Hidden gems in Europe revealed where the Aussie dollar can get you much further

News.com.au

14-06-2025

If your plans for a European summer have been derailed by the terrible exchange rate, then never fear – there's a trick to enjoy the continent without breaking the bank.
At the moment the Australian dollar is abysmally weak – one Euro is close to two Aussie dollars, at time of writing.
But Europe's hidden gems are a bit of a life hack when it comes to saving a buck and also avoiding the crowds.
Trafalgar, a travel company which provides guided trips to more than 70 countries, offers a tour to central Europe called Bohemian Highlights.
The two-week trip took us to five countries, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Trafalgar is a way to see a lot of sites all while travelling in style – and I quickly learned that some of the places we visited were considerably cheaper than others.
Any country we encountered that hadn't yet converted to the Euro currency was way less of a hit to my hip pocket.
Throughout the action-packed trip, I also noticed Trafalgar didn't just check off the most iconic tourist spots to visit - we also ended up at places a little off the beaten track.
The trip was way cheaper than western Europe, particularly the Polish, Hungarian and Czech parts of the tour because each country has their own currencies – the zloty, the Hungarian forint or HUF, and then the Czech crown, respectively.
The Aussie dollar got me really far in all of these places.
Our Budapest tour guide told us Hungary had resisted converting to the Euro as it would cost an arm and a leg – and everything would become more expensive for its citizens.
As a result, I was able to splash my cash and felt a minimal dent in my bank account.
In Poland, in a cute little town square in the city of Krakow, I got a lamb goulash for little as $A3.
Hungary's buzzing Budapest and Prague in the Czech Republic were still considerably cheaper than the German or Austrian part of the tour.
But that's not the only reason I felt I had stumbled upon a lucky break in Europe.
Trafalgar's specialist tour guides were able to take us to places and give us a slice of history that I would have otherwise been totally oblivious about.
Trafalgar gave us a bit of a taste of life outside the major touristed hubs.
On the longer journeys between cities and countries, the Trafalgar tour bus stopped at PoznaÅ' in Poland, and Tabor in the Czech Republic. It was a nice taster of what a smaller, less touristed village was like.
In Krakow, Poland, we ended up at a buzzing restaurant on the outskirts of Krawkow, a bit of a drive away, that resembled a barn. The downstairs was filled with Polish voices as it was a favourite among locals and we were able to participate in polka dancing.
In Vienna, we ate at a place I can only describe as wacky. Called Marchfelderhof, the restaurant has become famous over the years because the owner offers free dinners to celebrities.
They literally rolled out a red carpet for us as we approached and there was not a single centimetre of wall space free.
Trafalgar took us to Szentendre – a quaint small Hungarian village – to escape the bustle and busyness of Budapest.
The biggest highlight had to be an all-you-can-eat buffet down the Danube River in Budapest.
The entire boat was booked out just for our tour group as we leisurely cruised down the second longest river in Europe, sipping on sparkling wine and watching the beautifully lit Hungarian parliament building on the banks.
At every city, a Trafalgar 'local specialist' - someone from the area who specialised in its history - took us through the city and gave us insight into the little quirks and culture of where we were.
Basically every place I visited in central Europe loved their pork and ham – pork schnitzels, sausages, meatballs, cured meats, you name it.
I soon learned that dated all the way back to when the Ottomans occupied parts of eastern and central Europe and couldn't eat pig as part of their religion. As a result, Europeans relied heavily on pork and ham and it's because a staple in their diet.
Another fun fact I learnt (other than discovering paprika is just dried and crushed capsicum) is that Hungarian consume a pound of paprika per person per year.
Despite it being known as a Hungarian spice, it too came from Turkiye and was introduced during the Ottoman invasion.
At a Hungarian cooking session, I was also taught that you have to turn down the heat before you add paprika to any dish. If you don't, then it's bitter as the sweetness burns off.
In Poland, I bought some amber jewellery for a family member. The local expert revealed that amber is a polish specialty. There's a whole industry of 'amber hunters' who scour the beaches in Poland because the rough sea is known to churn up amber.
As soon as we arrived in Vienna, we were told the city had free Wi Fi everywhere (I wish I'd known before as I could have saved money on my phone bill by not organising data while I was there).
We were also informed that 'every tree in Vienna is marked' – as the city keeps a tree registry, allowing those who are curious to look up the age, height and diameter of every tree there.
Did you know that Berlin has no city centre as a result of the city's divided history during the Cold War? I didn't but a local specialist told us that during a working tour of the German capital.
German students have to visit a concentration camp at least twice in their schooling.
Currywurst sausages are iconic to Germany and I learned it was because after WWII, meat quality was so bad that one woman came up with mixing sauces in sausages to mask the taste – partly inspired by ketchup from Americans and Worcester and chilli sauce from the English