Austria and Switzerland help please!!
Apr 24th, 2005, 11:05 AM
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Austria and Switzerland help please!!
I'm a 24 year old female, taking my first solo trip to Europe. I'll be with a friend in Prague and then will be traveling alone from there. Here's what I'm thinking for an itinerary but am concerned about travel times and am hoping for any suggestions you all could give me.
Sunday - Prague to Salzburg
Tuesday - Salzburg to Interlaken
Friday - Interlaken to Geneva
Sunday - fly home from Geneva
It was a last minute trip and I'm leaving in 9 days, so as you can see I'm a little stressed about it! Any help would be wonderful...thanks!
Sunday - Prague to Salzburg
Tuesday - Salzburg to Interlaken
Friday - Interlaken to Geneva
Sunday - fly home from Geneva
It was a last minute trip and I'm leaving in 9 days, so as you can see I'm a little stressed about it! Any help would be wonderful...thanks!
Apr 24th, 2005, 11:30 AM
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This will get you started:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Prague to Salzburg is your longest leg (I think) at about 7 hrs - - dep 9:23 arr/16:27 or 15:23/22:!7 with 2 connections (other worse choices available also). Fare not given for this routing, but likely to be between 50 and 80 euro.
Seems early in the year for Interlaken to be optimal.
Substituting Munich for Salzburg would improve your options for fewer hours of train travel (though it's going to be 13+ hours total, even under the best of situations) - - two cities that are interesting possibilities (instead of Salzburg and Interlaken) are Dresden and Bern - - and then, at least all your train travel is non-stop.
Best wishes,
Rex
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Prague to Salzburg is your longest leg (I think) at about 7 hrs - - dep 9:23 arr/16:27 or 15:23/22:!7 with 2 connections (other worse choices available also). Fare not given for this routing, but likely to be between 50 and 80 euro.
Seems early in the year for Interlaken to be optimal.
Substituting Munich for Salzburg would improve your options for fewer hours of train travel (though it's going to be 13+ hours total, even under the best of situations) - - two cities that are interesting possibilities (instead of Salzburg and Interlaken) are Dresden and Bern - - and then, at least all your train travel is non-stop.
Best wishes,
Rex
Apr 24th, 2005, 11:45 AM
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Do you have a particular reason for going to Interlaken? If it is to do the Alps thing, then you should not stay in Interlaken since it is not really in the Alps. But the good news is that just south of Interlaken are several excellent towns to stay in that really are in the Alps. Grindlewald, Murren, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, and Gimmelwald are much better choices than Interlaken if your reason for going to the area is to see the mountains.
Apr 24th, 2005, 11:48 AM
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What do you plan to do after you arrive in Interlaken? To see the mountains, you must go south to villages deeper in the valleys -- Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen being the first two possible destinations. From Lauterbrunnen mountain trains and lifts go higher to Wengen and Mürren which are perched up on the side valley.
You will find that the trip from Salzburg to Interlaken is a long one.
Your best travel time is 8 hours.
The train from Interlaken West or Interlaken Ost to Geneva is a little better and the train goes to the airport. Travel time is about 3 hours.
You will have two whole days in Interlaken. Do you plan on going to Grindelwald or to one of the higher villages like Mürren or Wengen?
You will be there in early May and not everything will be open.
For example, the Grindelwald to First (name the station) gondola will not be operating until May 7. And then it only goes part way.
The Schilthorn will be open, but that is an expensive ride. The Jungfraujoch is open, too. Have you considered it?
The open air museum of Swiss Life at Ballenberg is well worth the time and effort. You can spend as little time as you wish or as much during the day.
The west gate is reached via train and bus from Interlaken Ost station. I did it last summer with little problem.
(Note that Interlaken has two stations: Ost and West. The mountain trains to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, with connections higher up, leave from Interlaken Ost.)
If you could be a little more specific as to the type of activities you are interested in while there, I think many of us could supply many details.
In Salzburg, let me suggest two good objectives: Schloss Heilbrunn and the Festung, that fortress up on the hill.
You will have time to walk around the old town, and hopefully you will have a chance to walk inside some of the churches. If it is pouring rain, the Marionetten Theater for me was very interesting and fun to watch.
You will find that the trip from Salzburg to Interlaken is a long one.
Your best travel time is 8 hours.
The train from Interlaken West or Interlaken Ost to Geneva is a little better and the train goes to the airport. Travel time is about 3 hours.
You will have two whole days in Interlaken. Do you plan on going to Grindelwald or to one of the higher villages like Mürren or Wengen?
You will be there in early May and not everything will be open.
For example, the Grindelwald to First (name the station) gondola will not be operating until May 7. And then it only goes part way.
The Schilthorn will be open, but that is an expensive ride. The Jungfraujoch is open, too. Have you considered it?
The open air museum of Swiss Life at Ballenberg is well worth the time and effort. You can spend as little time as you wish or as much during the day.
The west gate is reached via train and bus from Interlaken Ost station. I did it last summer with little problem.
(Note that Interlaken has two stations: Ost and West. The mountain trains to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, with connections higher up, leave from Interlaken Ost.)
If you could be a little more specific as to the type of activities you are interested in while there, I think many of us could supply many details.
In Salzburg, let me suggest two good objectives: Schloss Heilbrunn and the Festung, that fortress up on the hill.
You will have time to walk around the old town, and hopefully you will have a chance to walk inside some of the churches. If it is pouring rain, the Marionetten Theater for me was very interesting and fun to watch.
Apr 24th, 2005, 12:13 PM
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First let me say thanks for the help so far.
Ok, now to start answering questions...my thoughts on going to Interlaken were to do some extreme sports in a beautiful setting. I'm quickly learning that I probably shouldn't be going to Interlaken just for that reason. All my life I've wanted to go Switzerland to experience the Alps and all the outdoor activities that go along with them. At the same time, I'm sure I'll have another opportunity later in life to do this as well, and at a point in the season when more is open.
Basically what I'm saying is that I want to be able to experience as much as I can in my very limited time. The itinerary I listed earlier is based on my limited knowledge of the area and I'm willing to change it around to get a better experience. I don't want to spend the majority of time on a train and really want to experience as much of the cities I visit as possible.
Rex, your suggestion of going to Munich and Bern seems like it could be interesting - I'll definitely be looking into both those places. From looking at the site you linked me to, the train times are definitely more appealing. I need to learn a little more about the cities though.
Between Salzburg, Munich, Bern and Interlaken - which two have the most to experience in early May in terms of siteseeing, outdoor activities and maybe a little shopping?
Edward and Bob, thanks for the tips on those mountain villages. If I decide to stay with going to Interlaken, those definitely seem like places I want to see. Thanks also Bob for the suggestions in Salzburg - providing I went there, I was planning on taking the Sound of Music tour and walking around the old town. It's nice to have some other suggestions.
I realize I seem completely unorganized about this - but that's because I am! I booked my plane ticket only a week ago, knowing only that I had time I could take off work and a friend living in Berlin with a long weekend to go to Prague. Needless to say, I have a lot to figure out in a little bit of time and really appreciate all of your help!
Ok, now to start answering questions...my thoughts on going to Interlaken were to do some extreme sports in a beautiful setting. I'm quickly learning that I probably shouldn't be going to Interlaken just for that reason. All my life I've wanted to go Switzerland to experience the Alps and all the outdoor activities that go along with them. At the same time, I'm sure I'll have another opportunity later in life to do this as well, and at a point in the season when more is open.
Basically what I'm saying is that I want to be able to experience as much as I can in my very limited time. The itinerary I listed earlier is based on my limited knowledge of the area and I'm willing to change it around to get a better experience. I don't want to spend the majority of time on a train and really want to experience as much of the cities I visit as possible.
Rex, your suggestion of going to Munich and Bern seems like it could be interesting - I'll definitely be looking into both those places. From looking at the site you linked me to, the train times are definitely more appealing. I need to learn a little more about the cities though.
Between Salzburg, Munich, Bern and Interlaken - which two have the most to experience in early May in terms of siteseeing, outdoor activities and maybe a little shopping?
Edward and Bob, thanks for the tips on those mountain villages. If I decide to stay with going to Interlaken, those definitely seem like places I want to see. Thanks also Bob for the suggestions in Salzburg - providing I went there, I was planning on taking the Sound of Music tour and walking around the old town. It's nice to have some other suggestions.
I realize I seem completely unorganized about this - but that's because I am! I booked my plane ticket only a week ago, knowing only that I had time I could take off work and a friend living in Berlin with a long weekend to go to Prague. Needless to say, I have a lot to figure out in a little bit of time and really appreciate all of your help!
Apr 24th, 2005, 12:39 PM
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I took a Sound of Money tour in Salzburg and thought it one small step removed from picking my pocket.
The famous gazebo is a paint=peeling derelict on the grounds of Schloss Hellbrun. Tiny, ugly thing really.
We got to ride by some of the buildings used in the movie. There was one long commercial stop for which there was no connection to SOM. It was kickback time for the tour company.
All the while we rode, we listened to an endless commercial about this and that -- none of which we had time for.
It was an atrocious tour. Nothing much to it, and when we got to the site of the church where the wedding was held, we did not have time to see it much more than look in the door.
Just remember that movie sets are fakes anyhow. So was that tour.
Better things to do in Salzburg. But don't expect to be knocked out of your socks by Mozart stuff, just bombarded with it, if you go around to his birth house.
Most of Salzburg is just another Austrian city with light industry, businesses, and traffic.
Munich is an interesting city. A lot to see there, particularly if you combine it with a tour to one of the Mad King Ludwig's castles. Neuschwanstein is the Disney edifice and it draws a lot of people. Herrenchiemsee is a castle on an island where he tried to emulate Versailles. Most of these grandiose schemes were never finished becauses Ludwig was bankrupting the kingdom doing it.
There are some good art museums in Munich, and an fairly interesting museum of science and technology. Just beware the basement: It is everything you did not want to know about mining underground and had sense enough not to ask.
The famous gazebo is a paint=peeling derelict on the grounds of Schloss Hellbrun. Tiny, ugly thing really.
We got to ride by some of the buildings used in the movie. There was one long commercial stop for which there was no connection to SOM. It was kickback time for the tour company.
All the while we rode, we listened to an endless commercial about this and that -- none of which we had time for.
It was an atrocious tour. Nothing much to it, and when we got to the site of the church where the wedding was held, we did not have time to see it much more than look in the door.
Just remember that movie sets are fakes anyhow. So was that tour.
Better things to do in Salzburg. But don't expect to be knocked out of your socks by Mozart stuff, just bombarded with it, if you go around to his birth house.
Most of Salzburg is just another Austrian city with light industry, businesses, and traffic.
Munich is an interesting city. A lot to see there, particularly if you combine it with a tour to one of the Mad King Ludwig's castles. Neuschwanstein is the Disney edifice and it draws a lot of people. Herrenchiemsee is a castle on an island where he tried to emulate Versailles. Most of these grandiose schemes were never finished becauses Ludwig was bankrupting the kingdom doing it.
There are some good art museums in Munich, and an fairly interesting museum of science and technology. Just beware the basement: It is everything you did not want to know about mining underground and had sense enough not to ask.
Apr 24th, 2005, 01:01 PM
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I would agre with Bob re Salzburg; the most interesting part IMO is the "Old Town" with the cathedral, etc. The Schloss Hellbrun is fun for the "trick" fountains.
The story on the SOM gazebo is that so many visitors wanted to see it and many tried to "re-create" the dance scene in it. Eventually, a visitor doing this fell and injured herself and that was "the end" of the gazebo. The exterior scenes of the so-called home of the von Trapps was filed at the Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg which is occupied by the Salzburg Institute.
Re Munich: in the city itself are both the Residenze which contains the Treasury and a rather extensive carved carriage collection from the Ludwig days. The most elaborate ones make that thing Queen Elizabeth sometimes rides in look like a Volkswagen in comparison.
Bob has already mentioned the various Ludwig castles and if you decide to go to Munich for several days that might be a worthwhile side trip for you.
The story on the SOM gazebo is that so many visitors wanted to see it and many tried to "re-create" the dance scene in it. Eventually, a visitor doing this fell and injured herself and that was "the end" of the gazebo. The exterior scenes of the so-called home of the von Trapps was filed at the Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg which is occupied by the Salzburg Institute.
Re Munich: in the city itself are both the Residenze which contains the Treasury and a rather extensive carved carriage collection from the Ludwig days. The most elaborate ones make that thing Queen Elizabeth sometimes rides in look like a Volkswagen in comparison.
Bob has already mentioned the various Ludwig castles and if you decide to go to Munich for several days that might be a worthwhile side trip for you.
Apr 24th, 2005, 02:09 PM
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I forgot to mention that the Residenz, which was the official Munich headquarters for the Wittlesbach dynasty has been restored and reopened. It is in the central city area and worth touring.
Nymphenburg is on the western side of the city and worth the effort to get there.
The most interesting place for me personally was the Glyptothek. It features art, sculpture, pottery, and other artifacts from old Greece and Rome.
Die Alte Pinakothek has works of art from about 1400 to 1800.
I think a good guidebook to Munich will reveal much to see and do.
I have my favorite spot in Switzerland, but even early June is a bit premature because many of the scenic trails are still either muddy or full of snow.
Nymphenburg is on the western side of the city and worth the effort to get there.
The most interesting place for me personally was the Glyptothek. It features art, sculpture, pottery, and other artifacts from old Greece and Rome.
Die Alte Pinakothek has works of art from about 1400 to 1800.
I think a good guidebook to Munich will reveal much to see and do.
I have my favorite spot in Switzerland, but even early June is a bit premature because many of the scenic trails are still either muddy or full of snow.
