In fact, geographically, this is Central Europe, but it is located “east of the Berlin Wall”. The countries in this region are a step behind the development of the West of the wall, perhaps because of that, they still retain many ancient features and quite unique peaceful beauty.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
During this trip, I saw different colors of old films, romantic and peaceful. The long winding fields, pretty little street corners, stone-paved roads or ancient churches and lazy rivers. Eastern Europe in my eyes has something sad, light and vast. A bit of wandering of an unplanned walker, I wandered, looked at life and wondered about things I had not even experienced, an Eastern Europe that I had known through song lyrics, pictures and old films.
Eastern Europe in my eyes has something sad, light and vast.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
A picture of a village in the world of "Lord of the Rings"
I visited a small village in the southern part of the Czech Republic, in the Moravia region. Before my eyes was a strange landscape, the fields winding along the green hills rising in the vast sky. Even though I tried to stretch my eyes to see, the whole field was still an endless space, immense to the horizon. Occasionally, a few small lonely houses appeared or a herd of deer wandering on the winter field, peacefully grazing. The sad scenery, with a hint of mist drifting in the air, captivated me. Just like that, I kept walking and kept watching the vast space that stretched like big waves. Sometimes selfishly, I hated the winds that disturbed the stillness of nature and all things.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Moravia is like a land in Lord of the Rings. This area is also called Little Tuscany because the fields are similar to Tuscany in Italy. Although I visited it was not the season of ripe rice, but still, contentment is happiness. And the feeling when I came across a “chapel” in the middle of a vast field was so peaceful that I forgot my dream of ripe rice fields. The chapel looks like a shrine in the Vietnamese countryside but it is actually a small chapel, because most of the people in Eastern Europe are Catholic.Cost of Eastern Europe trip
- Drinks: A glass of draft beer is about 60,000 VND, sometimes even cheaper than bottled water. Most tap water is drinkable.
- Food: 1 buffet meal from 200,000 VND - 400,000 VND. Prices are equivalent to eating in restaurants in Saigon and Hanoi.
- Sleep: A day in Airbnb is about 20 - 40 euros for 1 night, 1 room. And in a 4-star hotel in Brno - Czech Republic, it is 75 euros per night, 1 room of 50m2, with kitchen.
The further you go, the more the view ahead is no longer of vast rice fields. Instead, there are tall chestnut trees and large oak trees, or sometimes barren gorse trees that sway in the wind. Farmers here often use oak branches as firewood during the cold winter. Next to the fields and on the hills are often small villages. You can easily recognize them by the bell tower of a church or the blue smoke rising from the stove.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
The village is often a place of refuge for lost travelers like me and a companion. Luckily, that day I was taken by a new friend to see the old train coming in and out of the station. The feeling of waiting for the train and taking a picture of the train arriving was not unlike the scene of the two sisters waiting for the night train in the work of writer Thach Lam. The train came quickly, went quickly, bringing instant liveliness and also returning the silence immediately.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
For me, the unplanned trip was a lucky trip, when I heard the church bells ringing so peacefully in the morning mist, when I saw with my own eyes the faint black smoke from the kitchen loft spreading into the sky. And listening to the breath of a peaceful new day. I enjoyed the feeling of being completely separated from the noisy, bustling world I was living in, separated from plans for the future. I knew I was here, right in the middle of a quiet village and kept the most peaceful memories. The church bells signaled the prayer time, waking up the new day and that bell also brought me peace and warmth in my soul.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
For me, the unplanned trip was a lucky one, when I heard the church bells ringing peacefully in the morning mist, when I saw with my own eyes the faint black smoke from the kitchen loft rising into the sky.
Bridge between past and present
Eastern Europe to me is two contrasting colors. One color is calm, cool and carefree, the other is ancient, solid and poetic. This trip I visited three large countries in the Eastern European bloc, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The trip lasted nearly half a month, that was enough for me. Enough for me to let my soul wander in the remote countryside and immerse myself in the ancient and romantic cities.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
If you have followed me through my explorations of the Himalayas and the Arctic, you will be surprised by how gentle and slow this trip is! But this is the part of my life that I pursue. I like Eastern Europe because it is so beautiful and poetic, and also because Eastern Europe preserves many beauties of time, of evidence, of the past.
I like Eastern Europe because it is so beautiful and poetic, and also because Eastern Europe preserves many beautiful features of time, of relics, of the past.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
I visited Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the capital of the Moravia region. As a large city, buildings and skyscrapers are inevitable, but the interesting thing about this place is that it is separated from the old town. People have preserved a separate area from the architecture to the colors, keeping the most ancient things of Eastern Europe.
From the stairs up St. Matthias Church Hill in Budapest (Hungary) to the wall in Bratislava (Slovakia), from Brno Street to the alley in Prague (Czech Republic), from the blue Danube River flowing through Budapest to the solid bridge across it... All of them leave me with the feeling of wanting to wander and immerse myself in Eastern European cities forever. Like someone who has passed the other side of life's slope, the old cities with quiet corners after the New Year's Eve party have a strange attraction and calmness. Every corner is filled with poetry, as if there is a story telling about a part of life that has passed. I have no intention of going anywhere, no map, no landmarks, just around the old town, when I'm tired, I sit and sip a cup of coffee, listen to music, watch passersby, sometimes just look at a lamp, a wall, a hallway like a crazy person. To me, those are the things that connect the past with the present.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
In Western countries, people have a habit of opening small museums to record and preserve an item that bears the mark of time. If in Sweden I once visited a match museum, in Slovakia I visited a small museum about clocks. The museum is small and not very popular with visitors, but they still keep it running, although I think they sometimes don't collect enough money to pay the staff to take care of the museum. Here, books are kept recording the origin of the first clock. You can see tiny pocket watches or even huge ones hanging in castles. In the past few decades, clocks were the most valuable assets in a family.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
My journey was as easy as that, the day passed and the night fell. I wandered the streets, climbed the slope to reach the Christian church or looked at the bridges that glowed at night. If you have come to Eastern Europe, the architecture is the part that surprises you. You will be immersed in the architecture that is both ostentatious and sophisticated.
If you come to Eastern Europe, the architecture is part of the surprise. You will be immersed in the ostentatious and sophisticated architecture.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
I was fascinated by the old Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic. The bridge bears the marks of time and history, and is an important trade link between Eastern Europe and Western Europe. If your trip is leisurely, do not hesitate to stop on the bridge to take a portrait or listen to the locals tell the history of the old bridge. There will be stories and legends that you cannot find in books.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Continuing my journey through Eastern Europe, I stopped in Hungary. Hungary developed more slowly than the Czech Republic and Slovakia, so it still retains its quiet and ancient features. I visited some of the capital's great structures such as the Parliament Building and the Chain Bridge across the poetic Danube River, dividing Budapest into two parts. The left bank is Buda city and the right bank is Pest city. If the left bank of Buda is built on a hill with many magnificent castles, the right bank of Pest is built on a plain with many ancient buildings. Each structure in Budapest is meticulously and delicately designed. The Chain Bridge is a historical testament to the magnificent architectural works here, with the shape of four lions lying down, opening their mouths powerfully.
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
Photo: Hoang Le Giang
This trip I enjoyed more, relaxed more and nourished my soul more. Also because Eastern Europe is so quiet and peaceful, my trip was also gentle and calm.
More information
+ Visa: Some countries in Europe are relatively cheap and only need a single entry Schengen visa to enter: Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia. If you enter Croatia or Romania, you need a multiple entry visa or enter and fly from there to Vietnam (no re-entry to Schengen). As for the Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, in recent years the economy has improved so it is not so cheap anymore, but the prices are still better than the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and of course cheaper than Northern Europe.
+ Safety: Eastern Europe is quite safe for me, even if I stay one night in a deserted countryside. Visit some places you like, some famous landmarks, some great constructions, not to keep up with your friends but because it is worth it.
+ Explore: If you are a slow traveler, stay a few more days in a small village in the Moravia region, listen to the church bells at dawn or watch people getting ready to go to the fields. And don’t forget to visit the small, pretty museums in the city, which will bring interesting knowledge to your luggage. If possible, write down some of the things that impress you in a small notebook.
+ Experience: To make sure your Eastern European journey is not wasted, you must take the train from Prague (Czech Republic) to Bratislava (Slovakia) and back to Budapest (Hungary), the time spent on the train will be like a slow-motion film. But if you love the modernity of industrial cities, go to the windmills in Slovakia and visit the Hyundai car factories located there.
+ Cuisine: The cuisine here is not difficult to eat. There are over 20 types of sausages and more than ten types of beer for you to choose from. If you like alcohol, try sipping a sip of bull's blood wine in Hungary. And try cheese from the vending machine because most dishes in Slovakia are made from milk.
