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Choose from two itineraries Berlin, Dresden Prague--- and add Vienna?

Choose from two itineraries Berlin, Dresden Prague--- and add Vienna?

Old Mar 24th, 2013, 05:14 PM
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Choose from two itineraries Berlin, Dresden Prague--- and add Vienna?

Total of 22 days-
#1 itinerary
Berlin 7 days (8 nights) the only for sure interval
Dresden 5 nights 4 1/2 days- side trips
Prague -8 days 9 nights( too much time in Prague) side trips?
Return to Berlin to fly out

Too much time in Prague! Should we go to Vienna also?

#2
Berlin 7 days 8 nights
Dresden 4 nights 31i/2 days side trips?
Prague- 41/2 days 5 nights
Vienna-3 1/2 days in Vienna 4 nights
Vienna- Berlin full day of travel.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 05:30 PM
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I'm going to suggest itinerary 2 as you have the time (and could even sneak another day from Dresden to add to Vienna), but knowing the side-trips and places you would like to visit in Dresden would help.

What did you have in mind for Dresden? And what time of year are you travelling?

Prague with 5 nights will give you time for a day trip to say Kutna Hora or Plzen (depending on your interests - and unless you're castle mad I wouldn't bother with Karlstejn Castle). Have you considered an overnight stay in Cesky Krumlov? This will impact your time in other cities, but might appeal to you rather than as a (long) day trip from Prague.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 05:38 PM
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We are just in the beginning stages of planning. We have not purchased guide books to know anything about side trip from Dresden or Prague. We love history, architecture and food and beer and wine. We would like to visit a concentration camp at some point. So take one day from Dresden and to Vienna, right? I think I can better plan once I do more research. We are travel from September 13- October 6.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 06:12 PM
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Can you fly open jaw - into Berlin and out of Vienna? - or are the flights already booked?

I would vote for #2 because 5 nights in Dresden and 8/9 nights in Prague are a little more than they probably require to be seen fully. Berlin can take 7 days with all of it's 20th century history and ancient museums.

One more option to consider would be to stop somewhere between Prague and Vienna, like Cesky Krumlov, for a few nights, like this;

Berlin 7
Dresden 4
Prague 4/5
Cesky Krumlov 2/3
Vienna 4
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 07:15 PM
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Already made the airline reservations to fly in and out of Berlin from the US. Our plans are to take the train in between cities and then probably fly from Vienna to Berlin- depending on the cost of two airline tickets and the time of the train.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 08:43 PM
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I'll also cast a vote for #2 and also second the idea of shifting some time from Dresden to Vienna. I suspect you'll be able to nail it down once you get your guidebooks.

Enjoy!
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 09:24 PM
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Yes, go with #2. I spent 3 nights in Prague and felt like it was enough time! 9 nights seems like a lot.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 09:31 PM
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Since you like wine, and it looks like you may be in Vienna toward the end of September, Google translate the information on this link for the Wienwienwandertag (should you not speak German). For two days the local vineyards set up small huts with snacks and samples of their young wines (sturm) all throughout the vineyards; hiking between them could make for a pleasant, and out of the ordinary, Vienna activity. The paths are easy to moderate hikes, and well marked.

https://www.wien.gv.at/vadb/internet...313688&return=
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 09:31 PM
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As you are locked in to flying in and out of Berlin, you should allow a night back in Berlin before your flight home, so that will eat into a day which may have been spent somewhere else. Take that into consideration when you plan your final amount of time in each city.

You could look at the following route:
Berlin
train to Dresden (EuroCity/EC train takes around 2hrs, other trains will involve a change or 2)
Dresden
train to Prague (again EC train will take a little over 2hrs to Praha hlavní nádraží station)
Prague
bus to Cesky Krumlov (direct and more convenient that the train on this route, takes around 3hrs)
Cesky Krumlov
transport to Vienna - train will take 4.5hrs if you're lucky, otherwise bank on around 5hrs as there is no direct train (there will be 2 changes). It's a bit of a schlep but at least the scenery is decent; there is a private shuttle bus service which operates like a taxi service of sorts and takes about 3hrs. If you have a group of 4 or more then the price gets better, otherwise it's around 1000CZK/Euro38 per person in a shared shuttle which is door to door.
fly Vienna to Berlin (easy enough to do, just check airlines like Austria Air

I'll let you do a little more research on things to see in each city, but for day trips/short trips outside city areas:

Berlin - Sachsenhausen (Concentration Camp, can be reached via S-Bahn train), Sansouci (Summer residence of Frederick the Great of Prussia, located in Potsdam, easy access by train from Berlin then short bus ride.

Dresden - would concentrate on what's in the city as you'll find your fill of architechture, museums, history, etc.

Prague - Kutna Hora (aka The Bone Place! 1hr by train); Plzen (home of Pilsener beer! and some neat architectural sights - cathedral, synagogue; 1.5hrs by train)

Vienna - Melk (home to stunning Melk Abbey, about 1hr20 by train or, and this might throw a spanner in the works but have a look anyway, you could take the train Vienna to Krems an der Donau, then jump a boat from Krems to Melk and cruise the Danube before visiting the Abbey and then taking the train back to Vienna. The train to Krems (an der Donau, don't get the other one 4hrs away!) will be about 1 hour, the cruise about 3hrs and the train Melk to Vienna will be 1 hour. It makes for a long day, but will be very scenic if that's your sort of thing. Just check the timetables for cruises in Sept-Oct as they will be less frequent than in the Summer.).
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Old Mar 25th, 2013, 04:26 AM
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Wow thanks to all, especially "madamtrashheap"! My local Barnes and Noble did not have a great selection of books on all of this. I like to see the book before buying it. Are there books to suggest for these destinations and possible side trips?
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Old Mar 25th, 2013, 11:19 AM
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Since you have to go back to Berlin I recommend to skip Vienna - pretty far. This would also allow you to explore the remaining cities and surrounding regions more in depth. 9 nights are too many in Prague IMO, I think 4 are sufficient, maybe 5 if you must ...

Maybe add a destination between Dresden and Prague. Did you hear about the National Park Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland? Gorgeous landscape with bizarre sandstone formations, glens, canyons, flat-top mountains and lots of outdoor activities, from walking/hiking over cycling, canoeing, mountain climbing, boat trips. Plus quite a lot of other sights, too - Fortress Königstein, Bastei viewing point, picturesque small towns off the beaten path like Hohnstein, Stadt Wehlen, Kurort Rathen. Bad Schandau, a spa town, would be a good base and has, for example, a wonderful spa hotel: http://www.elbresidenz-bad-schandau.de/en/start-page/

If you want to do day trips from Dresden, then you dozens of options within an hour travel time. From picturesque towns with stunning sights like Meissen, Freiberg, Pirna, Bautzen, over palaces/castles/gardens like Moritzburg, Weesenstein, Stolpen, Großsedlitz, Rammenau, the previously mentioned fortress Königstein, to vineyards (wine tasting) and steam trains in Radebeul, one of the oldest Cistercian Abbeys in Germany in St. Marienstern, craft shops/manufactures for porcelain in Meißen, gingerbread in Pulsnitz, etc. pp.

For more information check my pages on Virtualtourist.com. Here is a link to an overview of pages, many of the places mentioned above are listed:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/m/4166c/

I.
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