Central & Eastern Europe
Central & Eastern Europe Holidays
Regent Holidays has seen many changes in the world throughout its 40 year history, but none so great than the event that happened in the then West Germany in November 1989 - the fall of the Berlin Wall, which changed the face of Europe as we now know it. The victims of the uprisings against the Communist dictatorship in Berlin in 1953, Budapest in 1956 or Prague in 1968 will never be forgotten but none were successful in toppling communist rule over Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In 1989 the first free labour union was founded in communist Poland and under the new rule of President Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s politics changed and this was the beginning of the end of Communist rule over Europe. On August 23, 1989, Hungary opened the iron curtain to Austria. Mass demonstrations against the government and the system in East Germany begun at the end of September and on 18th October Erich Honecker, East Germany's head of state, had to resign and the new government opened the borders between East and West Berlin on November 9th.
There is much to compare and contrast when travelling through the five neighbouring countries of 21st Century Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. You cannot help but be bowled over by their capital cities, Hapsburg influences and stunning landscapes, with the majestic River Danube, a major trade route since the Middle Ages, flowing through the heart of Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest in timeless fashion. However, each country maintains its own individuality and charm.
