Alan and I took this tour of Highlights of Eastern Europe in mid May. The fast paced multi-country driving tour took us to capital cities, old and new, big and small, old town hall buildings and churches, places only a driving tour would take us to.

This part of Europe, geographically speaking, is in central Europe. For centuries, these countries were under the rule of the Hapsburg Empire. They share their roots in history, culture, language or ethnicity. Learning and retaining greeting phrases in Slavic languages as well as keeping straight with many currencies and their exchange rates were challenging as we were in and out of a country in a matter of days.

The region is known for its hearty food - sausage, smoked fish, stew, strong liquor and gelato. We also had some free time to do a few things on our own - hiking at Croatia's Plitvice National Park, attending a concert at the International Jazz Festival in Budapest, as well as visiting Jewish Quarters in Prague, Empress Sissy Museum in Vienna, and Pergamon Museum in Berlin...