Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam

[~alex~]

My husband and I are planning a possible Europe trip this summer. We're planning on hitting Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam, and possibly Brussels. Does anyone have experience traveling to these places and using the gluten-free dining card at restaurants? How did it turn out?

I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing but I don't want to let celiac disease get in the way of an awesome experience. We backpacked through England, France, and Switzerland before I had celiac disease and it was such a crazy time it's hard to imagine adding the whole gluten-free thing into the mix but I'm sure many celiacs have done it successfully. We're planning on staying in hotels part of the time but also hostels sometimes and it scares me to imagine dealing with being glutening while staying in a hostel! If anyone has any other tips/ideas from their gluten-free travel experiences, it would be very helpful.

[psawyer]

Hi, Alex! Good to see you around. I can't offer any advice on your question, though. I haven't traveled outside North America since my diagnosis.

[GlutenFreeAl]

Do any of the hostels have kitchens? I've stayed at some truly horrid hostels, but I've also stayed at a few that had really nice, really well equipped kitchens, and I convinced my hubby (well, then boyfriend) to cook some meals ourselves. That cuts down on my anxiety A LOT and usually winds up being cheaper!

I unfortunately don't have any more specific advice than that. We were going to go to Vienna and Prague on our honeymoon in '07, actually. And we didn't. Partially because flights got sooooo expensive and partially because I was worried about finding food I could eat. I don't know if you can do dairy, but Eastern Europe is pretty cheese-centric. And sausage-centric. Yuck! We went to England and France and I did pretty well in those countries, England especially.

Keep us posted! I do hope you get to go on your dream trip!!!

[Jestgar]

A couple years ago I did Eastern Europe gluten-free. I had no problems. I mostly ate cheese and meat and fruit from the markets. And lots of chips

I also stayed in hostels, but I bought a small cheap pot while I was there, and used that to cook in.

Don't let worry about food mess with your plans. It'll all be fine.

[NJKen]

We're planning on staying in hotels part of the time but also hostels sometimes and it scares me to imagine dealing with being glutening while staying in a hostel!

If you are planning to stay more than one night in any location, then look into renting a vacation apartment. This will allow you to prepare your own meals (and you won't have to share the kitchen). The prices are comparable to hotel rooms.

[Mango04]

I've been to all of those places (except Brussels) I don't think you'll have too many problems. I usually rely on grocery stores/markets over restaurants and try to keep things simple. In the summer there are really nice markets with fruits and veggies and it usually isn't too hard to find the basics. Usually when I travel to a new city in Europe, without even trying, I'm able to find a health food shop which carries all sorts of gluten-free products. You can find quite a bit in the major drug stores as well (gluten-free bread, pasta, cookies, rice milk if you don't do dairy etc.).

I have quite a bit of knowledge about Prague so if you end up taking the trip and need more info. about the food etc. feel free to PM me and ask.

I agree though about not letting food mess with you your plans. If you really want to travel there are definitely ways to do it