By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries— During a day or two in a small town in the Czech Republic this summer, we noticed a local gently chiding two tourists for smoking while standing at a bus stop in a small village. The lady’s reprimand was delivered in the politest possible way, and clearly no offence » Read more

The reputations of some of Europe’s most-visited sights are built on myths, but the stories are always interesting. We have lost count of the number of times we have read that the rail route across Lapland to the Norwegian port of Narvik is the northernmost in the world. It is not, but it is nonetheless » Read more

Breezing through a Paris train station this month, we realized how easy European rail travel has become. We sit at home, plan and pay for trips online, and even print out our own train tickets. How times have changed. A few years ago, we envied rail pass holders for the freedom that came with being » Read more

June 30, 2010. As we have said before, it is not compulsory to take the fast train. On most routes through Europe, there are plenty of slow train alternatives, often more scenic and sometimes much cheaper. A great weekend bargain in Germany On the weekends, for example, travelers can roam the length and breadth of » Read more

If you have followed our posts here on EuroCheapo over the last three years, then you’ll certainly know that we are not really urban creatures. True, we have spent many happy months exploring European cities, often those that are lesser known, and we have written about many of them—Roskilde, Poznan and Trieste, for example. Europe’s » Read more

It is that time of year when Europeans enjoy a number of weekdays off work, variously celebrating this or that religious feast or national festival. This month has already seen public holidays associated with Mayday and the Liberation or end of World War II (the latter understandably marked more by victors than by the vanquished). » Read more

Some arrivals are just too good to miss. Dropping down out of the skies to land at some of Europe’s trickier airports can be challenging for even the most experienced pilots. And, even from the passenger cabin, the steep glide down into the airstrips at Innsbruck (Austria) or Lugano (Switzerland) can be very impressive. Funchal » Read more

It is that time of year again when we start to look ahead to next year’s European rail schedules. As always, the December timetable change ushers in a host of new services and changes to existing routes. The new schedules kick in this year on Sunday December 13, 2009 and for most services in Europe bookings » Read more

Okay, so you think you’ve got Europe absolutely sussed out? You recognize the difference between an ogonek and an umlaut, know your pelmeni from your pierogi, and can map with precision the boundaries between the six time zones that straddle the European mainland? (Yes, there really are six separate one-hour time zones on the mainland » Read more