petey4124

Hello,

My girlfriend and I are in the beginning stages of planning our first trip to Europe (probably towards the beginning of 2017). I just wanted to get some input on destinations. We would like to visit two cities (3 days each/2 days of travel) and would like to know your recommendations!

We will be leaving and returning to/from Boston.

Right now our list of possibilities includes:
Munich
Berlin
Krakow
Rome

Please feel free to provide thoughts on these cities along with adding cities you recommend!!

swandav2000

Hi petey4124,

Our recommendations will be more relevant to you and your girlfriend if you can tell us a bit about yourselves --

Are you museum-goers and love art and culture?

Are you history buffs and want to see castles and ruins?

Are you outdoorsy and want to hike for 5 hours every day?

Shop a lot?

Also, can you tell us why you chose these particular cities for your short-list? What attracts you about them? What have you heard about them that made you want to see them?

The more you can tell us, the better our recommendations will be.

Have fun as you plan!

s

petey4124

Or, if one city is so fantastic that we should spend all 8 days there, then let me know!It doesn't necessarily have to be two cities, we just want to experience the most we can!

petey4124

Swandav,

Thanks for the response!

We are the type of people who would want to visit places with fantastic history, culture, and beautiful scenery! We are hoping to be blown away with the cities big attractions.

We enjoy the outdoors but opportunities to hike, etc. are not make or break for us!

Also, I come from Polish heritage which is why Krakow is on the list of possibilities but it is not 100% necessary that it is included.

bilboburgler

At the beginning of a year Rome could be the most likely to be warm enough to sit out and be warm. Munich is not really big enough for your time scaled, nor is Krakow but you have other reasons to go.

I'd do Rome and Berlin, I suggest you do Rome and Krakow

petey4124

Bilboburgler,

Thanks for the reply! I'm not on a very tight budget, but we do want to keep the total costs as low as possible. Is Rome known to be an expensive city? If so, perhaps we will consider making the entire trip there...

FHurdle

I prefer trains to planes, so I would exclude Rome from the list and put it in a future Rome-Florence-Venice trip.

I haven't been that impressed with Munich. Others may disagree, of course. So that leaves Berlin and Krakow. Berlin deserves more time. Seat61 says the tracks between Berlin and Krakow are under repair, so you will need to buy a cheap ticket from Berlin to Warsaw (39 euro 2nd class, 59 euro 1st), and then buy a ticket on the Polish rail site from Warsaw to Krakow. Obviously you will want to do an open jaw if possible.

bilboburgler

Like everything, it depends, you could stay with a religious order, in a hostel or a hotel. For 8 days you might find an appartment is a better deal for you. Rome has bee a tourist trap for 2000 years, they know how to shave a tourist not scalp him.

I guess Krakow will probably be a little cheaper, but I'm about 10 years out of date on the place. Rome has a small historical centre (it literally was a pile of bricks in the 1500s) but there are day trips you can do. Krakow has the golden centre which is small and then you can visit concentration camps and salt mines and that is about it.

I suggest start with something like tripadvsor or booking.com to get an idea of price that fits your pocket.

petey4124

FHurdle,

Thanks! It seems the consensus has been Berlin > Munich. I'm not planning on making this trip until 2017, so hopefully the tracks will be done by then! Seems to be an easy train ride!

petey4124

Keep in mind, I'm taking other suggestions too! Please feel free to mention other cities not listed above!!

BigRuss

<<We are the type of people who would want to visit places with fantastic history, culture, and beautiful scenery! We are hoping to be blown away with the cities big attractions.>>

Well, can you be more generic?

Europe has a LOT of "history" but whether it's "fantastic" is a different question (you realize it's the birthplace of fascism, socialism and communism, started two World Wars that killed two generations of European men, engaged in genocides to eradicate Jews, Roma, Ukrainians, and [probably] Armenians, spawned Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and various other tyrants great and small [Mussolini], is the continent of the ecological disasters like Chernobyl, and but for a small group of Brits would have rubber-stamped Nazi lebensraum in the 1930s? This doesn't even start to tap into the religious wars and malign dealings of the Vatican in the Middle Ages, or the Jacobin utopian anarchy of the French Revolution, nor does it address the Locke/Smith notions of freedom, the scientific advancements discovered in Europe that led to human progress and enrichment, the arts, letters, and literary contributions of Europe that outshine the rest of the world combined; there's much good with all the bad).

Discussing WHAT HISTORY INTERESTS YOU would help. If you're interested in the D-Day landings, your possible destinations are irrelevant. If you're interested in the Cold War, Berlin should be on your list. If you're interested in the broken societies under communism, Krakow would be a good visit considering its commie history sites and its most famous former son (who was recently canonized). If you're interested in the Holocaust, Krakow is an hour from Auschwitz.

And "culture" is not a monolithic concept. There is "Italian culture" but northern Italians, southern Italians, eastern Italians, and Romans are culturally distinct. Same with Bavarians, eastern Germans and Prussians. Each of your cities has "culture" but it's a question of what you want to see.

petey4124

BigRuss,

If you read my original post, I had a list of cities we were currently considering. I did not say "we are going to Europe and need to find a place to go with culture, fantastic attractions, and beautiful scenery." Europe is, of course, filled with all of that!

I consider the places I listed self explanatory as to what our historical interests are. For example, there's Poland (specifically Krakow which is a short ride to Auschwitz), Rome (attractions, culture, scenery), and Germany (WW's and Cold War). Also, not including France (more specifically the greater Paris area) indicates an event such as D-Day does not interest us as much.

Perhaps I should have specified more or elaborated further on our interests.

Both of us are very interested in the two world wars and the cold war. That is why we have Germany (Berlin seeming a more relevant and exciting city than Munich) along with Krakow.

Also, we have been advised that Rome is a beautiful place with many, many things to do. The Roman culture interests us but this city would be more for the scenery and attractions (St Peters, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Pantheon etc).

I am not very educated on other cities in Europe which is why I would love some advice if there are other cities we should consider!

alexandrak

In terms of Poland, I am Polish as well and have travelled extensively in Europe and can tell you that Poland was without a doubt the highlight for me.

I went to Krakow, Poznan and Warsaw and adored all three, particularly the food! Krakow was a highlight for those I was travelling with and I particularly loved Warsaw as well. You can visit Auschwitz if that interests you from Krakow (I truly believe that everyone should visit once in their life, though it is certainly not romantic) and also the salt mines which I sadly missed. Prague would be a great second destination from here, as would Sweden (short flight to begin/end there) or Germany.

As you are interested in WWII, Nuremberg in Germany is my favourite city for WWII history, if you are less interested in the war and the death and more interested in the Nazi rise to power. I adored visiting the museum and the sites in that city. But it's less of a major city than Munich and Berlin. Berlin is beautiful and expensive and does have its own history, but is generally rebuilt, remember.

Things will be less expensive in Prague and Poland. We just did Italy, and Rome cost an arm and a leg but depending on your preferences you could save costs by doing AirBnb etc. FWIW, we adored Rome, but as others have said I'd save Rome for an Italy adventure, stick to Poland and throw either Germany, Sweden or CR into there if you want to change it up.

I do have to say that for a FIRST European experience I'm not sure I'd pick Poland if I didn't have a personal interest - generally Paris, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam etc. are peoples' first choices. But once you decide what matters to you you'll know what works. For 8 days I'd pick no more than 2 stops unless you are comfortable squeezing a 3rd in. We can never fully relax unless we have 3 nights per place, minimum. Otherwise we need a vacation from our vacation!

nytraveler

You are saying "early 2017". What does that mean? If you are going in Jan/Feb you will be there in the midst of winter and many of your places are cold and snowy then as well as having very short days. So not a whole lot of beautiful scenery.

Or are you talking May or so when the weather will be pleasant and the scenery nice?

If it were me I would do Krakow and Berlin, which are likely the two least expensive places and would fit in with your heritage/interests. And 4 days is a reasonable look at each city - although Berlin really has more to see/do.

Do be aware that while English is spoken everywhere in Berlin it is not nearly as common in Krakow. You can almost always find someone who can understand you - but it would be easier if you can manage at least the most basics in Polish (perhaps you know some from family).

befranklin

I would say to put Warsaw at the top of the list of places to visit in Poland along with Gdansk.

petey4124

Thanks everyone.

BigRuss

<<I consider the places I listed self explanatory as to what our historical interests are. For example, there's Poland (specifically Krakow which is a short ride to Auschwitz), Rome (attractions, culture, scenery), and Germany (WW's and Cold War). Also, not including France (more specifically the greater Paris area) indicates an event such as D-Day does not interest us as much.>>

It's not self-evident because any medievalist would have the same list. And the Normandy landings didn't liberate Paris.

<<<Do be aware that while English is spoken everywhere in Berlin it is not nearly as common in Krakow.>>>

If you're in and near any tourist area in Krakow you're fine. The second language in Europe is English (where it isn't the first) and the former Soviet client state residents are more happy to speak English than Russian.

Example: the clerk at the Szambelan store (which you should visit) in Krakow who dutifully ignored the Russian ladies ordering her about when they spoke amongst themselves in their native tongue even though the clerk clearly understood every cyrillic character they uttered, and then proceeded to engage with them in English.

And if you're interested in life in a Soviet client state, take the tour from this lot: http://www.crazyguides.com/

suze

<Please feel free to mention other cities not listed above!!>

Paris... all 8 days. Or a Paris/Venice split (you can fly or take the train between).

Again completely personal preference but these are two favorites of what I have seen so far... and since you asked...

swandav2000

Hi again,

Oh, I'm glad you clarified further -- I was going to say that Rome would give you the history and culture you wanted. I was also going to say that for beautiful scenery, you need to get out of the cities, so you ought to be considering 4 days in the countryside, say Tuscany, to pair with Rome.

But if it's 20th Century history you're after, paired with your interest in Poland, then I'd have to say you're on the right track with Berlin & Krakow. I also adore Dresden, not only for its singular beauty and space, but also for a glimpse into how people rebuilt after WW2 in the Soviet era.

Good for you for starting your research early! I hope you have some fun with the fun planning!

s

tonfromleiden

A few additions to the above.
If you're interested in the Cold War, spend a half day in East Berlin for the Karl-Marx-Allee and the Treptower Park. Both are perfect examples of Soviet propaganda in the Stalin era. (The Karl-Marx-Allee actually started its life as the Stalinallee.)
To get some feeling for what WWII has meant for Poland, Gdansk is a better place than Kraków. Everything you see in Gdansk has been built out of the rubble to which one of the most beautiful cities on the Baltic was reduced. The Polish Post Office Museum is a monument for the employees who defended it against the Germans. It's very much a part of the Polish perception of WWII.
In my experience it's hardly necessary to learn Polish, except for reasons of politeness. Almost everybody in hotels and restaurants speaks English. Less so on railway stations. It's much better - and a lot easier! - to have some German phrases at hand for Berlin.