TRSW

Hi Everybody,

Come this October I will be making my fifth trip 'across the pond' since October 2005. I will be using FF miles flying into and out of Amsterdam and am looking at how best to split up my 13 nights.

I arrive in Amsterdam at 7:40 am and was thinking of catching a flight to Prague for five nights. From Prague I have five nights to play with before returning Amsterdam for the final three nights.

I was thinking of going to Budapest, but also leaning towards my beloved Italia also. What would you do?

So far, here is the breakdown of my first four trips:

Paris - 13 Nights (2006 & 2007)

Rome - 13 Nights (2005 & 2007)

Florence - 11 nights (2005 & 2006)

Venice - 5 Nights (2005 & 2006)

Munich - 4 Nights (2008)

Amsterdam - 3 Nights (October 2006)

Bologna - 3 Nights (October 2006)

Frankfurt - 1 night (2008)

My interests lean HEAVILY towards Photo Op's www.pbase.com/trsw , then history and architecture. This is followed closely, due to the fact I cook for a living, FOOD!!

So any, and all, recommendations, are more than welcome.

Tom

TRSW

ttt

kja

Hi, TRSW -

Prague and Budapest are both wonderful cities, and both have lots of photo ops. They also both have interesting history and architecture. I enjoyed my meals in both cities, but went in the days when my food budget was extremely limited, so I'm not sure I can offer useful information about the cuisine. I also think the timing should work well for you - 4 or 5 nights in each city would be lovely.

Hope that helps!

bdjtbenson

Maybe Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Berlin (maybe not quite enough time for all four, Berlin may have to come later).

bdjtbenson

Is this early October or late October. From my experience somewhere in the middle of October the area goes from beutiful cool fall days to quite cold.

If it's late October, Italia may be the better choice. As an alternative, Spain, Portugal and Southern France are nice then.

dawnnoelm

Tom - no advice but looking forward to hearing your trip report and seeing your photos too!

TRSW

kja - Thank you for the input. As for the food, I too am on a budget and also like to eat at places that are more locals vs tourists.

bdjtbenson - The trip is from October 7th - 21st. I live in Seattle and am used to sudden changes in the weather. Also I am trying to limit this trip to Amsterdam and two other cities. I really liked Munich so maybe I'll add Prauge and Berlin. Thank you for the advice.

dawn - email me at tomsneed6025 at yahoo and I will add you to my 'Photo of the Day' list. I send out my favorite shots of the day to people before I put together my pbase galleries.

Any more suggestions from my fellow Fodorites?

Tom

artstuff

Tom - How about touring through BeNeLux - Belgium, the Netherlands & Luxembourg - with a visit to Trier or along the Mosel in Germany?

Robyn >-

hetismij

The Mosel valley will be stunning at the time you are in Europe, with the vineyards and trees in their autumn glory. OK maybe not up to New England or Canada fall colours but still stunning. Plenty of history, architecture and photo ops just sticking to artstuff's suggestion.
Get out into the country, it is a time of misty mornings, low sun, perfect photography weather.

danon

Oct. weather in central Europe can be rainy.
150 euros gets you to Barcelona and back ( on Vueling)
Cannot think of amore fantastic place for photos and food!

ViRob

Hello All,

I'm finalizing plans for a 14-day trip to Amsterdam and Brussels in October as well. First trip to Europe and this will be for my husband's 50th birthday. Any suggestions out there how to spend a birthday in Brussels with a chocoholic? Tours/tastings, restaurant recommendation would be so appreciated.

Thanks.

Vttraveler

I agree with artstuff-- why not concentrate on Benelux since you are already planning to spend time in Amsterdam?
There are many beautiful cities with great art and architecture to explore in both Belgium and the Netherlands

Another fascinating city to visit in Germany along the border with Belgium is Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), and Köln is not far away

We have always traveled in Europe by car or train so the idea of flying to three different cities/countries just seems odd to me. But Prague plus Berlin plus Amsterdam would certainly be an interesting trip with plenty of the history and architecture you are looking for. Food not nearly as good as in Italy or France, though