My wife and I (in our late 30's) want to go to either of these countries for a week, but are not sure which would be the best for this time period around Xmas time. Is it possible to do both if a week is too much for either country? Thanks if you can help,

Kurt

Hi Kurt,

My opinion, a week is just right for one or the other, but not both. While we never traveled around Christmas time, I'd go with Austria. Very easy to include a little of Bavaria also. Salzburg, Innsbruck area (we love Hall in Tirol), Berchtesgaden area (very close to Salzburg) and Mittenwald (very close to Innsbruck/Hall in Tirol) are wonderful. I know, some aren't in Austria (but sooo close) and I excluded Vienna only because we've never been.


Some of our recent photo's are at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel11.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel1.html

Hope this helps.

Paul

Hard choice, but maybe this aspect will help:

Austria is generally less expensive.

I second Paul's recommendations and will add Vienna. Vienna is magical in Christmas time. The City Hall is wonderfully illuminated, and in front there is a Christmas market. Christmas in Austria and Bavaria is very atmospheric.

It depends on your personal interests, but we love Austria. I wouldn't mind living there if we could get all of our friends to move there as well.

P- Thank you very much for the info and links! It sounds like Austria is the winner so far. I appreciate it again!

1959- I was looking for a place that you describe in Xmas. Thanks a lot

Jake- Thank you much !!

Kurt

Another consideration:

The current (8/27) exchange rate for US Dollars to local currency...

Euro = appox 1.47%

Swiss Franc = .91%

Could even be worse exchange rate by xmas....

Or it could be a better exchange rate by Christmas!

Our neighbors are in Europe right now with about 6,000 euros in cash that they bought in March. They really panicked as the dollar kept sinking and were determined to buy enough euros for most of their expenses in Europe, avoiding credit cards and ATM withdrawals. They "had heard" that a euro would cost $1.90 to $2 by August.

They paid around $10,300 for those euros including the exchange rate they got here in the USA, courier costs, and fees. Right now they would cost a little over $8,900 using my credit card or my ATM card.

Not to mention that they held that over 6,000 euros collecting no income from it for 5 months. It was in their bank safe deposit box, so it was safe. But I wouldn't want to be carrying over $10,000, oops, over $8,000 in cash around with me anywhere.

Of course, if the dollar had sunk as they were convinced it would, then he would be crowing right now.

Jake1

Where can I get 6000 Euro for $8000 We are leaving in 2 weeks and I would buy it.

Many people are under the impression that if one currency costs more in dollars than another, then the country with the more expensive unit of currency will be more costly to travel to. This is a gross oversimplification. While the euro is 1.47 and the Swiss Franc is .90, you will generally find things costing more francs than euros.

Our hotel in rural France cost 60 euros per night and our hotel in the Swiss Alps cost 200 swiss francs per night. You can see which one was more expensive, despite the exchange rate. I find that many people are confused about this.

Back on point...

We were also in our late 30s and on a trip without the kids some years ago from Dec 26 - Jan 4 that year. We started out in Zurich and took the train to Gstaad, Lucerne, Montreaux and Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.

We arrived in Gstaad as the sun went down. The track follows the mountainside into a bowl of a valley, with fun shopping and pedestrian areas. There's a local ice rink in town and everything is walkable. It has a fantastic apres ski scene, as does Zermatt.

We skied in both Gstaad and Zermatt and bought my hubby a fancy watch at Bucherer in Lucerne.

It was, by far, the most memorable trip we've taken. We don't typically travel by train as much as we did on that trip, but it was perfect. We packed a picnic lunch for each train ride and wondered at the amazing scenery.

We've been to Vienna also, and while lovely, it was more of a big city scene.

Let me know if you'd like some hotel recommendations, and I'll be glad to share our experiences.

Oh - I forgot to mention that the Alpine towns (and especially Gstaad) look like something from under your Christmas tree, especially at night!

I've spent a couple of Christmases in the Austria-Germany-Switzerland region. For my money and best memories, nothing beats Salzburg at Christmas. The best thing about Salzburg is how centralized all the holiday activity is. Beyond that, anywhere between the triangle of Salzburg, Austria and Bavaria (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Berchtesgaden, for examples), you simply can't go wrong.

I guess some people would say that Austria AND Switzerland are out of the realm of possibility for a week, but both are small countries for travel.

I'm thinking that if you hit Austria-Bavaria one time, you'll be sure to return to the Germanic regions again, where you could work in Switzerland. And I agree with another poster here: Switzerland is more expensive. Also more mountainous, so travel can be dicier.

Gute fahrt!

Personally I think Switzerland's Alps are beautiful. However Switzerland is more expensive than surrounding countries using the Euro. It still doesn't beat Denmark et al. but it sure is more expensive than Austria, Italy, Germany or France. We were the most blown away by the cost of food in casual restaurants. Four of us spent $200 on a pretty basic dinner. Good, but basic.

TravelingMan--OVER $8,000--in the body of my remarks I gave the amount $8,900.

Thanks Mom, E-Phobe, and Chevre!! I appreciate your comments very much and I will certainly incorporate them in my plans. You are kind for sharing them with me. Thanks everyone else as well!

Regards

Kurt