d1nx2

About us: we are a couple running our own business. we dont have much time to travel for leisure thus we try to mix business travel with tourism. we are in our late 30's. we will be attending the Berlin IFA consumer electronic show at the end of the trip. we are not big on museums and we like organized tours to maximize our time. Although, we also like to just soak in the culture, the vibe and the lifestyle of a country. Our business is in retail, so shopping also lets us enjoy learning more about merchandising. Pls recommend local restaurants for lunch and dinner for these 3 countries.

Day 1: Aug 25 (Sat)---10AM Arrival in Vienna
Hotel: Altstadt Vienna – Kirchengasse 41
12AM: Visit the Nashmarket for Quick Lunch. Try Neni’s for Israeli food
2PM: Vienna Explorer Bike Tour 3 hr duration. Link of Tour: http://www.viennaexplorer.com/tours/city-bike-tours/
Dinner at Nashmarket again
7PM: Take the Ringstrasse to stroll around the ring

Day 2: Aug 26 (Sun)
9AM: Visit St. Stephan’s Church (crypt tour)
10:30AM: Join Walking Tour of Vienna Explorer. Duration 3 hours. Link: http://www.viennaexplorer.com/tours/...-walking-tour/
2PM: Schloss Schonbrunn
5PM: Shopping
Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher

Day 3: Aug 27 (Monday)
Danube Island (boating/swimming)
Viena State Opera Tour
Afternoon: Prater ferris wheel
Option: we are also thinking of visiting Melk. Just Melk and come back

Day 4: Aug 28 (Tuesday)
5:50AM Take the Train to Prague
10:15am: Arrival in Prague. Pick-up by hotel
Check-in : Hotel Sax
Jansky Vrsek 3
Prague 1
2:00PM: Prague Segway Tour: Link: http://www.prague-segway-tours.com/e...y-segway-tour/
5:00PM: Go to Prague Castle (buy Ticket), St. Vitus Cathedral visit this first and underground crypt

Day 5: Aug 29 (Wed):
9AM: Prague Castle
12 noon: Terezin Tour (7 hours) Via New Prague Tours Link: http://www.newpraguetours.com/daily-...tion-camp.html

Day 6: Aug 30 (thurs):
Morning: Loreta and Strahov Monastery. Petrin Hill
2PM: Join Wittman Tours Jewish Quarter Walk. Tour Link: http://www.wittmann-tours.com/jewish-quarter.html
6PM: Boat Paddling at Vlatva River

Day 7: Aug 31 (Fri): Prague to Berlin
Morning: Walk around
2PM: Prague to Berlin by train
Berlin Hotel: Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof
Address: Platz vor dem Neuen Tor 6 Area / City / Country: Mitte/Berlin/Germany
7PM: Arrival Berlin
8:30PM: Dinner at Prater Beer Garden

Day 8: September 1: IFA Berlin
Whole day dedicated to the Consumer Electronics Show
Night: Maybe Cabaret show at Bar Jeder Vernunft

Day 9: September 2 (sun) :
10AM: Third Reich Tour via Berlin Walks Link: http://www.berlinwalks.de/tours_thirdreich.html
2PM: Lunch at Mauerpark
4PM: Fat Tire City Bike Tour. Link: http://fattirebiketours.com/berlin/t...city-bike-tour

Day 10: September 3 (Monday):
9AM: Breakfast at Bundestag with confirmed reservation
IFA Show. Walk the Expo again whole day
If time permits: Boat Trip from Museum Quarter

Last Day: September 4 (Tuesday):
Option: Potsdam
We want to just stay in the city and see more. Please give us a good itinerary for our last day.
10PM: Flight Out from Berlin to Asia

Ozarksbill

Enjoy your travel. You have picked three vibrant cities which we've seen, Vienna awhile back, most recently Berlin and re-visiting Prague (I hope to have a report). As for touring Berlin I might prefer to ignore the 3rd Reich in favor of the Wall-Hindenberg Gate emphasis plus fabulous museums...have read several books I'd recommend, "The Berlin Wall" by Taylor, also "Fatherland" by Kempe for his reluctant discovery of German heritage.

And then to Asia?

Bill in Boston

d1nx2

hi Bill! thanks for the insights. we will check out and switch the Third Reich Tour instead with the Wall Tour. We are base out of the Philippines, but have lived in Chicago for a while. We are flying back to Manila after this trip. will try to get hold of the books you mentioned.

ggreen

Sounds like you have a nice trip planned! It's great that your tours are walking or biking - IMO very good ways to see a city.

Of the three cities, I've only been to Berlin. I have greatly enjoyed the walking tours I took there, even though I'm not usually a "group tour" type of person.

I took the Third Reich tour with Berlin Walks way back in 1997, when Potsdamer Platz was still under construction and the Reichstag hadn't yet been renovated. It was my first visit to the city, and I found the layers of history especially fascinating. Some of the monuments of the Third Reich have been obliterated and some are hiding in plain sight: we stood in a park on a bare patch of ground and were told Hitler's bunker was "likely" underneath. The guide also pointed to the nearby apartment buildings and explained their Cold War significance. (Being adjacent to the Wall, they were built to showcase GDR prosperity to those looking over from the West - a bit of a bluffing game!)

At the time, since reunification had been so recent, you could still clearly see a difference between the two halves of the city. For example, WWII bullet strafing on old buildings in West Berlin had been patched, but the holes were still there in the East. On more recent trips, that visible divide has gone away somewhat and the city is more knit together.

If you are interested in WWII history, you should keep an eye out for the <i>stolpersteine</i> in all three countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolpersteine

Even if you are not big on museums, you might be interested in the Pergammon, which is one of my favorites in the world for its reconstructed ruins from ancient Turkey. I also enjoyed the Checkpoint Charlie Haus for all the information about divided Germany and escaping the GDR...

Berlin is a wonderful city, vibrant like Ozarksbill said. So great to take part in its cafe life!

Cowboy1968

Don't have much time now, so I keep my comments staccato style.. Hope you don't mind..

Vienna
No shopping on sundays! Stores close between 6 and 8pm mon-sat
Naschmarkt for lunch is fun with the action going on of market. Nothing going on there in the evening or at night. Would look for other dinner venue.
Sachertorte. Most Americans don't seem to like it. It has no whipped cream in it, and is not that sweet. It has nothing to do with cakes like the Black Forest cake. It's probably closer to a dry brownie. And really expensive at the Sacher.

Berlin
Prater beer garden is more for .. beer and snacks/ fast food. You should not expect to get a full dinner there as at a Bavarian beer garden. Kastanienallee, the street in which the Prater beer garden is located, is full with restaurants and eateries of any kind, though.
Lunch at Mauerpark.. You probably know already that there are no restaurants in the park.. If you want lunch, it will be your picknick.

Ozarksbill

Yes, Berlin is amazing...like Dresden, Hamburg much so new because of WWII destruction and with green spaces, lakes, etc. I was taken with the new Holocaust Memorial near Brandenberg Gate...a field of stark cement monuments. And we did see Pergammon, too.

I have sought out readings about more recent Germany but have read much on the Nazi years still without comprehension about how could it have been. One book about early years along with story of the American ambassador is "In the Garden of the Beasts" by Larson. Another by Kershaw is "The End: the defiance and destruction of Hitler's Germany." And new bio "Bonhoeffer" by Metaxas, the pastor executed for complicity in the attempted Hitler plot. In Dresden we had a survivor age 78 talk of the firebombing.

PalenQ

Well for the train part check out these fantastic IMO sources to learn about the European train system like you are taking - www.seat61.com (great info on online discounts thru various national railway web sites - deep discounted tickets though they are train specific and lock you in without usually the possibility of changing, etc.) and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and ww.ricksteves.com. For train schedules I always use the Wunderbar IMO Geramn Railways web site schedules for all of Europe - www.bahn.de.

You are not traveling enough on trains to consider any type of railpass - I would advise however after decades of riding trains in those countries to pay extra and go first class - in many ways a much much more relaxing journey for the trip of a lifetime.

nytraveler

Well, you have 3 great cities. I would bag the tours - but we much prefer to explore alone at out own rate. We did take an architectural walking tour of the Old Town we picked up at Prague Town Hall - only about 1.5 hours but really fascinating. And we do very little shopping - but undertand why you would.

One note: Do not waste time on the Sachertore - at the Sacher or anyplace else. It's very dry and doesn't have much taste - not at all worth it - versus the incredible pasties available all over Vienna.

d1nx2

Thanks for the wonderful tips everyone. PaleQ, yes, i booked us 1st class tickets for both our train leg of the trip.

nytraveller--will skip the sachertorte as recommended

Cowboy1968--thanks for the advice about shopping on sundays. will switch it to tuesday, out last day, instead

Can you pls recommend must-eat places for each countries? also, do you think it is logical to squeeze in Potsdam in our last day in Berlin as we have so little time?

PragueSegway

Prague-segway-tours is best Prague Segway Tours company. As a option if they are fully booked I recommend you to try iSegway Prague Tours.
http://www.isegway.cz/

Snowflake25

We recently returned from our second visit to Prague and Berlin so would like to offer a few comments. In Prague, don't forget to allow yourself time to visit the Charles Bridge...in early morning and at sunset. Prague is such a beautiful city and easy to get around, it's well worth having some time to yourself to just stroll around or enjoy a beer at one of the beer halls.

While in Berlin we visited Mauer Park on a Sunday afternoon. The Flea Market was open and there were various street musicians playing in the park. There were street food stands within the flea market so you might be able to pick up some lunch and eat while enjoying the entertainment.

We have done a couple walking tours in Berlin and the most recent was the Third Reich tour, excellent!!! If you have time, I would recommend a visit to the dome of the Reichstag. There is an audio tour so you can go at your own pace, and lots of great opportunities for photos of the city.

Enjoy your trip!!!