Eastern Europe is the most exciting destination to open up for independent travel in years. The food is tasty, the people are friendly, and the variety is breathtaking. Poland and the Czech Republic may seem like extensions of their Western neighbors, but they are extensions that were frozen in time for fifty years before the Iron Curtain finally fell some twenty years ago. Communism did nothing if not stop the clock; and what you find now are perfect specimens of old Europe, the one with the stunning architecture and the exotic city centers. Places like Russia and Romania are something else entirely, of course, and Turkey is one of the most popular destinations in the world. Best of all, prices are cheaper than in the West. The coming out and rapid maturity of Eastern Europe as a travel destination may be one of the most exciting developments in many years for all travelers, but hostels are the biggest thing that has occurred in decades for budget travel. Typically viewed as a luxury, international travel is now possible for almost anybody and everybody with the desire and the disposition, thanks to the explosion of hostels in the last few years. Hostels have long been around, of course, at least in Europe, but those were youth hostels. These are hostels for backpackers, and flashpackers, too, their more upscale urban cousins. Best of all, they aren't just for youth anymore. C U in Tallinn, or Istanbul, or Krakow, or Sarajevo, or...?