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Cheated at Restaurant Metamorphis in Prague

You hear alot about restaurant scams in Prague--this place, recommended in the LP guidebook--scammed us one night.

We ordered two pasta dishes--mine with veal, my friends with seafood. When the dishes arrived they were indeed full of pasta but I had only two tiny, dried out slices of meat and my friend had four minature mussels and the tentacle end of a dwarf calamari. It was ludicrous, almost like our advertised meats were an afterthought. Clearly this is not the kind of presentation that brings people back to a restaurant, I can only assume that they wrote us off as "one-timers" (and they were correct!)

I hope that the the LP editors will reconsider this recommendation.

FYI, when I mentioned this to our walking tour guide about this the next day (we happened to be walking past the restaurant), she got very upset and insisted that I promise to write to LP and to the mayor of Prague. She said that her city would never improve if tourists let businesses get away with this kind of thing! So in respect of her, I'm posting. Now if I can only find the mayor's email address... :)

Sam W.

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Skopje Bus Station

I don't think this has been posted before:
Skopje Bus Station

There is an English version, and both international and domestic departures are covered. This should be useful for the many people who make connections in Skopje for various points in the Balkans.

Note that information in the LP Western Balkans guide about bus stations in Skopje is out of date. The old "Kale Bus Station" doesn't exist any more, although a few minibuses to Tetovo hang around the same general area. It seems that most or perhaps even all domestic and international bus services now originate at the main bus station, a shiny modern facility beside the very unshiny train station. The bus station even has electronic departure screens that alternate between Cyrillic and Latin alphabets - follow that, Belgrade!

The information in the Bradt Guide is naturally even more out of date, as it was published several years ago.

92

There is a forum containing unbiased hotel/b&b/restaurants experiences for Romania and surroundings - www.travelexperiences.ro. Maybe some of the posts there will help someone in conjunction with the Lonely Planet information.

93

Forgive me if this post is inappropriate; I am trying to figure out the layout of this board.

Would someone tell me where to discuss Prague and visiting the Czech Republic? I was hoping for some dialogue about it.

Thank you,

ChairmanYow

94

Try the www.travelexperiences.ro forum for nice/bad places to stay/visit in Romania.

95

Few useful Websites for Bus time tables in Ex-YU:

www.sas.com.mk for Skopje bus station

www.bas.co.yu for Belgrade bus station (unfortunatly for finding local timetables in Serbia, all is done in Serbian, no English, but is latin version instead cirilic alphabet)

www.akz.hr for Zagreb bus station

Happy travels,

Macedonian

96

A few other useful websites for bus-timetables in former Yugoslavia, many are available in the local lingo only:

Ljubljana, Slovenia: click here

Split, Croatia: click here

Dubrovnik, Croatia: click here or here

Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina: click here

Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina: click here

Sarajevo, FBiH, Bosnia-Herzegovina: click here or here

Sarajevo, RS, Bosnia-Herzegovina: click here

Trebinje, Bosnia-Herzegovina: click here

Herceg Novi, Montenegro: click here

A few useful words:

avtobusna postaja = bus station
autobuska stanica = bus station
autobusni kolodvor = bus station
red voznje = timetable
medjunarodne autobuske linije = international buslines
prevoz = transport
polasci = departure times
dolasci = arrival times
polazak = departure
dolazak = arrival

97

New usefull site about Belgrade, Serbia.

98

Tour operators offering trips focused on backpackers:

Betroot Tours in Russia

Eastern Trekker Trips in Eastern Europe

Take a look tours Tours in Germany and Central Europe

99

Train in Slovenia is slow but good. http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/
If you buy tickets at the local train stations, be sure you know the price first! Also, if you get tickets in Ljubljana they might have a discount that day. Ask.

I am not familiar with hostels. Though I was looking around the border by Klagenfurt and did find some websites, didn't save them...so look. They are in English...Most people speak English a little in Slovenia.

100

A huge collection (18000) of topo maps of Eastern Europe is available for FREE or on DVD at http://mapstor.com
While travelling with my husband to Bailkal, Tibet, Caucasus we find them very handy and accurate. So I think they will be a great asset to travellers.

101

Dubrovnik Accommodation Links:
This is not an exhaustive list, just the ones I have found useful.
Dubrovnik Online
Dubrovnik-Accommodation
Dubrovnik-Apartments
Dubrovnik-Area.com
ToIslands Travel

Prebooking is advised in July and August. There is often a surcharge for stays of less than 3 nights.
Rooms will be offerred at the bus station and elsewhere. Otherwise, head to the nearest tourist office.

102

Slovenia and Croatia

Here are some links to the bus terminal in several Slovenian and Croatian towns:
Click here for the suburban bus routes between Koper, Izola, Piran and Portorož in Slovenian Istria;
Click here for the suburban, national and international bus routes from Pula in Croatian Istria;
Click here for the suburban and national bus routes from Rijeka in the Kvarner Gulf;
Click here for the suburban, national and international bus routes from Zadar in Dalmatia.

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Montenegro

International telephone access code: +381

Visa
Pre-independence regime
Post-independence regime

Municipalities
Andrijevica, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor (Perast), Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj and Zabljak

National parks
Montenegro has four national parks: Biogradska gora, Durmitor, Lovcen and Skadarsko jezero. Further information on the Durmitor National Park can be found here.

National tourism websites
Access Montenegro
Destination Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Beauty
Montenegro Summer
Montenegro Tourist Service
Montenegro (the official presentation of the Republic of Montenegro)
Visit Montenegro (by the National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro)
Visit Montenegro (by dBO Advertising Agency)

Local tourism websites
Ministry of tourism and environmental protection
Tourist Board of Bar (including the surrounding area)
Tourist Board of Budva
Tourist Board of Danilovgrad
Tourist Board of Herceg Novi
Tourist Board of Kotor
Tourist Board of Petrovac na moru
Tourist Board of Podgorica
Tourist Board of Tivat
Tourist Guide to Budva (commercial website for Budva)
Budvanska Rivijera (commercial website for Budva and the surrounding area)
Sveti Stefan (commercial website for Sveti Stefan and the surrounding area)
Other towns without a website can be found on this list.

Picture galleries
Alan Grant's Photo Gallery
Baraka Travel Agency
Vlado Marinkovic Photo Gallery
Montenegro
Reinier's Photo Gallery
Studio Strugar

Airports
Montenegrin airports
Tivat
Montenegro Airlines (flying to/from Podgorica Airport in Golubovci)

Bus timetables
Herceg Novi
Niksic
Podgorica
Montenegro Business Directory (contains a lot of practical information on transport from Podgorica, including telephone numbers of other bus stations that do not have a website)
Autobuska stanica = bus station
Polasci = departure times
Saobracaj = traffic

Ferries
Barska Plovidba a.k.a. Montenegro Lines

Ports
Port of Kotor
Port of Bar

Trains
Montenegrin Railways
The Montenegrin railway network is very limited with only three lines: Bar – Podgorica - Belgrade, Podgorica – Shkodër and Podgorica – Niksic. Only the first line is used for passenger transport, the other two lines are used only for cargo transport.

Accommodation
Adriatic Tour
Hippo Hostel in Budva
Montenegro
Montenegro Accommodation Database
Montenegro Summer
Tourist Board of Herceg Novi
Youth Hostel Spasic i Masera in Kotor
Youth Hostels affiliated with Hosteling International can be found in the villages of Bijela, Buljarice and Sutomore

Outdoor activities
Cycling Association of Montenegro
Sail Montenegro
Various activities organised by Eco-tours from Kolasin
Various activities organised by Montenegro Adventures from Podgorica
Visit Montenegro offers an extensive list of various activities
Yacht Charter Adriatic
Whitewater rafting on the rivers Tara and Drina (Bosnian company)
Whitewater rafting on the rivers Tara and Drina (Serbian company)

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My Montenegro photo galleries :)