In January of 2018, after I come back to school from winter break, I looked back at my previous thoughts on the Baltic trip. The idea hit me so hard that I had to look into it seriously this time, and some vague ideas appeared in my mind regarding a less popular route. The eastern part of the continent attracted me, and I decided to step into it alone. I planned out the entire trip across February and March; it was the most tedious part of the trip, booking the itinerary. I had to purchase all public transportation tickets, hotel/Airbnb stays, as well as reservations for some museum and historical sites. I marked all POIs and routes on customed Google map, with accurate arrival/departure time for every single stop. On March 26, after staying four days at alma mater Rice, I went on that magical journey towards Eastern Europe.
| Name | Date | Time | Location |
| SFO -> SLC | 03/22/2018 | 12:52 | Terminal 3, UA1678 |
| SLC -> IAH | 16:41 | Same plane | |
| Houston | |||
| IAH -> FRA | 03/26/2018 | 15:50 | Terminal D, UA 8867 |
| FRA -> TLL | 03/27/2018 | 16:41 | Terminal 1, Change Gate |
| Tallinn: Check-in | 03/27/2018 | Hestia Hotel Maestro | |
| Tallinn --> Riga | 03/29/2018 | 8:00 - 12:00 | Tallinn Bus Station Line 8007 -- Riga |
| Riga: Check-in | 03/29/2018 | Hotel Konventa Sēta | |
| Riga | 03/29/2018 | 14 - 20 | |
| Riga: Car rental RIG | 03/30/2018 | 8 - 9 | Riga Juglas iela --> Alamo, Riga Airport |
| Riga --> Hill of Crosses | 9 - 11 | Driving | |
| Lunch in Šiauliai | 11 - 12 | ||
| Šiauliai --> Kaunas | 12 - 14 | Driving | |
| Kaunas: Check-in | 16 - 18 | Hof Hotel | |
| Ninth Fort | 03/31 | ||
| Kaunas --> Vilnius | 03/31 | Driving | |
| Vilnius: Check-in | 03/31/2018 | Totorių gatvė 24 Vilnius, Vilniaus apskritis 01121 Lithuania | |
| VNO | 04/01/2018 | 7:30 | Car drop off at terminal C |
| Vilnius --> Warsaw | 04/01/2018 | 9:30 --> 9:40 | VNO - WAW, W6 1574, Wizz Air |
| Warsaw: Check-in | 04/01 | 10 - 11 | Apartamenty Zgoda Warszawa by DeSilva |
| Warsaw | 04/01/2018 | 10 | |
| Warsaw --> Kraków | 7:45 -> 10:28 |
Warszawa Centralna --> Kraków Głowny (main), EIC 1323, #86 Window Seat
|
|
| Kraków: Check-in | 04/02/2018 | Sheraton Grand Kraków | |
| Kraków: Saltmine | 04/02/2018 | 14:00 | |
| Kraków: Auschwitz | 04/03/2018 | 9:30 | |
| Kraków --> Wrocław | 04/04/2018 | 9:00 -> 12:30 | Kraków Dworzec Autobusowy MDA --> Wrocław Dworzec Autobusowy MDA |
| Wrocław: Check-in | 04/04/2018 | SleepWalker Boutique Suites | |
| Wrocław | |||
| Wrocław --> Prague | 04/05/2018 | 12:20 -> 17:00 | Wrocław Dworzec Autobusowy --> Prague (ÚAN Florenc bus station) |
| Prague: Check-in | 04/05/2018 | Žitná 1577/50, Prague, Prague 120 00 | |
| Prague | 04/06 | ||
| Prague -> Budapest | 04/07 | 13:45 --> 14:15 | PRG - BUD (T2B), FR 4092, Ryan Air |
| Budapest: Check-in | 04/07/2018 | Lánchíd 19, Design Hotel | |
| Budapest | 04/08 | ||
| Budapest -> Belgrade | 04/09 | 09:45 --> 10:30 | BUD 2B - BEG T2, Belavia 811 (B2 811) |
| BEG: Car Rental | 11:00 | Alamo | |
| Belgrade: Check-in | 04/09 | Metropol Palace | |
| Belgrade | 04/10 | Metropol Palace | |
|
Belgrade --> Kosmaj --> Kragujevac --> Niš
|
Driving | ||
| Niš: Check-in | 04/11 | Trg Pavla Stojkovića 15/14 Niš | |
| Niš --> Užice | 04/12 | Driving | |
| Užice: Check-in | 04/12 | Trg Svetog Save 11, Užice, 31000 | |
| Užice --> Belgrade | 04/13 | Driving | |
| Belgrade: Check-in | 04/13 | Garni Hotel Opera | |
| Belgrade: Black Turtle | 04/13 | Shake'n'Shake (Beton Hala in summer) | |
| BEG: Car return | 04/14 | 10:30 | Rental Car |
| Belgrade --> Sofia | 04/14 | 12:20 boarding | BEG T2 - SOF T2, Air Serbia 122 (JU 122) |
| SOF: Car Rental | 16:00 | Hertz, H60533289D0 | |
| Sofia: Check-in | 04/14 | ul. "Kozloduy" 87 entrance A, 1202 Sofia Center, Sofia, Bulgaria | |
| Sofia | 04/14 | ||
| Sofia --> Plovdiv --> Buzludzha | 04/15 | Driving | |
| Buzludzha: Check-in | 04/15 | Hotel Edelvais, Buzludzha peak, Shipka, 6140, Bulgaria | |
| Buzludzha --> Burgas --> Sofia | 04/16 | Driving, Black Sea | |
| Sofia: Check-in | 04/16 | Sofia Hotel Balkan | |
| Sofia --> Barcelona | 04/17 | 15:55-->17:50 | SOF - BCN, FR 6329, Ryan Air |
| Barcelona: Check-in | 04/17 | W Barcelona | |
| Barcelona --> Oakland | 04/18 | 14:55-->18:05 | BCN T2 - OAK T1, DY7075, Norwegian Airline |
The trip can be divided into three parts. While the entire trip is about history (Middle-Age, prewar, modern), it has a few layers of old towns, modern wartime, and post-war (or Cold War) aspects. The first part in Baltic countries and Warsaw are mainly about sites and architecture in old town squares. Oswiecim-Birkenau is the darkest page in modern history. Prague and Budapest is some sort of mixture of contemporary and ancient times, while the Balkan countries led an adventure into post-war ideologies, and natural scenes. Followed the steps of previous explorers, I captured some of the most astonishing symbolic sculptures in Serbia and Bulgaria, the representative being Buzludzha, the communism UFO.
It is too hard to comprehensively capture the thoughts and reflections on this amazing trip. I am going to lead you into the gallery, where pictures are the best narrators of my mind.