• Europe,  Germany,  Travel

    How We Stayed Connected in Europe for Just 1 Euro a Day

    Our trip in central Europe lasted 25 days and covered Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Austria. Visiting this much countries meant we had to cross borders multiple times. Thankfully, there wasn’t any need for border control when moving between schengen states. The only non-schengen country we visited was Croatia. The other concern when vacationing in multiple countries nowadays is staying connected. The choices to address this will normally be between a prepaid sim card and a pocket wifi. We chose the former since there’s just two of us and it eliminates the need to think about pick-up, return, and deposit.   We were fortunate because the European Union abolished roaming…

  • Czech Republic,  Europe,  Hungary,  Transportation,  Travel

    Sleeper Train from Budapest to Prague

    After exploring Hungary, our next destination was Czech Republic!   We took a sleeper train from Budapest to the city of a hundred spires. We believe saving one night on accommodation is a good deal so we booked a night train which takes 10 hours and 34 minutes of travel, leaving Budapest Keleti at 20:05 and arriving in Prague hl.n at 06:39.   The cheapest early-bird rate, called SparNight, for the sleeper train is 59 euro per person in a 2-bed private compartment. I booked our tickets 11 weeks ahead and got it for 69 euro per pax. Out of curiosity, I tried searching for a 2-bed private compartment again…

  • Czech Republic,  Europe,  Hungary,  Transportation,  Travel

    Booking Budapest-Prague Sleeper Train Using Hungarian Railways Website

    Igal and I took the sleeper train from Budapest, Hungary to Prague, Czech Republic. If you’ve decided to travel the same way between these two cities/countries, below is a guide on booking a private compartment for 2 people using the Hungarian Railways Website. 1. Go to https://www.mavcsoport.hu/en 2. Fill-up the search fields with the following details: FROM: Budapest Keleti TO: Praha hl.n. DATE: <your trip date> 3. Unless you are entitled to a discount, retain FULL FARE in the drop down option then click the Search button 4. In the outward journey Select sleeping car Select own compartment Select 2 in number of passengers Input date of birth and gender…

  • Europe,  Travel,  Visa

    Schengen Visa Requirements

    This post provides further details on the documents I prepared for my Schengen visa application at the Czech Embassy Manila in June 2017. I started preparing the requirements even before booking my appointment at VISAPOINT. I started reserving accommodation once I’ve finalized the cities I wanted to visit and the movement between cities/countries. For me, the document that took up much time preparing was the trip itinerary because of the details that went into it. I had to research on each city’s points of interest, entrance fees, transportation costs, average meal cost, etc.   Application Form with Photograph This is a sample completed application form that is posted at a…

  • Czech Republic,  Europe,  Travel,  Visa

    Applying for a Short-Term Schengen Visa at the Czech Republic Embassy in Manila

    Before picking the Czech Republic Embassy for your Schengen Visa application, you have to make sure first that you are applying at the correct embassy. You can submit you visa application at the Czech Republic Embassy only if your trip meets one of these three: Your destination is just one country which is the Czech Republic; You’re visiting multiple countries and the longest stay will be at the Czech Republic; You’re visiting multiple countries with equal length of stay and Czech Republic is your point of entry (ie., the first country you’ll visit)   The earliest you can apply for a Schengen visa is three months before the start of…