Advice Please: Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam in 2 Weeks
 

Hello Travellers! My wife and I are in our mid 50s and will be celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2018.
Time for a trip and we were thinking of visiting a few cities in Europe on our bucket list. We only have about 2 weeks but are somewhat flexible as to time of year. We were thinking of going to Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam in late May or early September via Toronto. We are in good shape so doing lots of walking isn't a problem. We like to take in the local culture and food. We usually visit a museum or two but prefer to tour neighbourhoods and people watch. We like taking foodie tours or a cooking course. Have no problem taking local transit. I'm a bit of a street photographer. We are modest travellers, meaning we don't need to stay in 5 star hotels or eat in expensive gourmet restaurants. We prefer staying in AirBnBs in well located (and safe) neighbourhoods, visit markets and eat where the locals do. So now that you know more about us - we're looking for travel advice. Is 2 weeks reasonable for all three cities? How many days would you spend in each? Is there a better time to go (prefer to avoid heavy tourist season). We heard Copenhagen is comparatively expensive. Are there better neighbourhoods or districts to visit and to find a place to stay in? Is traveling via Iceland to Berlin the way to go? Was going to fly between European cities. How far in advance should we book the short (non-transatlantic) flights? What are the must sees and dos in your opinion? Any other advice? Many thanks!

It's me again (can't figure out how to edit my original post). In any case, I wanted to add that I am hearing lots of very good things about Prague. Should we be considering Prague instead of Copenhagen? We absolutely want to visit Amsterdam. So is Berlin, then Prague then Amsterdam preferable? Can I do justice to all 4 cities (in 16 days) or are we best to do 3 (or even just two)?

Berlin should require more time to see it all as many sights are far removed from others - 4-5 days

Copenhagen is much smaller but the city has a lot of really neat easy daytrips by train. Roskilde, Frederiksborg Castle, Helsingor and Hamlet's Castle, etc.

4-5 days

Amsterdam also 4-5 days with a day trip to some neat Dutch regional town like Delft or Haarlem, etc.

Trains are great for day trips - and there is also an overnight boat train connection to Berlin from Copenhagen via Malmo, Sweden.

Berlin to Amsterdam by train is 6.5 hours - a little long for many but also nice to see the Europe in between big cities rather than just cities, airports and tarmacs.

For lots on trains and day trips by them check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-journal.cfm

a little old now but main ideas the same - may be of use (or not),

If I'm reading correctly, you have 16 days total -- counting your flight days -- so IMO, with 14 days on the ground you can probably visit 3 of the 4 cities you mention. I would find 4 too rushed; 2 might work, depending on what (if any) day trips you include.

Ultimately, it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience. You would, I think, do well to do enough research to identify what YOU want to see and experience and plot those things on a calendar, with attention to when you can actually see and experience them (e.g., attention to opening hours, sunset/sunrise, etc.), how long it will likely take you to meet these goals, and how long it will take to get from place to place. When planning for a change in city, remember to leave to time for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost/oriented, etc.

Hope that helps!

We were in Copenhagen and Berlin this past June. We have previously been in Amsterdam. You can access my trip reports by clicking on my name. To save travel time I would do an open jaw: fly to Copenhagen and return from Amsterdam. This last trip, we flew with Air Canada.

www.skyscanner.com is good for one-way budget flights in Europe. Buy early for lowest fares, although I would wait until January if you are travelling in the middle of 2018.
Berlin is an awkward arrival or departure city for trans-Atlantic travel. Their new international airport is years overdue and the current airport, Tegel, has very few trans-Atlantic flights. From Toronto you will have to connect through a bigger gateway airport. This is a nuisance rather than a game-changing factor.

If you are foodies then I would keep Copenhagen. However it is not a place for those on a budget, although you can try to see it in a less inexpensive way (AirBnB etc)but you would miss out on some of the foodie experiences, it does not have to be gourmet to be expensive. However I find NY just as or even more expensive than Copenhagen, especially for eating out and accommodation.

Prague is the other end of the scale price wise, eating out is very inexpensive, it is a beautiful city and would highly recommend a visit. Amsterdam and Berlin are also wonderful cities to visit, personally, I would cover 3 or 4 cities but I live in Europe so these places are not a once in a lifetime places for me & as you are coming from Toronto might have a different spin on it and want to spend more time in less cities. If you mostly want to tour neighbourhoods and people watch it would be enough time.

Do check the status of Air BnB and short term rentals in each of the cities you are looking at. I believe there are specific rules/regs in Berlin but not what they are - or about the other cities. Do check before making plans or paying for any lodging.

Amsterdam is cracking down on them, AirBnB is pushing Amsterdam residents out of the city, so the ethical thing would be not to use AirBnB there.

Yet big corporate offices and fancy hotels can displace residents from inner city canals and get no blame?

Amsterdam, Prague and Berlin sounds good....very different cities and
cultures..Easy jet has cheap flights between Amsterdam and Berlin.
Train from Berlin to Prague. Or the other way around..
Amsterdam hotels would be more expensive than other cities.
Prague..3-4 days, Berlin 4-5 days, Amsterdam 3-4 days.?..
Maybe a day trip or two ?..

So is Berlin, then Prague then Amsterdam preferable?>

Easier travelwise as yes trains Berlin-Prague are just about 4 hours and very scenic route south of Dresden thrun Saxon Switzerland. and Prague is cheaper than Copenhagen if that matters.

cheap flights www.whichbudget.com and www.skyscanner.com. and of course Easy Jet, Ryan Air and likes.

But again seeing Europe between cities is cool -n Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague can all be done by rail. fly into Amsterdam and out of Prague or v.v.

Dresden makes a great few-hour or longer stop between Berlin and Prague by train. Throw bags in station lockers and have a look at the 'Florence on the Elbe'.

Palenq: Yet big corporate offices and fancy hotels can displace residents from inner city canals and get no blame?

Big corporate offices and fancy hotels do not sweep up rent controlled apartments to make them unavailable to Amsterdam residents. It used to be that there were even rent controlled apartments in the inner city, on the canals. But that situation has all but come to an end. That feel of a small scale humanistic city that you find so "neat" has irrevocably changed because of it. Not through a force of nature, but because of a series of political oversights and a new player on the market that bought off the Amsterdam council.

Well your complaint is with the Council then not the poor traveler trying to find something affordable and decent in Amsterdam. OP should not bear the burden of sacrifice just because Amsterdam's Council has been bought off.

I'd stay in an airbnb in a heartbeat - if illegal let authorities shut it down. I suspect the B&B I used to stay just beyond De Pipp is now an airbnb - the older folk rented out a room perhaps to be able to afford to live in their apartment in a gentrifying area. Another aspect - too bad all get tainted with the same brush.

Travelers can choose. They must realize that having a shorstay rental market with optimum liquidity in a small city will mean that they push out residents. They can use hotels, or book at an apart-hotel or some such. I really don't see that you advocate breaking the law (because that is what's happening now) because the city council wasn't able to get its act together to react adequately to a new player on the market.

You have a responsibility as a traveler, because in a city like Amsterdam you're using all kinds of stuff that its citizens pay for. All the while the room rate that you pay flows into the pockets of a smart real estate guy who avoids taxes by funnelling their revenues to a tax haven. So, net result: as a tourist you cost more than you contribute.

The onus is on the city of Amsterdam to enforce tax laws, etc. not the traveler who in most cases knows little of it -if the elected officials don't do it then I feel free to use airbnb - if they don't care why should I? Though I certainly understand your point of view and am Sympthetic to it.

And are you saying all airbnbs are illegal -if not how can the poor tourist hope to tell?