Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and August are also when rooms are in
shortest supply and when crowds can be
overwhelming.
Travelers to Eastern Europe have more
elbow room in May and June and from
September until mid-October. The weather
is more temperate and prices are lower
than in the summer months, but some
attractions, restaurants, and hotels may
operate on reduced schedules during this
time. Check ahead if there is something
that is a must-see.
During the winter months, tourism
shifts to Eastern Europe's mountain ranges
and metropolitan areas, leaving coastal
areas deserted. In fact, many island and
seaside attractions are closed altogether
from November to April, and even if they
aren't, visitors are few.
Eastern Europe's ski season lasts from
December to mid-March (longer in
Romania) and except for other snow
sports enthusiasts, you won't run into
many people outside ski resort areas if
you're traveling in the mountains.
Eastern Europe's city dwellers tend to
hunker down in winter, when the days
can be short, cold, and gray and the nights
long, colder, and silent. Concerts and thea-
ter productions are in full swing in big
cities during the winter but they attract
mostly locals, unlike the flamboyant out-
door music festivals that seem to go non-
stop in the summer months and attract
an international crowd.
Each Eastern European country cov-
ered in this guide has its own optimal
“season.”
Europe. This day is both a secular and
a religious holiday commemorating
the circumcision of Christ. In coun-
tries where Eastern Orthodoxy is the
predominant religion, many celebrate
January 1 as a civic holiday and Janu-
ary 14 as a religious holiday. The East-
ern Church in Bulgaria, Romania, and
Poland has adopted a modified Julian
calendar, which incorporates both reli-
gious and civic holidays on January 1.
In Russia, January 1 is a civil holiday
and the biggest of the year, a holdover
from the atheist Soviet government,
which banned religious celebrations.
February
Feast of St. Blaise.
The patron saint of
Dubrovnik (Croatia) is honored each
February 3 by Catholics worldwide as
a healer of throat ailments. But in
Dubrovnik, the saint is also revered as
the city's savior, a man who thwarted
an attack by invading Turks. He is
feted with parades, food, wine, and a
workers' day off.
Carnival.
This pre-Lenten celebration
begins in mid-February and ends at
midnight on Shrove Tuesday in cities
and villages all over the globe. It is cel-
ebrated to various degrees throughout
Eastern Europe, but lavishly so in
Rijeka, Croatia.
March
National Days.
March is a good month
for national days in Eastern Europe.
Bulgaria National Day
is March 3
while Hungary's is March 15. Bulgaria
also hosts
March Music Days,
a festi-
val of classical music and composers, in
March.
April
Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
These movable feasts can fall in March
or April, but they are both religious
and civic holidays for Catholics and
Eastern Rite Christians throughout
Eastern Europe whenever they occur.
HOLIDAYS, CELEBRATIONS
& EVENTS
Many of Eastern Europe's holidays and festivals
correspond to religious holy days (Catholic and
Orthodox) and to national commemorations.
January
New Year's Day.
January 1 is the first
day of the Gregorian calendar, which is
used by most countries in Eastern
