Eastern Europe: Rush here while you can before it changes!

Eastern Europe is a wonderful place if you're lucky enough to have a few weeks off. Although Westernization is creeping in, there are plenty of small towns where you can escape if you don't want to see a Body Shop and McDonald's on every corner. The capitals, of course, are stunning and beautiful, so you wouldn't want to miss Prague and Budapest. There are so many small towns in the Czech and Slovak Republic and Hungary that you wouldn't want to miss. Visit the spectacular mountains in Slovakia and Slovenia, and the plains of Hungary, smothered with sunflower fields, are worth seeing. My personal favorite is Slovenia and its capital, Ljubljana, which has a sleepy and provincial feel to it. And of course, there are the Baltics. If you go to Russia first and take the train into Estonia, you'll feel as if you're on a different planet. The Baltics are amazing: three small countries that have very different ways about them, and are inspiring if you have a chance to observe and watch its people recover after decades of Soviet domination!

• The Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania)

• Czech and Slovak Republics

• Hungary

• Poland

• Slovenia