Zürich, Viena, Budapest, or Bucharest?

[Walker]

I am booking my flight ticket now for the summer trip to Europe, I get to add a stop-over between Prague and Istanbul for free.  I am looking for a city with fun night clubs and gogo boys, and good supply of hot rent boys.  I am thinking Budapest but want to hear others opinion.  Zürich, Viena, Budapest, or Bucharest?  I should add that I am not white, so want to avoid racist countries.

[tassojunior]

The #1 complaint about most European cities is that they're overrun with nasty and dangerous Romanians, and you want to go to Bucharest? If you do I have a friend there who can help. 

NOT Budapest. No. Not for guys. Beautiful city etc but the gay scene is awful. Action Bar when open with it's live sex shows was a reason to visit. Now there is no reason to visit gay-wise. 

Vienna's coming up and some of the Czech guys rotate there but there's a thread on the other site of someone visiting now who is finding sparse pickings. We have found a few of the very top guys visiting there this week. 

Zurich is where most guys travel for making money. Half the guys I know from Prague are visiting there at any one time. The "agent" who handles BelAmi guys is there too now. The Carosel hustler bar has closed and the Paragonya "working boy" sauna is completely Romanian and trashy people now. Zurich is easy and I can introduce you to the best guys easy. Since business is down the rates have gone down too. About $157US I hear. A year ago it was $200US before every other escort in Europe rushed in. 

If you have a ticket that allows a stopover you can probably do an open-jaw also to see another city. 

btw- When you search remember you are looking for Wieners. ...you get more matches in Vienna using it's native name Wien. 

[mvan1]

4 hours ago, Walker said:

I am booking my flight ticket now for the summer trip to Europe, I get to add a stop-over between Prague and Istanbul for free.  I am looking for a city with fun night clubs and gogo boys, and good supply of hot rent boys.  I am thinking Budapest but want to hear others opinion.  Zürich, Viena, Budapest, or Bucharest?  I should add that I am not white, so want to avoid racist countries.

Sorry, the places you mentioned in your question are no longer fun places for gays.  

You left off one of the few remaining European cities where a gay can have unrestricted gay fun - that place is Barcelona.  Not only that, the weather there is usually fairly nice.  

Zurich is over ridden with dishonest Romanians and lady boys from Thailand, Cambodia and close by areas.   There are some occasional nice Brazilians in the sauna and/or on line.  

Vienna has become a desert for finding guys (except for conniving and dishonest Romanians).  

Budapest is not friendly to foreigners, especially since the Hungarian election twelve days ago whereby a Trump like bigot won their election - see this - (fits Trump to a "T") 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_parliamentary_election,_2018

Read some of the comments shown in the above citation - here is just one of them:  "the result will give very strong legitimacy to Fidesz & strengthen Orban's resolve that hatemongering works. That's a race to the bottom."

In short, foreigners are not welcome by the winning party in Hungary.  

Sorry to cause you concern about your choice of location for your vacation.  You might want to check to see how much the airline charges as a penalty to change your itinerary.  

You can see from reading this forum, Brazil seems to be a place where most, if not all, can have a grand time.   I completely agree that you would have a great time in Brazil under normal circumstances.  

If Brazil is not an option for you, you did mention Istanbul as a stop over if you choose.  It has been a while since I visited Istanbul.  If I recall, there were some interesting saunas there where there was a lot of action but those who participated pretended they were not gay.  The city was not clean.  My most enjoyable thing I did was have lunch on a boat while it went down the Bosphorus but that would not satisfy a vacation.  

Bucharest was already mentioned by another poster.  

Good luck 

 

 

[tassojunior]

100% agree that Barcelona is worthwhile for Thermas Sauna. A couple dozen guys working there everyday. 50E ($60) for 40 minutes in a cabin). Muscular Romanians, Brazilians, and eastern Europeans. Madrid has Aden sauna. 

Prague, Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, and Hamburg are all cities I'm familiar with that have fairly active scenes. Germany is cheaper and has the most decadent bars and nightclubs. Guys cost half of the others. Prague produces most gay porn and many of the guys "work". But in all these the good ones are online only and the guys are not often online. Hunqz.com is the site for Europe. Registering is free. To see what's in a city change your location to that city (it will tell you it didn't work but it did). Also see which ones are often online. 

[Walker]

Much appreciated to all replied.  It sounds like central Europe doesn't have much to offer,  so I have completely changed my mind.  My new plan is Berlin, Prague before Istanbul.  I may hop over to Vienna on a separate ticket since I just realized Vienna is only 50 minutes by plane or 4 hours by train from Prague.  Istanbul visit is mainly for sightseeing and cultural tour.  But in the meantime, I will go online and/or check out the local saunas and clubs, and just go with the flow.  I went to both Madrid and Barcelona last summer, yes these are fun places.  I am also familiar with Brazil and will be there again in a couple weeks.  Anyway, I hope I am not setting myself up for some disappointment this summer in Europe.

[redxs]

When do you visit Istanbul? I'd like to visit in the next few months so keen to hear. It's a beautiful city, I visited about 10 years ago, but didn't do the scene.

[Cany10011]

Was there 7 years ago and had a wonderful cultural visit thorough out the country and bought a few nice carpets (almost a fraction of what they cost here in NYC). The Turkish men I saw in Istanbul were extremely hot. Even the police were smoking hot. I  remember going to some gay clubs in private apartments but not brothels, Taksim square seemed filled with loitering guys (not sure if hustlers or not). Would probably look on planetromeo. Was with boyfriend and did not look for hustlers at that time.

[tassojunior]

 

9 hours ago, Walker said:

Much appreciated to all replied.  It sounds like central Europe doesn't have much to offer,  so I have completely changed my mind.  My new plan is Berlin, Prague before Istanbul.  I may hop over to Vienna on a separate ticket since I just realized Vienna is only 50 minutes by plane or 4 hours by train from Prague.  Istanbul visit is mainly for sightseeing and cultural tour.  But in the meantime, I will go online and/or check out the local saunas and clubs, and just go with the flow.  I went to both Madrid and Barcelona last summer, yes these are fun places.  I am also familiar with Brazil and will be there again in a couple weeks.  Anyway, I hope I am not setting myself up for some disappointment this summer in Europe.

Perfect choices. Berlin is way underrated. It's a huge city much like Paris and beautiful. The people are as fashionable as anywhere and the nightclubs are easily the world's best (London 2nd). Decadence has always been "in" in Germany, especially Berlin. The main gay area is around Nollendorfplatz subway. There are 5 gay hustler bars there on one street that have been there forever. Hustling is a tradition in Germany and the rates are under 100E. The bars (except for BlueBoy and one small one) are mostly Romanian so be extra cautious. There are also several nude and fetish bars. The trendy nightclubs are close to AlexanderPlatz and Berghain, the world's most "in" club is easier for gays to get in. Lab.Oratory next to it is all gay and I hear gives new meaning to "decadent". Those two should be at the top of any "I've been there" list. 

Prague has been discussed plenty and the Prague thread here is very current.

With both cities, although there is some bar scene, 99% of the good ones are online (Hunqz.com).

[Riobard]

When I go to Hunqz, even without Romeo sign-in I simply type or scroll to the desired location. As depicted in attached images. I do not receive a notification it did not work. The profiles just come up automatically. If I keep scanning the profiles they just become progressively more distal, for example Madrid profile listings eventually transition to Sevilla, Barcelona, Malaga, etc. 

I am exclusively using my iPad, location usually North America.

But some of the profile galleries do not download. Most do. Is there an advanced user level to access some of the missing profile images?

[Riobard]

[tassojunior]

23 hours ago, Riobard said:

When I go to Hunqz, even without Romeo sign-in I simply type or scroll to the desired location. As depicted in attached images. I do not receive a notification it did not work. The profiles just come up automatically. If I keep scanning the profiles they just become progressively more distal, for example Madrid profile listings eventually transition to Sevilla, Barcelona, Malaga, etc. 

I am exclusively using my iPad, location usually North America.

But some of the profile galleries do not download. Most do. Is there an advanced user level to access some of the missing profile images?

I think the difference is when us older users use our old Romeo sign-in on Hunqz. Then the checking other cities function doesn't work and you have to change your location. Faulty coding. The pages look like a combination of Romeo and the new Hunqz. I have 50 contacts so I don't want to change my sign-in to a new Hunqz one.

[Riobard]

Aha ... Righto. Thanks. I seem to have found searching Hunqz easier directly, and I no longer sign in to my Romeo account. But I have not yet made or saved contacts. Sometimes I just take a screenshot, and keep that and phone number in an album. 

For Spain, I like the telechapero and morbototal sites.

[boiworship]

I wonder if I should just bypass Bucharest this summer and spend more time in Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro?

[msclelovr]

On 4/23/2018 at 11:44 AM, boiworship said:

I wonder if I should just bypass Bucharest this summer and spend more time in Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro?

I guess only you can decide whether those places will offer you what you seek. Bucharest may indeed be no fun. Surely it would help to detail precisely what you're seeking if you want others to provide you with help or information.

[tassojunior]

On 4/23/2018 at 6:44 AM, boiworship said:

I wonder if I should just bypass Bucharest this summer and spend more time in Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro?

I don't know if anyone knows Romania or those 3 countries much. Slim choices.

[Riobard]

On 2018-04-23 at 6:44 AM, boiworship said:

I wonder if I should just bypass Bucharest this summer and spend more time in Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro?

These 3 will put you into Cyrillic territory language-wise, extra-alert territory regarding non-paid hook-ups, and unchartered territory hooker-wise. I believe some eastern European countries are lovely to visit if sex is not among the foremost goals on the agenda. My mantra would be: If you cannot unearth much information on your host, walk within strict lines as a guest. 

I may have been spared a very private remote Costa Rican burial years ago when my head counselled my dick just short of putting it on a rickety bus accompanied by a rough-looking Nicaraguan hustler to the barrio he suggested for an assignation.

Soon after I met a family (mother-son) while exploring Fortuna near Arenal volcano, and the unemployed young man was commissioned to rent some horses and guide me on a DIY jungle waterfall excursion. Platonic but so very enjoyable. The lesson for me ... compartmentalization. 

The suggestions about the tried and true are repeated here because of their truth. Dream in one place, live the dream in another place, and stave off flatlining. 

[boiworship]

Generally, in Eastern Europe I don’t indulge my hobby. I go for significant amounts of hiking and mountain biking. Ukraine and Poland may be a different story. In Ljubljana I was told by younger people I met that:

Montenegro is summer was not to be missed. Not tourist-infested yet.

Sarajevo has great food.

Belgrade is the new Berlin.

Bulgaria has great food and stunning scenery. The Black Sea is being discovered by Western Europeans.

Bucharest is interesting.

Ditto, Albania. I don’t think I can fit Albania in to this trip.

[Riobard]

Sounds idyllic ... did not know you had some experience around there. There is progressively more press about these underdiscovered treasures. I hear Lviv Ukraine is nice.

[tassojunior]

I think Belgrade does have a gay scene and I know I've seen porn done there, so it must be open.

[sfcastro]

On 4/25/2018 at 1:54 PM, tassojunior said:

I think Belgrade does have a gay scene and I know I've seen porn done there, so it must be open.

I've been to all four countries and Belgrade has the best gay scene of all of them, but with that said, none have outstanding gay scenes compared to most cities and the LGBT culture is not as widely accepted.  For example, Bucharest has essentially one popular gay bar with all the other new ones that have tried closing (there is currently one other new bar there but fairly small), Sofia very small gay bar crowds on Friday and Saturday nights, etc.

Also be sure to be cautious as with any new city.  I've "lost" way too many phones in the clubs so much that I refuse to carry one anymore when I go.  Many of the locals have warned against the typical pickpockets and putting a drink down for fear of someone slipping a drug in it.

Enjoy your travels.

[tassojunior]

are there gay bars at the beach in Romania (and maybe Bulgaria)?

[Riobard]

There was one in Varna, but the info may be outdated.

Basically, look up Spartacus Gay Travel and plug in country, then location, then check the "map" pins and listings for hotels, clubs, baths etc, and see if the links work.

Spartacus was my gay softcover bible beginning late 1970s. Matt Leblanc was once coverboy. They try to be current but things change so rapidly in more obscure less stable locations.

[forrestreid]

If you are in that area I think Athens should be a possibility too.

Plenty of guys on Hunqz and fairly reasonable prices too.

I was in Istanbul in January. There was a dozen or so guys in the Aquarius Sauna (the rent boy Sauna) when I was there.

Mostly middle eastern straight guys who wanted to do the minimum for the most possible money, but they were some real stunners amongst them

Worth going to for the experience anyway. It had a quite laid-back atmosphere, despite the somewhat scammy behavior. I would suggest you discuss exactly what you expect for the prices offered.

 

[Jeff88]

Maybe things will pick up after the pandemic in Eastern Europe. My biggest disappointment was Prague, which used to be fantastic. Totally dead, with Escape bar closed, and even Drakes was empty (the owner, pornmeister William Higgins, died early this year, so probably will continue downhill). A few guys on Hunqz, most of whom didn't respond. Like anywhere these days, it looks like Grindr may be the best option. 

Edited September 22, 2020 by Jeff88
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