Volume One · Spring 2026
A Fortnight in Central Europe
Nine Cities,
Fifteen Days
30 April – 15 May 2026
JFK · GVA · VCE · LJU · GRZ · BTS · BRQ · PRG · WRO · DUB
A travel companion: routes, rooms, anchors, and the small disciplines that keep a long trip from drifting.
Sharp pacing without drift 🇪🇺 good dinners on the nights that matter, real neighborhood texture instead of crowd traps.
The trip opens with a transatlantic landing in Geneva and a soft drift south to the Veneto, then turns east through the Slovene capital, takes a slow line up through Styria into the old Habsburg corridor, and finishes with three restorative nights in Dublin. Coaches and one cross-border train do most of the hauling; a single short flight closes the loop into Ireland.
A trip designed around dinners, neighborhoods, and the small windows when local life is unguarded.
| Thu 30 Apr | Depart JFK · Swiss |
| Fri 1 May | Geneva → Venice |
| Sat 2 May | Mestre → Ljubljana |
| Mon 4 May | Ljubljana → Graz |
| Tue 5 May | Graz → Bratislava |
| Wed 6 May | Bratislava → Brno |
| Thu 7 May | Brno → Prague |
| Sun 10 May | Prague → Wrocław |
| Tue 12 May | Wrocław → Dublin |
| Fri 15 May | Dublin → JFK |
| Date | Carrier · Flight | Route | Local time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 30 Apr | Swiss · LX023 | JFK → Geneva | 19:25 → 09:15+1 |
| Fri 1 May | easyJet · EJU7457 | Geneva → Venice Marco Polo | 17:35 → 18:50 |
| Tue 12 May | KLM · KL1336 / KL1137 | Wrocław → Dublin via AMS | 06:00 → 10:25 |
| Fri 15 May | Aer Lingus · EI109 | Dublin → JFK | 19:45 → · |
Dublin clears US customs on departure 🇮🇪 arrive three hours early.
| Date | Mode | Route | Departs · Arrives | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 2 May | FlixBus | Mestre → Ljubljana | 11:30 → 15:30 | 4h 00m |
| Mon 4 May | ÖBB · IR 576 | Ljubljana → Graz via Maribor | 10:15 → 13:33 | 3h 18m |
| Tue 5 May | FlixBus | Graz → Bratislava | 09:20 → 12:50 | 3h 30m |
| Wed 6 May | FlixBus | Bratislava → Brno | 11:45 → 13:20 | 1h 35m |
| Thu 7 May | FlixBus | Brno → Prague | 11:00 → 13:20 | 2h 20m |
| Sun 10 May | FlixBus | Prague → Wrocław | 10:35 → 14:55 | 4h 20m |
The ÖBB segment crosses the Slovene–Austrian border at Spielfeld 🇦🇹 carry a printed ticket and ID.
The trip begins in motion. An evening lift from JFK on Swiss LX023, dinner at altitude, and a thin window of sleep before Geneva at first light.
Pack the carry-on for easyJet's tighter cabin allowance the next day.
Geneva at 09:15 is for coffee and a bench by the lake, not sightseeing. Be back at the airport with margin: easyJet's bag drop is short and unforgiving on Labor Day staffing.
Hotel Guidi · Mestre.
The 11:30 FlixBus from Mestre Stazione lands you in Ljubljana by mid-afternoon 🇸🇮 a moderate-energy arrival, not a 20k-step day.
The Fuzzy Log · Ljubljana.
Sunday is quiet by design. Coffee and journaling at TOZD, Stow, or Kavarna Rog; a slow walk through Trnovo and Tivoli; a single Slovenian table for the evening.
The Fuzzy Log · Ljubljana.
The IR 576 lifts at 10:15, threads the border at Spielfeld, and is in Graz by 13:33. Museums are dark on Monday 🇦🇹 the day belongs to walking and food.
B&B Hotel Graz-Hbf.
FlixBus 09:20 from Webling, in Bratislava by 12:50. The city wears small well: do it on foot, then by Trabant, then over a long table.
Wild Elephants Hostel · Bratislava.
An hour and a half on the coach. Brno is not a deep-discovery city; it is one good loop, one excellent dinner, and a glass of unfiltered lager.
Grand Palace Brno.
FlixBus 11:00, in Prague by 13:20 at Roztyly. One postcard loop, one real neighborhood.
Onefam Home · three nights.
Victory Day means fewer assumptions and more deliberate choices. One café, one dinner, one outdoor loop 🇨🇿 pre-confirmed.
Onefam Home.
Whichever way Friday went, this is the day Prague carries: coffee, food, café culture, social energy.
Onefam Home.
FlixBus 10:35 from Černý Most, in Wrocław by 14:55. Sunday quiet 🇵🇱 anchor the night with an actual plan.
Hala Targowa is lunch logic, not dinner insurance.
The Bridge Wrocław · MGallery.
One of the load-bearing food days of the entire trip. Walkable and local: Nadodrze, the university quarter, Cathedral Island, the bridges. Thirty minutes before sunset, catch the gas-lamp lighting on Cathedral Island.
The Bridge Wrocław.
KLM 06:00 out of Wrocław, through Schiphol, into Dublin at 10:25. Embraer first leg, 737 second. Keep the morning clean.
Overplanning the night. Dublin keeps.
Latroupe Jacobs Inn · Talbot Place · three nights.
Skip Temple Bar. The good Dublin is two bridges and a corner pub away.
Laundry, repacking, one walk, one café. Lock airport logistics today, not tomorrow.
Latroupe Jacobs Inn · final night.
Not a sightseeing day. Dublin clears US customs on departure 🇮🇪 three hours early, every time.
Fifteen days. Nine cities. One long table after another.
1 May 🇮🇹🇸🇮🇦🇹 Labor Day across Italy, Slovenia, and Austria. Bank-style closures, thin transit, reduced restaurant staffing.
4 May 🇦🇹 Monday in Graz: museums dark, many kitchens closed.
8 May 🇨🇿 Czech Victory Day. Plan Prague around neighborhoods, not institutions.
10–11 May 🇵🇱 Wrocław Sunday-Monday stretch: confirm dinners in advance.
12 May 🇵🇱 Wrocław airport, 06:00 lift. Pre-arrange the taxi.
CHF · EUR · EUR · EUR · EUR · CZK · CZK · PLN · EUR. Five currencies; cards mostly accepted; carry a small EUR float for coaches.
Coaches dominate. Print the ÖBB ticket on A4 paper for the cross-border segment. easyJet bag-drop window is short and hard.
Dublin clears US immigration and customs on departure. Arrive three hours before EI109, not the normal two.
Mornings cool, afternoons mild, occasional rain 🇪🇺 a packable shell, one warm mid-layer, two thin sweaters. Walking shoes that take cobbles. Dublin will be wetter than the rest.
easyJet allows one cabin bag; bag-drop opens at 15:35 and closes at 16:45 in Geneva. Pack so you don't need the larger bag for the second flight.
Passport, ÖBB PDF on paper, easyJet boarding pass on phone, KLM cards in wallet, EI preclearance ready. One backup of all PDFs in email.
Two soft-arrival days (Mestre, Ljubljana). One real recovery window (Dublin buffer day). The rest is paced for one good walk and one good table per day 🇪🇺 no museum marathons.
Reliable on these corridors, with the caveat that the apps update gates late. Be at the stop 20 minutes early; Mlynské Nivy and Roztyly are confusing on first approach.
Sparschiene fares are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. The Ljubljana–Graz IR is comfortable; bring water and a snack.
Cabin-bag only on the Geneva–Venice leg. Check-in closes 50 minutes before departure. No leniency on bag size.
Schiphol connection is 2 hours 🇳🇱 comfortable, but the AMS shuttle between piers can eat 25 minutes. Don't dawdle in duty-free.
Preclearance line varies dramatically; assume worst case. Eat after preclearance, not before.
Lufthansa Business Lounge (Terminal 1) — the practical access path for SWISS business at JFK.
Priority Pass options exist; pick by gate to save walking time.
Executive Lounge — Priority Pass, opens 04:30, early enough to matter.
Priority Pass Aspire lounges exist but can be crowded. Treat as "gate first, lounge second."
Aer Lingus Lounge (Terminal 2). If using a Priority Pass lounge, do it before US preclearance — there's no lounge access on the US side.
| Item | City / Route | Nights / Mode | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Guidi | Mestre | 1 night, single | prepaid |
| The Fuzzy Log | Ljubljana | 2 nights, double | $126.01 |
| B&B Hotel Graz-Hbf | Graz | 1 night | prepaid |
| Wild Elephants Hostel | Bratislava | 1 night, dorm | $27.52 |
| Grand Palace Brno | Brno | 1 night | prepaid |
| Onefam Home | Prague | 3 nights, dorm | prepaid |
| The Bridge Wrocław · MGallery | Wrocław | 2 nights, superior king | 1,290 zł |
| Latroupe Jacobs Inn | Dublin | 3 nights, ensuite dorm | $140.15 |
| ÖBB Sparschiene | Ljubljana → Graz | train, 2nd class | €29.90 |
| FlixBus · 5 segments | across the route | coach | prepaid |
| easyJet | GVA → VCE | cabin-bag fare | prepaid |
| KLM | WRO → DUB via AMS | economy | prepaid |
| Swiss · Aer Lingus | JFK ↔ Europe | long-haul | prepaid |
A working ledger 🇪🇺 not a final reconciliation. Daily food and ground variance still to come.