My wife and I are in the very early stages of planning for our 08 trip to Europe and are looking at the following as possible areas to explore (This will be early September):

Amsterdam/Belgian towns (still looking)/Rhine River towns & castles

Or

Prague/Budapest/Vienna/Salzburg/Hallstatt

Some background on us. We are mid-30s, been to Italy, Germany (Bavaria) and Paris in the last three years. We both like wine, beer, food, historic sites, military history and scenic views. We usually plan around ten days but are open to longer if it’s within budget and the itinerary demands it. I think we both agree that we like Bavaria the best thus far.
What we are looking to do is decide on an area so that we may take the next step in deciding exactly what major cities and/or side trips we want to take. Any recommendations, pleasant experiences or if you are just plain biased and can't get enough of one of these areas; we would love to hear that too.

Thanks,

Rich

I don't think you can go wrong either way. Though I would suggest the Mosel River in Germany instead of the Rhein. It's a matter of personal choice, but we enjoyed our time on the Mosel more than our time on the Rhein.

In 2006 we visited Cologne, Vianden/Luxembourg City, Bruges, Delft and Amsterdam. It was a great trip (we rented a car). We've also been to Prague and Vienna and enjoyed both cities very much.

I can't say one trip was better than the other--both were excellent. The Alps would be more soaringly scenic than much of Benelux, though there are lovely views and rugged countryside there as well.

Either of these would be great, but I would definitely loook at allocating more time or cutting down on individual destinations, whichever you choose. For instance I think you could easily do 10 days just for Amsterdam and Belgium.

Nonconformist,

Thanks. We have definitely thought about that. I think that given our last few trips, we seem to enjoy spending 2-3 days in a larger city then moving on. This way, we get a nice taste of what a place has to offer. Maybe we bore easily. Last year we stayed the entire ten days in Paris and were actually ready to go home by the end. I know some folks could not fathom that but thats how we felt. Don't get me wrong, Paris was awesome. Our trip to Bavaria involved 4 towns in 10 days including a castle day and I remember not wanting to leave. This is why I think we may have found our personal style of travel, which may be what some consider too fast. I am sure that will change but for now it seems to fit us.

ttt