LJTheobald

So, for our second anniversary my husband and I will be traveling to Europe at the end of September. We have 14 nights and are starting in Lake Como, but are struggling to decide on where to stop on the way to Budapest, and for how long. Our list as it stands is Lake Como, Prague, Budapest.... we thought about Vienna or other parts of Austria as well. We love walking, exploring outdoors, eating, drinking, arts, and history. We will be traveling by train or air, but do not plan to rent a car which I know limits some options. Would love some advice on building out our itinerary! Thoughts?

kybourbon

With only 14 days and such far apart locations, I would limit it to three locations.

spaarne

For drinking you could visit Munich for Oktoberfest. There are wine festivals scattered all over Germany at that time also. In Vienna you would enjoy the wine bar Wein & Co. And visit a couple of the coffee houses in Vienna. For history the armory at Graz is outstanding. If you are taking the trains for the first time see http://tinyurl.com/eym5b for an illustrated introduction. For schedules see the German rail DB site at http://tinyurl.com/7r9hnxf. To see if a rail pass is worthwhile talk to Byron or Linda at http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/. Prague is a bit out of the way, but the Czech beer may be worth a detour! Budapest has some nice restaurants with great food, but the beverages are not. The New York Coffee House in Budapest is a beautiful place to take a break.

LJTheobald

Thank you! We are having a hard time determine three or four locations, trying to balance a bit of time to settle and wanting to see so much! Thanks for the info on the trains - this is my first time, not my husband's - but the video was super informative. I'll reach out to Byron/Linda once we figure out our itinerary. Thanks again.

fourfortravel

If you will be traveling over the last weekend in September, you may enjoy the WienWeinwandertag. Hiking (more like moderate walking), drinking and eating your way through the vineyards. I've offered the link to my "trip" report if you're interested.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-september.cfm

LJTheobald

fourfortravel - amazing! sounds right up our alley. However, we will be at Lake Como the last weekend of September - most likely we would be in/around Vienna the first weekend of October. I'll have to do some more research to see if other events are happening like this. And I agree, it is difficult to drink in the morning, but hey, it's vacation!

dwdvagamundo

I'd certainly do Vienna as a complement to Prague and Budapest, if you have time.

LJTheobald

dwdvagamundo, we are weighing our options between Vienna and Salzburg/southern Bavaria at this point. We are for sure going to Lake Como, Prague and Budapest. Right now this is what the itinerary looks like:

Milan to Lake Como - 3 Nights
Lake Como - train to Salzburg via Zurich (stop in Zurich for lunch/wandering)
Salzburg - 3 nights (hub) - day trips to Munich, Hallstatt
Train from Salzburg to Prague
Prague - 4 nights - day trip to Cesky Krumlov
Train (overnight) Prague to Budapest
Budapest 3 nights - day trip to River Bend

I think we do either or for Salzburg and Vienna, they both would be a completely different experience. From what it sounds like Vienna is a can't miss and I think it would be lovely.