Europe has a lot to offer travellers, whether you’re going on a month long inter-rail tour or for a weekend away. Every city has something unique to experience, from culture to landscapes, so we’ve shortlisted the five best to visit this summer. Before you travel make sure you are protected against any health costs by filling out your EHIC Application Form.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam offers a mix of historical culture (a visit to the famous Anne Frank house is essential) and diverse nightlife. There are over 300 festivals every year and most of these take place in the summer. There is sure to be something happening every weekend, from dance music to food and beer festivals. Although it might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a trip to Amsterdam, there are beaches just half an hour outside of the city by train. Alternatively, you can spend the day exploring along the canals by bike, which is the most popular mode of transport in the city.
Budapest
Night view of The Széchenyi Chain Bridge from Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary
Budapest is great for travellers on a budget, with food, drink and accommodation being inexpensive. The picturesque city is a great place to soak up the sun, with plenty of parks to explore and its famous thermal baths to relax in. A river cruise on the Danube is the perfect way to spend a day seeing all the sights, including the Royal Palace and Buda Castle.
Venice
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
The canals of Venice have long been a favourite of travellers in Europe. Although the summer months may be the busiest, it is the best time to explore the waterways by gondola or water taxi. You’re never far from a secluded spot or a hidden pathway in the historic city. A highlight in the summer is stopping to enjoy some gelato in the scenic Saint Mark’s Square.
Paris
Courtyard of the Museum of Louvre, and its pyramid.
The city of culture may be an all-year-round attraction but the summer months are the best time to explore. Not only can you experience the clearest view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, you can also enjoy the park beneath it. Although it is worth arriving early in the morning to avoid long queues and make the most of your day! A cruise on the river Seine will take you through the heart of the city with its distinct architecture. Alfresco dining in Paris is unmissable, so plan to visit between July-August.
Berlin
Bikini-Haus, Berlin. In the background: Gedaechtniskirche, Upper West and Zoofenster
Berlin comes alive in the summer, people can be found eating and drinking in bars and restaurants outside all day. The historical sites such as Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall are a great way to spend a sunny day. Afterwards, you can unwind in one of the many beautiful parks around the city. Day trips are easily accessible from the city if you’re looking to get the most out of your visit, Potsdam is just half an hour away and is home to Schloss Sanssouci the largest World Heritage Site in Germany.
Crowds of migrants have been protesting outside Keleti train station in Hungary’s capital Budapest after police sealed off the terminal to stop them travelling through the EU.
Hundreds of people chanted “Germany” and waved train tickets after being forced to leave Budapest’s Keleti station.
Officials said Hungary was trying to restore order and enforce EU rules.
Austrian police said 3,650 migrants arrived in Vienna from Hungary on August 31, with most heading for Germany.
Hungarian officials had earlier appeared to abandon efforts to register them under EU rules, which mean they should seek asylum in the first EU country they enter.
About 1,000 migrants congregated outside Keleti station, in the east of the city, as it was evacuated on September 1.
It was closed briefly and public announcements said no trains would be leaving.
The station soon reopened to non-migrant passengers, with lines of police preventing migrants from entering the main entrance.
The move came amid chaotic scenes after hundreds of migrants had tried to board services to Austria and Germany.
Some complained that they had paid hundreds of euros for tickets, and called for the station to be reopened so that they could continue their journey.
The number of migrants entering Europe has reached record levels, with 107,500 arriving in July alone.
Germany expects to take in 800,000 migrants this year – four times last year’s total.
Many of the migrants have been waiting at Keleti (East) station for days. Reporters said they are mainly Syrians, Afghans and Eritreans.
Under the EU’s Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers must register in the first EU member state in which they arrive. However, the protocol has been widely abused, as many of those who reached Hungary first arrived in Greece, where they failed to claim asylum.
The Berlin government has already said it is suspending the Dublin rule for Syrians who have travelled to Germany.
Some 1,400 people had arrived in Munich by September 1, after travelling through Austria, and more were due.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 31 called for greater EU co-operation on the issue and implicitly called for other countries to welcome more refugees.
“If Europe fails on the question of refugees, then it won’t be the Europe we wished for,” she said.
The risks for migrants travelling through Europe were highlighted last week by the deaths of 71 people, who were found in a lorry that had travelled to Austria from Budapest.
Most of the dead were thought to be Syrians fleeing the country’s civil war.
Hundreds more people drowned in the Mediterranean last week while trying to reach Europe from Libya.
People in Hungary have been warned to prepare for their country’s worst floods ever as the Danube is set to reach record levels this weekend.
“We are facing the worst floods of all time,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Europe’s second longest river is set to hit unprecedented levels in the capital Budapest in the next few days.
A state of emergency has been declared, and thousands of volunteers worked overnight to reinforce the banks of the swelling river.
Water levels are set to reach reach 8.85 m (29 ft), some 25 cm (10 in) higher than the Danube’s previous record high in 2006.
Emergency workers have set up camps along the river as residents packed sandbags around their homes amid an atmosphere of concerned expectation.
Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, tweeted: “Hungary well prepared for highest ever measured water levels on Danube. We are monitoring & ready to assist.”
Budapest Danube is set to reach record levels this weekend
Viktor Orban, who spent the night at a military barracks in the flooded western city of Gyor, said recent dry weather in Austria and Germany, as well as a hot forecast for Hungary over the weekend, gave reason to hope that Europe’s worst river floods for more than a decade could soon be over.
The Danube peaked on Thursday in the Slovak capital Bratislava, where the main flood defenses held firm.
In northern Germany, workers piled sandbags along the banks of the River Elbe as waters rose, after widespread flooding further south.
As flood waters receded to the south and east, defense work continued apace near Lueneburg in Lower Saxony.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from at-risk areas in Germany, where the flooding is worse than that recorded in 2002.
On Thursday the Elbe flooded parts of Dresden as it peaked nearly 7 m (22 feet) above its normal level, but the city’s historic centre remained unscathed.
Upstream along the Elbe in the Czech Republic, emergency workers used boats to shuttle supplies to stranded people as large areas remained under water.
Widespread flooding in central Europe has inundated swathes of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, killing at least 15 people.
Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party has staged a rally in the center of the capital in protest at the Budapest’s hosting of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Sunday.
Several hundred supporters took part, despite attempts by the government to prevent it going ahead.
Jobbik said the rally was a protest against what it said was a Jewish attempt to buy up Hungary.
The party, which says it aims to protect Hungarian values and interests, is the third largest in parliament.
It regularly issues anti-Semitic statements.
The event in Budapest on Saturday was billed as a tribute to what organizers called the victims of Bolshevism and Zionism.
Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party has staged a rally in the center of the capital in protest at the Budapest’s hosting of the World Jewish Congress
“The Israeli conquerors, these investors, should look for another country in the world for themselves because Hungary is not for sale,” party chairman Gabor Vona told the rally, according to Reuters news agency.
Marton Gyongyosi said Hungary had “become subjugated to Zionism, it has become a target of colonization while we, the indigenous people, can play only the role of extras”.
Last year, Marton Gyongyosi had sparked outrage by saying all government officials of Jewish origin should be officially listed, as they might be a “national security risk”.
Some of those taking part in the rally were wearing the black uniform of Jobbik’s banned paramilitary wing, the Hungary Guard, which has been accused of vigilante action against Roma (Gypsy) communities.
PM Viktor Orban had ordered police to ban the march, but a Budapest court overruled the ban, saying it had been based on “unfounded presumptions”.
Viktor Orban instead instructed the interior ministry to use all lawful means to prevent the event, which goes against the constitution”.
Security was tight around the rally, with police blocking several streets, but there were no reports of unrest.
The WJC usually hosts its assembly in Jerusalem, but has chosen Hungary this year to highlight what it says is growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
The focus of its summit this year will be on the “alarming rise of neo-Nazi political parties and anti-Semitic incidents in several European countries, including Hungary”, it says on its website.
Spokesman Michael Thaidigsmann said the Jobbik rally was a “worrying sign that these people express their anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli ideology in such a public way”.
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]The Romanian Hungarian ethnic who managed to escape after he was buried alive on Csepel Island in Budapest gave his first interview to Realitatea TV, one of the most important Romanian news channels.
“They tied my hands and legs and started digging and then buried me to the chest.”
Csepel Island, Budapest, where a Romanian was buried alived last week.
The young man was recounting the traumatizing experience he went through on the Csepel Island: how he managed to get out of the grave and run away, full of mud and blood, from the place were several people had been killed for money, according to Realitatea TV website, realitatea.net. Six people were already arrested in the case.
The young man was brutally beaten up and buried after his hands were tied behind his back.
“They tied a rope around my neck and then I lost consciousness. I came to for a few moments. I knew and I felt I was going to die, I passed out several times. In the meantime, one of them kicked me on and on and told me to take everything out of my pockets. I gave them the bank card, I didn’t want to die for 60,000 forint (220 Euro). I couldn’t even feel pain because all my strength was focused on keeping the rope away from my neck. Then they tied my hands and legs and started digging and then buried me to the chest. I was in panic, I started crying, I was in a lot of pain,”
said the Romanian.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”] The young man, who has a double citizenship, Romanian and Hungarian, is living in Hungary since 2003.
The group leader seems to be a Macedonian man, who was hiring homeless people to help him bury people alive and obtain their bank cards information.
The Macedonian has been living locally and befriended his victim several weeks before the attack.
The survivor of the Csepel attack said he had been lured into the woods by the alleged killer to drink beer with a couple who lived there. After several drinks they set upon him, bound his hands and forced him to crouch in a hole before burying him up to his neck. They stole his valuables and made him reveal his bank card code.
After he was left by the assailants, who went to withdraw money from his card, the Romanian managed to get out and even if he was attacked by specially trained dogs, he survived and alerted the police.
The Macedonian and homeless couple who attacked the Romanian were arrested and other members of the group are being sought.
Four bodies were found on Csepel Island but police think there could be more.
The Macedonian admitted the killings and led police to a place deep in the woods, where they discovered the remains of four bodies buried in a large pit, Hungarian police were quoted as saying.
The Macedonian admitted the killings and led police to a place deep in the woods on Csepel Island, where they discovered the remains of four bodies buried in a large pit.
One media outlet reported that the alleged murderer was a former member of the Serb paramilitary group run by the late warlord Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic, which was notorious for its brutality during the 1990’s Yugoslav wars.[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]
Last weekend, horrible news went around the globe. A Romanian man, Hungarian ethnic, recounted that he was buried alive by three aggressors on the Danube’s Csepel Island near Budapest. After he hardly managed to escape from the scene of horrors, he went to the police. Furthermore, the Hungarian police found four bodies buried on the island, guided there by the Romanian. The man said the attackers forced him to give them his bank card PIN code. The Romanian managed to run and ended up near Francai Obol (Frenchman Bay) area, where nobody believed him and nobody wanted to help. The police eventually went to the scene, found the bodies, and run the investigations.
[googlead tip=”lista_mica” aliniat=”stanga”]Police unearthed four bodies of suspected murder victims in a wooded area of Budapest’s Csepel Island.
Budapest, Hungary. Police unearthed four bodies of suspected murder victims in a wooded area of Budapest’s Csepel Island, according to a Friday statement of the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigations (NNI).
Hungarian police unearthed four bodies of suspected murder victims in a wooded area of Csepel Island
A Hungarian couple and a Serb national were reported to be in connection with the murders, based on the declarations of a victim who managed to escape. The victims were thought to be buried from the neck down on the Danube’s Csepel Island in order to give their cards PIN codes to the assailants.
Laszlo Bartha, a NNI’ spokesman said that for the moment police did not wish to confirm the number of suspects.
The NNI’ statement said that the precise cause and time of death, as well as the circumstances were being examined by forensic medical experts.
The NNI statement also said the police launched a murder investigation and would not reveal any further details for the time being.
[googlead tip=”vertical_mediu” aliniat=”dreapta”] A correspondent of a Hungarian newspaper, Magyar Nemzet, talked to a young Hungarian ethnic from Romania, who had narrowly escaped to be killed after being buried from the neck down in a hole in the ground.
The victim said the Serbian man, whom he knew, invited him for a beer with friends – a homeless couple in the woods – last week. He said the three suspects attacked him when he arrived, strangling him and demanding to give them his credit card and PIN code. After telling them the code, the suspects went to withdraw money from ATM, leaving their victim buried in the ground with his hands tied behind his back.
The victim said that after managing to break free and after fending off the dog his captors had left behind, he went back to his lodgings in Csepel and alerted the police. On his way home, the young man appealed to several people for help but nobody was willing to give the first aid to a man, who was bleeding and covered in mud.
According to Hungarian press reports, the police arrested the Serbian suspect within 24 hours, but did not make the arrest public before the suspect made a confession.
“So far, six individuals are into preliminary custody in connection with the bodies unearthed on Budapest’s Csepel Island few days ago,” a Hungarian National Bureau of Investigations official, Zoltan Csizner said in Budapest on Saturday during a press conference.
“The suspected ringleader, who was also arrested, claimed to be a Macedonian citizen, but there were no available documents to prove his nationality,” Zoltan Csizner told at press conference. Citing the interests of investigation, he told reporters not to ask any questions.[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]
“The four bodies still remain unidentified and the circumstances of their death are being examined by forensic experts,” he said.
Csizner did not rule out that the six suspects taken into police custody now are belonging to a Csepel homeless gang whose three members were arrested in spring under the suspicion of armed robberies and whose clapboard dwellings were close to the site of the unearthed bodies.
Six individuals are into preliminary custody in connection with the bodies unearthed on Budapest's Csepel Island
The Macedonian Foreign Ministry said on Friday there is no notification from the Hungarian authorities regarding the arrest of any Macedonian citizen in connection with the murders.
Police suspects that the series of murders happened over a period of several months without the knowledge of the authorities due to the peripheral lifestyle of the homeless people, which went beyond the bounds of social or police control.
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