[Rick Lee]

If China weren't still totally insane on the Covid restrictions, I'd say that's the best bang for the buck. Otherwise, eastern Europe is where it's at.

I've been all over the Czech Republic many times, stayed in B&Bs, mid-grade hotels and even at the taxi driver's house back in 1990 when all hotels were full due to the 45th anniv. of the US Army having liberated Plzen. The cool villages, small towns, cities, museums, architecture, history and, most importantly, the beer are just about as good as it gets in Europe. It's pretty cheap there still. And you're still near a lot other cool stuff in Europe. Poland has gotten a lot more expensive since I was first there in 1992. But it also has incredible history and beauty. Ditto for Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, basically all the places that were a pain in the ass to go to during the Cold War. We stayed at an old lady's house in Warsaw who lived there during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and she spoke perfect German, so she could tell us about it.

My next trip will be driving down the Croatian coast and then to Sarajevo, as I've always wanted to see the museum there on the Austrian Archduke's assassination. We'll probably fly to Munich or Vienna and drive down from there. Sarajevo's airport has horrible connections to the rest of the Continent.