cologne to vienna side trip beginning of April
 

Hello dear helpers. I normally do all my own investigating and planning and haven't thought to ask for help before. However, I'm a little overwhelmed trying to choose what to do for a mere weekend in early April when we'll be traveling (most likely by plane, but perhaps by train, if that'd make for a good trip) from a meeting in Cologne to a conference in Vienna. What do you all suggest? Thanks for any ideas.

You could spend a weekend in Munich.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623111626965/

In any case, I would fly - either from Cologne or from Düsseldorf. The train ride would take over 8 hours.

If you have some spare time explore the region around Cologne. You have many options, including Aachen, Monschau & Maastricht, Düsseldorf & Neanderthal and Bonn & the Rhine valley.

I agree with traveller1959 - see the area around Cologne, Munich is quite a long way away and you will lose a lot of time in travelling there IMO.
Cologne is in a good place to see the Rhine, and you can catch a boat as far as Mainz to see the prettiest parts (Koblenz to Mainz is the best part). You could even travel to Frankfurt from Mainz, where you could catch a plane to Vienna. It's only 40 minutes from Mainz by regional train.
I also like the suggestions of Aachen and Maastricht - the latter of which is particularly different to Cologne.

Lavandula

Sorry for my slow response to your prompt replies. Thank you for the suggestions. Did look into them all, and think we'll probably poke around the Mosel Valley or perhaps the Rhine.