blitz trip through central europe
 

I have 7 days to spend by myself in Europe, and here's my plan. I'd love some feedback. If it seems gruelling, well ... I know I'm crazy. I do this kind of thing every year.

Fly into Munich, spend the night
drive to Vienna, spend 2 nights
drive to Bled for morning, on to Ljubljana for the night
drive to Piran in the morning, on to Trieste for the night
drive to Cortina D'Ampezzo, spend the night
drive to Munich, spend the night
Fly home to Cincinnati

Anything better along this route that I'm missing? I like to walk, drink beer/wine and just soak up the cities/towns. I don't love museums or shows or expensive restaurants.

Any thoughts?

sorry ... one more question ... how hard is it to sneak a rental car (from Germany) into Slovenia?

Your plan is OK if those are the places you prefer to visit. As for the car, just inform your rental agency. There is normally no problem taking a rental car into Slovenia.

Two legs of your trip are very long. The first, from Munich to Vienna, seems OK because you will have the whole day to get there. But the second leg, from Vienna to Bled, can't easily be done in half a day. If you want to drive from Vienna to Bled and arrive in the morning, you'd have to start very, very early. The rest of the legs of the trip aren't too bad.

I assume you have some reason to stay overnight in Ljubljana and Trieste. It seems odd to make long drives on the other days, yet have very short drives to those two cities. If it were my trip, I'd probably try to make the legs of the trip more equal. Good luck.

I don't know your personality - - but I wonder if Vienna is really going to be your cup of tea. Try Graz instead - - cuts your two longest driving legs down, also. Not sure about two nights there - - I just don't enough of a grasp of what you might like.

And presumably, you are not interested in Salzburg? Pity. Or maybe you have been there before.

You could spend extra time in Northern Italy, perhaps. Try Trento or Bassano del Grappa.

Best wishes,

Rex

P.S. - - have any interest in being on our mailing list for ""Ohio River valley Fodors get-togethers"? First one was in Louisville last March. Annual?

I'm showing the drive from Vienna to Bled is 3 1/2 hours. Is that not right? I plan on leaving Vienna at are 7 a.m., get to Bled before lunch, hike around the lake for a few hours and get to Ljubljana by late afternoon/dinner time. Too aggressive?

The reasons for the nights in Ljubljana and Trieste was that I want to see both places, and I'd rather spend the nights in larger towns than Bled and Piran.

The way I do these trips is weird. I go to Munich and Vienna every year, because I'm deeply, freakishly attracted to both places. Then, with the rest of the trip, 3-4 days, I like to see new things. Mountains make a great change of pace from those cities. I've been to Czech Rep., Hungary, Italy, etc., but I've never seen Slovenia. I've driven through the Dolomites but never hiked there.

I've been to Salzburg and I don't like it. Too touristy and after Vienna, there's really nothing there for me ... The Salzkammergut, on the other hand, is my favorite place on earth.

... and rex, I'd be very interested in a local-ish Fodor's get together.

Sure, robbydee - - e-mail me...