings, and more. The "Orthodox Art of the Old Polish Republic" section on the ground floor offers a taste of the remote Eastern reaches of Poland, with icons and other ecclesiastical art from the Orthodox faith. You'll see a sizeable section of the iconostasis (wall of icons) from the town of Lipovec. Both collections are covered by the same ticket and are very well-presented in a modern facility; while items are labeled in English, there's not much description (12 zl, free on Sun, 10-zl audioguide, Tue–Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 10:00–16:00, closed Mon, Kanonicza 17, tel. 012-424-9371).

The TI in Kazimierz is no longer closed on weekends, but open daily 9:00–17:00 (a few blocks off the bottom of ulica Szeroka, at ulica Józefa 7).

The Isaac Synagogue has changed its hours slightly: Sun–Thu 9:00–18:00, Fri 9:00–13:00; closes one hour later April–Sept; still closed Sat, note new phone number: 012-430-2222).

The Ethnographic Museum has also changed its hours slightly: open Tue–Sat 11:00–19:00, Thu until 21:00, Sun 11:00–15:00, closed Mon, still free on Sundays).

Tours at the Wieliczka Salt Mine now leave daily July–Aug every half-hour 8:30–18:00; June at 9:00, 10:00, 11:30, 12:30, 13:45, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00; Sept every 30 min 9:00–15:00, plus 16:00 and 17:00; Oct–May at 10:00, 11:00, 11:30, 12:30, 13:45, 15:00, 16:00, and 17:00.

The Globtroter Guest House has a new URL and email address: www.globtroter-krakow.com, globtroter@globtroter-krakow.com.

Hotel Senacki has a new URL and email address: www.osti-hotele.pl, senacki@osti-hotele.pl.

The mobile-phone contact number for Kraków City Apartments is now 0504-235-925.

The express train to Warsaw requires a reservation.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Individuals may not enter the Auschwitz I part of the camp on their own during busy times (May–Sept 9:00–15:00). During these times, you'll need to join a tour or hire a private guide.

Warsaw

The street address for the TI on the Royal Way is Krakowskie Przedmiescie 65. The general information number for all TIs is 19431 from inside Warsaw, or 022-19431 from outside Warsaw.

The Royal Castle has new hours: May–Sept Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 11:00–18:00; Oct–April Tue–Sat 10:00–16:00, Sun 11:00–16:00, closed Mon; oriental carpet exhibition open daily 12:00–16:00.

The National Museum has new hours: Tue 10:00–17:00, Wed–Thu 10:00–16:00, Fri 12:00–21:00, Sat–Sun 12:00–18:00, closed Mon.

The Old Town Apartments have a new web address: www.apartmentsapart.com.

Hotel Gromada has a new web address: www.gromada.pl.

Siedem Grzechów ("Seven Sins") restaurant has closed.

Gessler restaurant now serves Italian food, not Polish food.

The Sandwicz milk bar has sandwiches only around lunchtime, but appetizing meals all day long.

The express train to Kraków requires a reservation.

Gdansk

The Main Town Hall is closed for renovation, at least through 2010.

Hungary: Budapest, Eger, Pécs

See updates for our Budapest guidebook.

Slovenia: Ljubljana, Lake Bled and Nearby, and the Julian Alps

See updates for our Croatia & Slovenia guidebook.

Croatia: Dubrovnik, Split, Korčula, Rovinj and Nearby, Zagreb, and Plitvice Lakes

See updates for our Croatia & Slovenia guidebook.

Austria: Vienna

To take the self-guided Ringstrasse tram tour, board tram #2 across the street from the Opera, then change to tram #1 at Schwedenplatz. A single tram ticket works for the whole trip, including the transfer, but can't be used to cover longer stops. (Trams #1 and #2 no longer circle the Ringstrasse completely. Instead, each now start and stop at points far beyond the Ring, but together they still run the whole loop.)

Vienna Hype is no longer printed, and available only online.

The Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg are now open daily July–Aug 9:00–18:00, Sept–June 9:00–17:00.

The phone number for standing-room tickets at the Opera (Staatsoper) is 01/514-447-880. We no longer advise showing up at 21:30, as the box office closes shortly after curtain time. If you do bum a ticket off a departing audience member, ask them for clear directions to your spot, and be discreet when entering mid-performance.

At the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Giusepe Arcimboldo's paintings now hang in the Italian wing.

The Lipizzaner Museum has closed.

The painting gallery at the Academy of Fine Arts is closed for renovation until Feb 2010. Its regular collection goes back on display in March 2010.

The Liechtenstein Museum is now open on Tuesdays (Fri–Tue 10:00–17:00, closed Wed–Thu). It holds a complete cycle of early paintings by Rubens, not Rembrandt.

MUMOK and Kunsthalle Wien are both now open daily.

The Wagenburg Coach Museum is now open daily year-round.

For the Kahlenberg view mentioned in the paragraph on the Heurigen in Grinzing, take bus #38A (not tram #38) from the Heiligenstadt U-4 station.

Budai Ildiko, who used to rent rooms, has retired.

Smoking is now off-limits in all Austrian restaurants and cafes of at least 50 square meters (540 square feet); places at least 80 square meters big are allowed to build separate smoking rooms for their patrons.

Construction is underway on a huge new central station, located where the current Südbahnhof and Südtiroler Platz U-Bahn station sit. The new station will be built as a through-station (rather than a terminus station); the city is hoping to have the new station running by 2011, and all finished by 2013.

For more, see updates for our Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol guidebook.

Appendix

In the Climate chart, the third line shows the number of rainy days.