Returned Thursday evening from our long-planned trip, suffering badly from jet lag (up at 3:45am yesterday morning, this morning managed to sleep until 5am; hoping to recover fully by Tuesday!). These countries were truly enchanting.

Day 1, arrived at Vienna airport, picked up at arrival by driver arranged via email through www.airportservice.at, which was recommended by Richardab on this site. What a great idea. Minivan for four to our hotel, I think it was about 32 Euro. Regular cars were about 26 Euro. A great stress-free arrival method. Arrived at Hotel Konig von Ungarn quickly and without any trouble. Hotel was very very nice and personnel very helpful. This turned out to be the cheapest of our hotels, at 188 Euro for a very nice and quiet double room. For location, near the Stephanplatz, it cannot be beat.

We went right into action. The hotel was well located near Stephanplatz (forgive if I get the spellings wrong). The parents of one of our group were born in Vienna, escaping just before the start of the holocaust, so we wandered around the Ringstrasse and beyond to view his roots -- the vegetable stand in the Nachmarket (sp?) owned by his grandfather, his mother's old school, etc. A terrific way to begin. Our first of many meals of wurst, goulashsuppe and beer! I thought the Nachmarket was lots of fun. Moved on to the pastry shops (we overdosed on every imaginable type of spectacular pastry) and wandered around the Cathedral area. That night we attended a Weiner Mozart Koncerte in a wonderful old concert hall, where the musicians and singers dressed in period costumes and powdered wigs. Could have been hokey but absolutely was not -- a wonderful concert and overall terrific experience (although the tickets were expensive -- about 60 Euro). Dinner was late at a forgettable restaurant, which we appeared to close out -- they don't seem to dine late in Vienna, as they do in other European cities, but we all were very tired and getting a bit grumpy anyway.

Day 2 -- all day at the Schonbrunn Palace. We got the Golden Pass -- 36 Euro per person, which we thought was a bit steep, but it was a great day. Toured the palace, gardens, maze, zoo, carriage house and then got "free" strudel and baking lesson at the bakery. This tour is well worth it.

Second night dinner, we ventured to Grinzing and enjoyed the food and wine at one of the many heurings. After only two nights, we were growing weary of the heavy (but tasty) wurst, schnitzel and dumplings, but, well, that's what they eat there. It was not a healthy eating trip to say the least. Loved the new wine.

Weather in Vienna for those few days was unseasonably hot and sunny during the day, a bit cooler in the evening.

Day 3, rented a car and left Vienna en route to Durstein. Not hard to get out of the city at all (husband is a great driver with an uncanny sense of direction). Arrived at the lovely Hotel Schloss Durnstein, double room with river view was 204 Euro. The view of the Danube was indescribable. Weather was still great, and not wanting to waste any time, we immediately secured bikes and biked through the vineyards (exquisite views) to Stein and Krems. Lunched at a small cafe Krems. It was an unforgetable afternoon. Relaxed at the lovely hotel outdoor pool (there also was an indoor pool and spa there) Dinner at the hotel, an upscale restaurant, was very good, but again, very heavy. Wandered around Durnstein after dinner, and found the town to be essentially shut down. Apparently no night life in this area, which was just fine for us. Perhaps because it is filled with bikers who get up early and are tired after riding all day?

Jed's suggestion works better than my original post. Here's part 2 of the report.

Day 4. Biked to Melk -- about 20 miles. The bike path was great and essentially flat, so the trip was not too bad. The towns along the way were very picturesqe and the only uphill portion (and it was significantly uphill) was as we approached Melk. A great way to see the countryside. One biking observation -- plenty of people biking in the opposite direction -- Melk to Durnstein -- but not one of them smiled or said "hello" as they approached us. We are used to at least acknowledging other bikers as they approach, so after a while I started to force the issue by smiling widely and saying "hello" loudly as bikers approached, and then most did respond, albeit hesitantly. Wonder if anyone else had a similar experience?

Lunched at a cafe in Melk (ham and cheese toast, and beer, of course, figuring all the biking would compensate for the calories and fat content!) Toured the Melk Monastery -- just beautiful. 20 miles was enough for us, and a storm was brewing, so we took the boatride back, along the Danube. That was the end of the nice weather, though.

Dinner at the Richard Lowenhurz (sp?) hotel, also wonderful.

Day 5, left Durnstein for the Salzkammergut region. Stopped along the way at Bad Ischl for pastries and coffee. Arrived St. Wolfgang in the late afternoon. Hotel Im Weissen Rossl. This place seemed a bit old and tired. Double room with breathtaking view of lake 196 Euro. Observation: very beautiful lake and mountains, but St. Wolfgang was more than a little tacky -- overrun with tourists and souvenir shops. Our impression was that it had been at one time a very upscale and popular lake resorts, but it has seen its day come and go. To take advantage of the one remaining afternoon of sun, we immediately headed for one of the shorter mountain hikes. A very Sound-of-music-esque experience. Late afternoon lounged at the hotel's lakefront.

Dinner that night at the hotel's outdoor restaurant, right next to a town dock. In the middle of dinner, a parade of older gentlemen, all dressed in lederhosen etc., marched in, sat down and began playing a very enjoyable concert -- which was cut short by a violent storm.

After that, the weather did not improve in the Salzkammergut -- it was very cloudy/rainy/cool the three days we were there (we were told that it had been hot and sunny for 6 weeks prior to our arrival!)

Day 6 in St. Wolfgang -- the cog railroad up the mountain, fun but weather prevented any hiking or views. cold, rainy and fogged in. We took one of the boats to Strobl and walked around. By comparison to St. Wolfgang, this town seemed completely shut down (perhaps the weather?) -- almost ghost-town-like. Another tasty wurst/beer lunch in a local and very friendly inn, where they were surprised that we wanted mustard rather than ketsup with our hot dogs!

Day 7. Rainy and cold again. Had to adjust schedule accordingly. Visited the Dachstein ice caves. A worthwhile, but very rigorous excursion. A cable car takes you up the mountain, but then it is another 20 minute and steep uphill climb to get to the cave's entrance. Some of the older people in the large group had a lot of trouble, and some folks with small kids had to change plans midway and walk back. After that we drove to Halstatt, lunched at the great Gruner Baum (ahem, more great wurst/goulashsuppe/dumplings/beer). Halstatt was prettier, I thought, than St. Wolfgang, less tacky, but the lake not as pretty. Didn't really matter, as it poured the whole time we were there. Visited the Charnel House -- a very strange experience. Apparently running out of space in the church cemetary, they dig up graves after a number of years, and stack the skulls and other bones in a building, noting on the skulls the name of the person, for ready identification. Then on to the salt mine tour -- we would not have done this had it not been raining and cold outside, but it was enjoyable. However, we missed the cable car up the mountain, and started hiking up (rain, slippery cobblestone) and it seemed to go on forever. Finally met up with english speaking young man on the way down who told us to turn around -- we had been hiking up the mountain bike trail, and it would have been another hour to the destination. On the way down, we found the cable car, and all was well. With all the uphill climbing -- everything on this trip was an uphill climb -- we almost worked off all the wurst.

And now part 3

Day 8. Weather still bad. Left St. Wolfgang en route to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. The driving took us back through Linz. Earlier we had debated whether we should stop on the way at Mauthausen, the death camp east of Linz. Something we felt we should do, but didn't really want to. Combination of emotions and weather tipped the scales. We headed in the direction of the camp. Plenty of signs for the town of Mauthausen but no mention along the way for the camp, until the very last minute, where the small signs cryptically referred to the camp. A very pastoral scene, with the camp looming on the hilltop, looking almost (almost) like a rundown fortress. Unspeakable horrors once inside, 50+ years since the exterminations ended didn't dim the pain. Exhibits there also showed that there had been numerous other camps throughout Austria in places where we had previously had enormous fun -- Durnstein, Krems, and the Salzkammergut region. Better to end our stay in Austria with that awful experience, than to have begun the trip there.

Continued on the road from Linz to the Czech border. Once inside the Czech Republic, we were struck by the absence of development. The Austrian countryside was a combination of farms and industrial areas. The countryside of the Czech Republic was untouched -- mostly still forest. One strange view -- near the border, along this one main road, we kept seeing woman standing by the roadside. The first time I saw one woman I thought she was waiting for a bus. And the next time too. By the third and forth woman (standing alone, not in group, each at their appointed post), we realized they must be prostitutes. Sad.

Arrived at Cesky Krumlov, an overall very easy drive. We found the Hotel Ruze easily. A lovely place, an old monastery decorated in period pieces, also fairly expensive -- equivalent of about $240 -- surpisingly expensive compared to the very cheap cost of everything else the country. Had drinks along the river -- amazed at the low cost of wine, beer and food -- and walked around (oy, again everything is uphill, now on coblestones).

Day 9, took the tour of the castle (tour much cheaper than the tours in Vienna), lunch at a vegetarian restaurant along the river, watched kayakers and rafts get dunked in the river, saw a local orchestral concert in the church (great, and way cheaper than the Vienna concert). Bought a few pieces of Forest glass (not the Bohemian crystal, which I did not like, but the greenish glass, replicas of ancient pieces, originally made in the north part of the country).

Days 10, 11, 12. Prague. We left Cesky Krumlov, drove easily to Prague, but once there got horribly lost in the city (not unexpected but still frustrating). Still have no idea how we found our way. Stopped at a police station, we think in Praha 9, where one person spoke English, tried to point us in a direction where someone else could help us out, and then we just drove around and around. Once we unloaded the car, we took a cab to our hotel -- near the castle, the Romantik U Raka. It was great, although definitely the most expensive -- maybe around $250. A 6-room former farmhouse. The owner and staff could not have been nicer. Drinks and snacks in the beautiful garden were fabulous and breakfast an outstanding experience. Of course, in the highest area of the city. Close to the castle, which was "ok" (guess we had seen enough castles by this time). Skip Golden Lane -- nothing but tacky shops.

For all the other sights, we had to walk down, and of course, walk back up. (we were bound and determined to continue to walk off the wurst/beer meals, therefore tried not to take cabs; plus it was such lovely scenery and so picturesque the walks were great, even though very very tough). Noticed a fair number of people with casts on evidently broken arms -- one guess was that the cobblestones increased likelihood of falling and hurting oneself.

In Prague we met up with an expatriot family member of one in our group, so managed to have meals in restaurants off the beaten track -- hungarian and yugoslavian places, a welcome break. One lunch at the Black Bull pub near the cathedral where meal plus beer was $2 per person. Toured the Jewish Quarter -- the cemetary was unbelievable -- with tombstones stacked and leaning upon each other -- the Jews forced to bury their dead in such a small area, they literally ran out of room. The Old Town square was as great as it gets, the Charles Bridge an experience, the view of the city at night, breathtaking. Shopped at Wenceslaus Square area -- not nearly as nice as the other parts of town.

Prague seemd a much more trendy, with-it and youthful city than Vienna, and the other areas of Austria where we toured -- A very vibrant atmostphere, where by contrast Austria seemed old and tired, with much older tourists. All in all a wonderful trip.

Thanks. A very nice report. We were in Cesky Krumlov in Spring of 2002 and loved it. Everything we saw of Czech countryside was lovely, so unspoiled except for the problems associated with coal-burning. Your comparison of Prague and Vienna seems right on to me but still I love them both. Glad you had such a wonderful trip.

Barbara, thanks for this wonderful trip report. Very helpful and interesting! Just some thoughts:

Yes, I made similar observations with people who do not respond if you smile at them and say "hello". I am German and gave up smiling and greeting when biking or hiking here and in Austria (Kitzbühel, Bad Kleinkirchheim e.g.) I found it to be different in some Swiss regions. Say a "Grüezi" and you get a response. In general it is not usual in crowded places to say hello, but away from the crowds it is. Just my opinion.

And I am shocked about the prices of hotels you quoted. Even in the Czech Republic. Please don't feel offended - I think it is not good to pay so much money for a hotel room there. It just ruins the rates! Do you know that an average worker's income in the Czech Republic is not more than about 300 Euro per month? You can recognise it from the prices for food etc. in the "normal" groceries, shops etc.

I am glad you had such a great time there. And I understand that it was worth the money for YOU. The price/value relation was probably okay from your point of view. But I think there was obviously a wrong cost/price relation.

Ingo, I agree that the hotel prices were extremely high. Lest anyone think we sought out unreasonably high-priced places, I should say that we found all the hotels we stayed at through the Fodors and Frommers tour books -- they all were recommended, and in fact "starred". We knew they were in the "expensive" range, but they were comparatively less expensive when we made the reservations than when we actually were there, as the dollar has fallen in the last 6 months. Even with the exorbitant hotel rates, we loved our vacation.