coachella

What would you do? We are flying into Frankfurt and out of Prague 15 days later. We would like to spend some time in Vienna and everything else is up for grabs. We will be traveling with two young children but no stroller, willing to drive some or all or take train some or all. How would you split the days, where would you go, what would you do? Thank you, thank you for any advice!!!

saige

coachella, Welcome to the forums! We are mostly very helpful and well traveled, but we need more information from you before we can address your questions. How old are your children? What do you like to do? Are there things that you are particularly looking forward to seeing or doing on your trip? Do you have a specific budget or any pre-planned or pre-paid accommodations or travel arrangements? If you narrow the scope of your inquiry, you will get very good replies here. Saige

coachella

Hello! Thanks. My kids are 8 and 4. We don't mind an active vacation. Would love to see the countryside, get a glimpse of day to day life. The younger child isn't a fan of museums but loves castles. The rest of us would like to see a museum here or there. Maybe the Black Forest but maybe just leaving Frankfurt area after 2-3 days and heading to Vienna. Nothing specific we have to see besides the actual cities of Vienna and Prague at the moment. Pretty flexible budget. When we can stay at Starwood Hotels (in the bigger cities), we will but otherwise inns are good. I know this may not narrow it enough. Maybe a recommendation on how many days would be the minimum in Vienna or Prague? Heavy recommendation for or against having a car in any of the big cities for side trips? Should be add a city in between Frankfurt and Vienna or do I have enough already?

dwzemens

I can say with authority you don't want a car in either city.

We just returned from Vienna and Prague and spent four nights in each. We could have used another night, so between the two cities you can use up ten of your nights, in my opinion.

You can rely on Mike's Chauffeur http://www.mike-chauffeur.cz/ in Prague for transport from the stations or on countryside day trips. In fact, we used Mike to transfer from Vienna to Prague and the door-to-door price was very reasonable for four persons when considering the convenience.

Echnaton

From Frankfurt, I would head in southeastern direction and spend one or two days in northern Bavaria. Your kids will love Rothenburg ob der Tauber (especially climbing the City Hall tower and the criminal museum). Würzburg with its gorgeous Palace might be a worthy destination.

In München, you might just stroll for an hour around Marienplatz and visit the Deutsches Museum (another great place for kids).

From München, the Ludwig Castles are tempting, esp. Neuschwanstein, but I am not sure if it fits into your itinerary.

Otherwise, you head directly for Wien which is worth at least two or three full days. And then you have Prague.

You can do everything by train. Just in upper Bavaria, a car might be convenient.

Vttraveler

I would recommend three full days in both Vienna and Prague. I would save Munich and southern Bavaria for another trip.

When you arrive, you could stay overnight in Frankfurt and visit the zoo if your kids are interested in that. Nearby Aschaffenburg has a large Renaissance palace. However I think when most kids say they want to see castles they are thinking of something else. You could consider some of the castles along the Castle Road--Heidelberg and Bad Wimpfen and/ore other locations in the Neckar Valley would be fun to explore
http://www.burgenstrasse.de/showpage...iteID=1&lang=2

coachella

thank you dwzemens and Echnaton. Your recommendations fit right into what we were considering. We had been thinking to rent a car just while we were around Frankfurt so we can visit friends and head a bit into Bavaria and then Munich since it was on the way. We have friends who told us about different side trips while staying in Vienna and Prague but I didn't really want to keep a car. The chaffeur is something I hadn't thought of. I will check out Mike's.

coachella

thanks Vttraveler. If we spend 3 days in Vienna and 3 in Prague would do I do with the rest of the time? Frankfurt and nearby sites I can do in a 3 days max right? I still have 6 days left or a bit less after travel time. Isn't Munich on the way?

Vttraveler

I am confused as to whether you have 14 or 15 nights. I was counting 4 nights each in Vienna and Prague so as to have 3 full days in each city. So if you have 4 nights each in Vienna and Prague and 2 or 3 in the Frankfurt area you have only 3 to 5 other nights. You would have more if you spent fewer nights in Vienna and Prague. I just am not sure how you are counting.

You should have enough time to spend a few nights in Munich but probably not enough for the castles and other sights in southern Bavaria,too. Munich would be on one of the possible routes to Vienna but so are a lot of other places.

When our kids were the ages of your kids we would probably have opted for some small cities or towns rather than another city. Salzburg is very charming, has a fortress castle and a summer palace with "water games" (trick fountains) and would give you a taste of the Alps.

My husband and I lived for several years in Eichstätt, a small episcopal city in the Altmühl valley north of Munich. This area has a large "nature park" and is good for hiking and bicycling, is known for fossils and has several castles.

These are only a few of the many options. The good news is that there are lots of great destinations.

Woyzeck

Many good suggestions for you so far, coachella.

I have a 3-year old daughter and might be thinking a little on your wavelength regarding the travels with children, brainstorming what young kids might enjoy in all the travels.

Your children will certainly love the Ludwig castles south of Munich. Very visually impressive, reminiscent of the types of castles they would have seen in fairy tales or Disney movies. I'd recommend working it into your itinerary. I would usually hesitate to recommend palace tours for kids, but I actually think a tour of the inside of Neuschwanstein would be pretty manageable for two small children.

On the way to Vienna, you could do a Sound of Music themed visit which will mean something to them if you watch the movie before you leave. The visit to the fortress and then a hike along the ridge for panoramic views of Salzburg would be a nice way to spend an afternoon.

In Vienna, I would highly recommend a trip to the Hundertwasser museum (Kunsthaus Wien) for your kids - a stunning blend of architecture and visual art that I think would be some culture that the kids would enjoy, with rolling floors and winding staircases, plants growing out of the walls and lots of colors. It's small enough so that you could just take a stroll around and then have a snack in their lovely garden cafe. The ferris wheel (Wiener Riesenrad) would be another great stop in Vienna.

Your kids will love Prague too. It's a relatively small, but beautiful, city center where most of the sights will be very manageable and walkable. Where Vienna can be rather sprawling, I think Prague will be a refreshingly easy city to tool around with kids.

As the parent of a small child, I would have to dissent from the recommendation of the Criminal Musueum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is a great museum, but its focus on medieval torture methods and display of instruments of torture can make even adults cringe. It may be appropriate for teens and young adults, but I do not think it would be easy to bring a 4-year old there and then try to explain what an iron maiden is, or visualize how the finger screws made people confess their crimes. Because the display is many of the actual implements, it would be hard to avoid. I'm not usually a shy violet when it comes to my daughter, but this would be beyond the line for me. Fair warning. The City Hall tower would be great for them and there are plenty of other activities there to fill a day.

So your trip could generally go from Frankfurt and the area proximate Frankfurt - Munich - southern Bavaria - Salzburg - Vienna - Prague. That would be one way to do it.

Have a great trip and let us know as you further refine your itinerary.

coachella

thanks again to all of you. I have jotted down all the sights and plotted them on a map to see what we can do. Counted the days and nights. We have 14.5 days and 15 nights. Our kids are good travelers so while I do want to try a few kid-friendly activities, we plan on having them come along to the things that are must sees. We are going to try a few routes. Still would like to fit in parts of Bavaria and maybe just travel through Munich since it's on the way. Salzburg looks great too. I haven't even made it to planning Austria or Czech Republic yet! I will update with our itinerary soon!

Woyzeck

The good thing is that there are lots of things that are both must-sees AND kid friendly.

I know a lot of people who would might some things because of their kids, but I'm glad you're going to bring them along for the whole deal.

Definitely do Munich if you can. There's a lot that everyone will really enjoy. Echnaton mentioned two great places - Marienplatz and the Deutsches Museum, which is one of the word's great science/technology museums. The BMW museum is small but interesting and hands on, and quite close to the Olympic Stadium and Grounds.

Mainhattengirl

For your stay in Frankfurt with children of those ages, here are a few suggestions:
- Communication Museum - This is a fairly interactive museum, with postal train wagons to climb in, various workshops to create and build things pertaining to communication and everything about the mail service, phones, radio and TV in Germany. If you go all the way to the top, they often have volunteers in this section showing how ham radios work.
- Senckenburg Natural History Musuem - Better known as the dinosaur museum. One of the most popular displays is a giant boa constrictor swallowing a pig. The mummies are often a hit, as well as the many dino skeletons. One floor has row after row of glass cases containing stuffed animals from around the world in imitations of their natural habitat.There is a lot of other stuff there too and this is a perfect place to spend a rainy day. A big plus is that they are open 7 days a week.
- Palmengarten - Besides having all the lovely botanical houses, it also has a couple of great playgrounds, including water play (bring a towel and a change of clothes!), a pond with row boats to rent, and a small train to ride. Open 7 days a week.
- Verkehrs (Tram) Museum - Lots of old trams to climb on and into. Fun for grownups and for kids. Some of our friends who have gone there with their boys have raved about this place. Any budding Casey Jones out there?
- Main Tower - I think most kids like going up in tall buildings and looking at the teeny tiny cars and people far down below. The view at night is spectacular. Open 7 days a week.

and for outside of Frankfurt, but very near by:

- Hessen Park - This is a historical open air museum, showing how people lived back before modern technology. The buildings, agriculture, and skills of the day are demonstrated along with workshops to participate in. This is a great place for grown-ups too!
- Saalburg - The only reconstructed Roman fort in existance, created under the direction of Kaiser Wilhelm 100 years ago. Located in the Taunus mountains near Bad Homburg, this is where the Romans kept their watch on the Germanic tribes of the area. Trails lead along the old walls and fortifications and a "Taverna" offers typical Roman food. "Roman markets" are occasionally held here. (see events posts or website)
- Lochmuehle - Combination of kids activities and rides, playgrounds, pony rides, picnic area.
- Opel Zoo - This zoo is located outside of Frankfurt so that the elephants would have more space than what was available in the city. Lots of play activities and playgrounds here. The bus stops right in front of it.

There area also some wonderful pools to visit, like Rebstock Bad.

JeremyinFrance

I think Neuschwanstein is a must if you have children as it is, apparently, the castle on which the Disney castle was based - so something in Europe that will recognise. Inside the Czech Republic, I think they will enjoy Cesky Krumlov and there is an easy paddle down the Vltava through some lovely countryside.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/cesky_krumlov_photos.htm

coachella

JeremyinFrance, Thanks for the recommendations. Those are two things which look great and we are trying hard to fit in the plan.