I need some help with my itinerary for a trip this fall - I am going to Egypt for 10 days, and then flying into Prague on an award ticket on Monday Oct 10. A friend of mine will be meeting me in Prague late on Thurs Oct 13. We have until midday Mon Oct 17 to tour Prague. I think that I would like to immediately fly out of Prague on Oct 10 to another city, and return to meet her late on Oct 13. If I do, would you recommend Budapest, Berlin or an alternate city? Really I could go anywhere, since I am flying but these seemed logical since they are nearby.

In the area, I have only been to Vienna. In Germany, I have been to Munich, Heidelberg, and the Rhine Valley. None of these destinations were my favorite, although I have high hopes for Prague. I live in New York City, so I am very used to traveling in cities. What would you recommend I do?

I should add that I am arriving into Prague at 6AM on Monday, so if I get on an early connection, I expect I would have Monday afternoon, Tues, Wed, and Thur AM in other city.

if you like architecture.. the new buildings in berlin are fabulous. the entire city is very spread out.

i would even describe berlin as a "european" new york?? It is certainly the most vibrant city (IMHO) with the most going on in europe right now.

but, I also just returned from my first trip to budapest, and was very impressed, and had a wonderful time there, too. saw great ballet at Opera house, and did the normal sights.

Food was good both places.. perhaps budapest more unique. Since you have already seen a lot of germany.. perhaps a bit of hungary will help you to get a better feel of that area after prague.

you might be able to get to berlin cheaper than prague using easyjet.com.

if you had more time you could actually do both, as easyjet has a hub in berlin .

Thanks for thoughts and link to easyjet. Anyone else have recommendations?

Berlin. We just spent 5 days there & it wasn't long enough ! Budapest is OK but there isn't anything like as much to do.

I loved Berlin and completely agree with lincasanova about it being a Euro. NY. It is edgy and modern but clean and safe. WE lived in Budapest before and while it is nice and has an amazing history, I liked the feel of Berlin.
Cheers,
Jan

We've not been to Berlin so I really have no basis for comparison, but we loved Budapest. Our 2003 trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest was one of our favorites. I have a page of websites and some other info on Budapest. If you think it would help with your decision, e-mail me and I'll be happy to send it to you.