I'll have a 3-week trip to PL, CZ, SK, AT, HU. Any (Language) recommendation?

[El Forastero]

Hello Community.

I'm planning a 3-week trip to Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, starting on October 15th.

I have my decent C1 English (I suppose this would be my main language during the trip), and I hope this would be enough to get on in those countries. (Please confirm me if that woulnd't be the case ). I have also my A2-ish German for the couple of days that I'll be in Vienna. But I have zero notion of Polish, Czech, Slovakian nor Hungarian.

So, considering that I still have 7 weeks before the departure, I'd like to ask you (people who either live or have already been there) if it would be worth learning some of these languages in these weeks. It would forcefully be something very basic, like the first 10 lessons of Pimsleur or something similar, as there's no more time.

I'm looking forward to your suggestions

[El Forastero]

My plan would be:

POLAND: Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław: 6 days
CZECH: Prague and Brno: 3 days
AUSTRIA: Vienna: 2 Days
SLOVAKIA: Bratislava: 2 Days
HUNGARY: Budapest: 3 Days

So, not enough time to use the level that I eventually learn, I'm aware of that. But I would like to greet and order a meal, at least.

I will also be very grateful with some touristic recommendations. I'm following the classical "trip advisor stuff", but I'm open to something not widely known.

[tiia]

From my own experience I have to say that I had no issues with English in Budapest and Bratislava, though my trips were quite short. I had no problem in Prague either, but hardly ever had to talk to locals. (Same for Bratislava.) It's difficult to judge. In the evenings in Prague the rest could speak enough Czech to at least order in a bar and understand the waiter.
Out of the trips I made* the most difficult place language-wise was Wroclaw. But I recently had no issues in Warsaw. So if you try to get some words of any language I would go for Polish. You also plan on spending more time in Poland than in any of the other countries.

Btw you may know that Slovak and Czech are very closely related.

If you want touristic advice: rent a bike and go outside the city. I regret I didn't come up with that idea in Bratislava already. The cycling route next to Hrad Devín looked sooo tempting.
I did rent a bike in Budapest and went to Szentendre. Though the condition of the route was not the best one, it was still nice to get outside the city.

In general I'd say be careful to not just rush through the places, but plan enough time for each of them. So far you have 8 cities in 3 weeks. So many places in so little time can be exhausting.


*Out of your list I have been in Prague (2013, 2014), Wroclaw (2016), Budapest (2017) and Warsaw (2023). I cannot say anything about Brno, Vienna or Krakow.

[Cavesa]

My plan would be:

POLAND: Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław: 6 days
CZECH: Prague and Brno: 3 days
AUSTRIA: Vienna: 2 Days
SLOVAKIA: Bratislava: 2 Days
HUNGARY: Budapest: 3 Days

So, not enough time to use the level that I eventually learn, I'm aware of that. But I would like to greet and order a meal, at least.

I will also be very grateful with some touristic recommendations. I'm following the classical "trip advisor stuff", but I'm open to something not widely known.

While I agree with Tiia that English suffices for the normal touristy stuff, I would recommend Polish, if you want to enrich your journey and perhaps consider even continuing the language afterwards. Why: you spend 6 days there.

[El Forastero]

If you want touristic advice: rent a bike and go outside the city. I regret I didn't come up with that idea in Bratislava already. The cycling route next to Hrad Devín looked sooo tempting.
I did rent a bike in Budapest and went to Szentendre. Though the condition of the route was not the best one, it was still nice to get outside the city.

Thak you very much for your recommendation. I love cycling, but I suppose those days would be too cold for a ride, as I found that 5ºC could be the average temperature at the end of october / beginning of november. If by any chance the weather conditions are convenient, i'll definitely follow your advice

[El Forastero]

While I agree with Tiia that English suffices for the normal touristy stuff, I would recommend Polish, if you want to enrich your journey and perhaps consider even continuing the language afterwards. Why: you spend 6 days there.

Thank you very much, Cavesa. After reading about the locations I'll visit, I'm even considering expand the Polish sector one day or two, so your advice is even more suitable for me.