Aurgasm’s taking an Eastern European vacation
I’m heading with Aurgasm friend, Adam, to Europe for three weeks in July.
Right after we land, we’re hitting up the Dour Festival in Belgium.
Totally psyched about this. We plan to bring you the same sort of broad coverage that we did for SXSW. Go check their lineup and yell at us if there’s anyone there we need to see.
We got our train passes
After the festival, we’re planning on meeting up with my brother in Stuttgart and taking the train around quite a bit. Right now we’re planning on hitting Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Prague, Olomouc, Krakow and Budapest. And then maybe Zagreb or Rijeka, Croatia, or Cluj, Romania, or somewhere else?
If anyone has suggestions for what to do or see, or any nearby cities, please leave a comment. (I might email you back) If you live in one of these spots, I’d love your perspective and we should definitely meet up for a drink!
Can I get some music, please?
Why, certainly :) Dub FX, is a beatbox artist who street performs all over Europe. Watching him construct one of his multilayered compositions is impressive—he throws some pitch-shifted bass underneath ethereal treble highlights and solid hip-hop vocals:
If you’re in Croatia, Dubrovnik is a beautiful place to visit. Looks like a great trip!
Joe, yah Dubrovnik was on the list for a while, but it’s just too far away, I fear. Looks beautiful, but at the same time, it didn’t look full of young, sexy, creative people. I’m probably wrong though; it’s incredibly hard to tell from this distance.
At the same time, I really want to hit some place on the water. Still trying to determine if Rijeka would be worthwhile.
The excellent (and free) ‘In Your Pocket’ city guides are indispensable for finding cool stuff in Eastern European cities. ¡Buen Viaje!
Oh, and a thank you to Miss Melissa Stafford for introducing me to Dub FX. :D
vacations it’s been always the best medicine to escape from monotony, have a nice trip but don’t forget us :)
by the way i’m a old follower of this site that a love to read, but this is my first time writing :P
Dubrovnik is “too far away”?! Weak, man, weak ;)
OTOH it isn’t full of young sexy creatives. But this is the Balkans we’re talking about. Young + sexy + creative? Must be Belgrade. Do it!
Cluj, Romania rocks. You’d love it. It’s a hip city, full of students, nifty bars and history. Personally, I’m from Brasov, another wicked place in the middle of Transylvania, the land of vampires (Dracula, to be specific) and amazing landscapes. You really should check out these two cities if you ever do come to Romania. ;)
HI there,
if you can extend your trip/holidays, try to have a look to the Budapest Festival named Sziget from the 12th to the 17th of august.
> http://www.sziget.hu/fesztival/?language=en
In my mind, this is the best festival ever of the world =)) !!
Cheers
A week-end trip to Dresden from Prague would be another alternative. By train you’ll see the probably nicest German landscape (called Sächsische Schweiz or Saxon Switzerland – it’s also worth for a day trip to hike or climb). And in Dresden you just have to ignore Frauenkirche and all the other tourist spots for the nearly dead and head right into Neustadt.
I recommend Wrocław, Poland. Beautiful, vibrant, cosmopolitan.
Great, I can see part of your journey will include Slovakia! OK, so here’s a couple of my tips for you:
1. Be sure to visit Banská Bystrica (it is just in the middle of Slovakia, on your planned way to Krakow. Situated in a beautiful area surrounded by mountains, you will love the place like so many visitors from abroad. While being there, be sure to visit the nearby small mining village Å pania Dolina, right in the midst of mountains.
2. See Kremnica and Banská Å tiavnica, the old mining towns. Banská Å tiavnica especially will take your breath away :)
3. Well, why not to stop in High Tatras, the most popular mountain range in Slovakia. Again, you ill love the place.
4. On your way to Tatras, you can stop to see Vlkolinec – a pictoresque small village, a part of the UNESCO herritage.
5. In July, there’s a “Bažant Pohoda” music festival held annually – July 16th – 18th. I would love to read your report from there on Aurgasm.us :)
having been to both croatia and romania, i would definitely recommend croatia over the latter, especially if you enjoy the water. the mediterranean is absolutely gorgeous; crystal clear turquoise water that’s always warm, the weather in the summer is comfortably hot, but not too humid, and the seafood is delicious! it was my favourite vacation destination ever. it’s super affordable to rent out an apartment in a local family’s house. the people are very friendly, and it authenticates the experience.
Instead of visiting Stuttgart you may as well go to Karlsruhe or Heidelberg or Augsburg.
In my opinion those are more beautiful and interesting.
But because your brother is livinf there, there should be no chance ;).
But I would like to join you up in Stuttgart, if you don’t mind.
And DubFX rocks.
As far as Dour recommendations go — Monotonix, Monotonix, Monotonix!
Check out @ Dour: Caribou, Crystal Castles, Deerhoof & Bogdan Raczynski. Have a nice trip!
I went last year to Rijeka and is nice. Dubrovnik is indeed nicer, but “far away”, so check Rovinj, which is closer (north) and less crowded than Dubrovnik and as beautiful. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
Then, if you go to Pragu (massively touristic, but nice), you must go to Kutna Horá, which is 80km. By train is easy to reach and not expensive. Check the wikipedia-page, it’s really worth.
Amsterdam is one of the greatest cities. You’ll like it.
And think about coming here, to Berlin. A lot of stuff going on…
Best!
Cool! I’ll be at Dour too!
Hi there! Long time reader, and listener, first time writer! Loving all of the positive mention about Rijeka, and I agree, if you want to catch some rays, beautiful Croatian scenery, and Balkan history, this is the place. Granted, it is not really a tourist city, but, the surrounding little towns are. As for catching some alternative tunes, I’m not sure. With summer coming, there will be festivals, concerts, and what not else, so, it might be worth your time. But, if you make it to Rijeka, I love meeting new people, so, that drink idea sounds good!
I have been to Amsterdam, Brussels, Stuttgart, Krakow and Budapest, and I have to say they are fantastic places. You will have the time of your life, and then some. I only wish I could tag along, but I will be saving for London :)
I would say out of all those places my favourite was Budapest. It is such a hip and cool part of europe, great people, very creative and 24 hr bars. It gets painful :)
gracias for that Dub FX video – great performance
check Colours of Ostrava, ethno festival, starting soon.
Stuttgart: Don’t bother about the central, mostly they just play cheap electro. check out wagenhallen (wagenhallen.de) for concerts or events like the silent friday. its in the nordbahnhof area. nearby you guys go to the wagons (http://ffus.de/Anfahrt.htm). in both places live artists and sometimes you see dundu (youtube …) a 5 meter tall figure dancing throuch the crows. there is also a bar called unsichtbar close to those places as well as the monthly every first satureday gulli party at atelier eigenart in the basement … hf
“Bažant Pohoda” in TrenÄín, 16th – 18th July.
Patti Smith, Travis, Klaxons, Basement Jaxx, The Ting Tings, Lamb, Ojos de brujo, Razorlight, Emiliana Torrini, Nils Petter Molvaer, Orchestra Baobab, High Contrast, Alabama 3, Oi Va Voi, Buraka Som Sistema, Warren Suicide, Noisecut, etc.
Wow, Awesome music and performance. The Ghent Festival (Gentse Feesten) would be nice for you guys, It’s in Ghent – Belgium and on 18 – 27 July 2009. 1.5 million people attended the Ghent Festival in 2007 – making it the largest open air cultural and popular festival in Europe.
Greetings from Belgium.
keep up the good work Dub FX!!
Check the Creepy Teepee festival (4. – 9.8.) in Kutná Hora (CZ). Historical city and great indie music like Bill Callahan, Dent May, Final Fantasy, Handsome Furs etc. Have a great trip!
Thanks for the intro, a talented artist. I’d like to extend an invitation . . . Galway, on the West of Ireland, we’d love to see this show live.
And the Guinness will be on me.
PS.
You’ve got a beautiful site here, well done. I’ve been telling all my friends, so, keep up the good work.
WOW, chills. Never heard of DubFX, before, I guess that I am out of the loop, but this is down right amazing! The composition, the meaning, the power… whoa! Serious chills from the message ANDof course the messenger.. Glad I checked out my old bookmarks..
You should check out both Cluj and Sibiu in Romania ;)
I went to Dub FX this summer and he was really great. He concerted in my hometown, meaning Cluj. By the way, you should really come here! Yes, of course, Dubrovnik beats Cluj on the sights, but we beat it on the drinking and having fun part. Wild people in Cluj. You’re gonna love living the Eastern European Dream :))
This is freaking sick! man…