Andrea_P, you can find timetables online and see whether you're comfortable with the amount of time you'll be on a train. The suggestion of flying Amsterdam-Berlin and getting a return from Vienna is a good one. Years ago I spent two weeks in Paris, Lausanne, Munich and Prague and had a WONDERFUL time. The itinerary was dictated by the location of friends I was visiting, and I got everywhere by train. You do need to travel light when you're doing that, though, and it would have been nice (at the time, not in my budget) to simply fly home from Prague rather than returning all the way to Paris just for a final night and the flight home.

I would suggest that you look at the travel times first to figure out how much time you will actually have in each place. (I think I also did at least one leg of my four-city trip on an overnight train - another thing to factor in - some people do fine with that and others arrive at their destination exhausted. It's not worth saving a night in a hotel if you can't enjoy the next day, but to each her own!)

You must have picked those cities for a reason, I'm assuming, so there may already be some "must see" sights for you. But if your interests lean in a particular direction (cathedrals, 20th century history, art, etc.), a post with more specific questions might help us give you some more specific suggestions.

Is the Amsterdam/Berlin leg available as an overnight train?

Cowboy - I agree with your observation that many Europeans travel to various cities in Europe just for extended 3- or 4-day weekends, for example. And plenty of people in the US visit, say New York or San Francisco for just a few days too and nobody seems to think it's strange.

You also bring up a good point about whether the OP would feel comfortable with a similar trip on their home turf. But the example of cities in North America you give is too far-flung to be similar to the OP's proposed itinerary.

The distance from Amsterdam -> Berlin -> Prague -> Vienna is roughly 800 miles I believe - or the distance of a round trip from SF to LA. Which people often do in a weekend, much less in two weeks.

So the OP's trip would be analogous to a person in the US wanting to visit San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Las Vegas in two weeks. Would hardly raise an eyebrow.

Sometimes I really don't understand people's fear of spending only 3 or 4 days in European cities. If they only had 7 days vacation at home in the US, for example, would it always be "better" to spend 7 days in Boston and 0 days in New York rather than 3 or 4 days in each city?

To each their own of course ...

" wanting to visit San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Las Vegas in two weeks. Would hardly raise an eyebrow.
To each their own of course ..."

I agree with the last sentence , but some European cities are larger than Las Vegas, and with a " bit more" to see .
Granted ,I know people who have been to Rome,Paris, Madrid.. and never entered a museum. They are happy to spend 2-3 days looking ( often driven around by an English speaking guide) at the city landmarks, having a good meal, and shopping.
..

There is a night train between Berlin and Paris that stops at Amsterdam along the way in the wee hours of the morning (and I mean very early). I have taken that train to Paris. I did not sleep much and I did have a whole couchette compartment to myself. I just do not sleep well on trains. Some do. I just don't.

Thanks for all the great advice. I accidentally posted this question under a family member's account, so I've created my own for future questions. Thanks again. -Tom

How about letting us know what you decided to do and what mode of transport you are going to use?

NorCalif/danon

You are absolutely right. My examples don't add up milewise to the European trip of the OP. But my point was more what danon said: You will have 3 days in big city #1 (museum, walking, museum, sight, walking etc), and another 3 days in big city #2 (again, more museums, more walking, more churches, sights etc.), and another.. and so on.
If one likes it that way, it's perfectly fine.
But the OP should know in advance that there is no sense in running around all day since they will not see "everything" anyway.
And "waste" some of that precious holiday time to relax, take a canal cruise in Amsterdam, or use the river boats in Berlin for sightseeing.. okay, I think I try to force my preferred way to travel onto other people