Medieval Europe has been translated, in a manner of speaking, into some of the most enchanting contemporary holiday destinations. Yet, none of them, I feel, are as charming and engaging as the countries that make up the "European Quartet"—Poland,🍌 the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Also known as the V4 nations—each of them uniquely alluring, the turbulence of their troubled past behind them. Indeed, I think their shared history and heritage, and that magnificent landscape of cultural delights and natural beauty, have created one astonishingly diverse and borderless holiday destination with less than a couple of hours of travel time between them. Curiously, the "quartet" aren't lost in a time warp—they are every bit as modern as Paris or London. I found so many pre-conceཧived notions slipping into oblivion as I travelled from Krakow to Prague, from Bratislava to Lake Balotone, as will you.