Czech and/or Austria
 

The flights are booked to arrive in Frankfurt 10th April and depart Vienna on the 24th April. <BR>We want to spend almost all of the time in Czech Republic and/or Austria. We prefer the smaller towns with a little bit of the big cities. We propose to travel by train. <BR>The BIG QUESTION is what do you think we should really not miss out on! And secondly can you please recommend clean cheap accommodations (pensions, tourist hotels...) <BR>Research so far sees us wanting to visit Cesky Krumlov and Salzburg. <BR>What would you do if you were us?

Ken, I'd strongly suggest including Prague. It doesn't have the same big-city feel as other European cities, and is absolutely beautiful. Otherwise, in the CR I'd suggest Cesky Krumlov, Telc and the area around it, Karlovy Vary/Marianske Lazne, and Ceske Budejovice. But really, don't miss Prague. Feel free to email for more ideas.

Greetings Ken, We did a very similair trip last year and loved the Czech Republic. The people were so friendly. <BR> <BR>I second Helana's suggestion for visiting Marianske Lazne. It's not very far from the German border and for us was a great way to "ease into" speaking a little Czech etc. It was almost devoid of American tourists and absolutely beautiful. Prague is truly a must but it is a BIG city. Cesky Krumlov is beautiful and very well preserved. Please feel free to drop me a line as to what type of accomodations you're looking for and I'll see what I can find in my notes at home. <BR> <BR>Sincerely, the turnip

Hello Ken, I did this route in reverse <BR>last May and here is what I suggest. <BR>You pick the days at each location, but try to leave 3 for Prague. <BR>Frankfurt to Rothenburg <BR>Rothenburg to Prague <BR>Prague to Cesky Krumlov[ 1 nite OK] <BR>Cesky to Salzburg [ stay at St Gilgen] <BR>Day trip to Hallstatt from here <BR>Salzburg to Durnstein via Melk <BR>Durnstein to Vienna <BR>That is a nice 2 week loop that is doable. You will love it that time of year---still early for tourists and <BR>you can free-lance hotels in the small cities. Pension Barbakan in Cesky is <BR>good, and pick one in Rothenburg. <BR>The Gasthof Kendler in St. Gilgen is a <BR>great location and only :30 to Salzburg by bus or car. Try not to miss Hallstatt and Melk. Good luck !

Hi! We visited Czech Rep. last fall. Stayed away from Prague as we had been there several years before. We visited Kutna Hora a very interesting old city with a siver mine history. It riveled Prague several hundred yrs ago. We stayed a couple of nights there. If you visit you must go to Sedlec a short ride out of the city. See the Ossuary there and the bone sculptures very unique. We also stayed a night in Telc which has probably one of the best preserved town squares. By the way Kutna Hora is on the UNESCO World Heritage lIST. There is a wondeful Chinese restaurant there also. The food is as good as any in the US. We paid about 11 USD for a full course meal for two. Probably the most we spent on vacation. After Telc we stayed in Beroun. Not the most pleasant of places due to some slick police. We had to pay a fine for a "traffic violation" and were given the option of how much to pay. Visited Krivoklat Castle. Very nice area. <BR>We then drove to Cesky Krumlov. Very spectacular town. Very good gypsy restaurant. stayed at a pension along the main street.. Many small hotels and pensions on the street right off of the main square. We enjoyed ourselves very much. <BR>alan