Toto

Needs help from German but mostly Austrian Fodorites. Hubs and I and two other traveling companions are finishing a cycle trip Berlin to Dresden on Sept 18, 2015. Although we are physically active generally, our goals for the rest of the trip are to simply drive and/or walk around, drink coffee (or wine or beer), eat chocolate, see some scenery, and not stress out too much with seeing a ton of sights. We have secured a rental car and we plan to drive Dresden to Salzburg (2 nights) and Vienna (2 nights). Will return the rental car in Vienna on Sept 21st and then depart Europe on Sept 22. I KNOW this is just dabbling in both areas, especially Salzburg. We've biked the Wauchau Valley (Melk, etc) and traveled along the Danube by a bicycle. That trip ended in Vienna also.

My questions: How long is a drive time between Dresden and Salzburg and are the roads tricky? Should we dally along the way and see some additional scenery? Never been to Salzburg so need advice on what to do that makes the most sense with slightly less than 48 hours there. Have a car, so we can take that to outskirts, if that is reasonable.. Thought of the Segway tour in Salzburg, just to cover a lot of ground fairly quickly. Should we necessarily purchase the Salzburg Card? Is it cheaper to do so in advance? The beer tasting at Stiegl-Brauwelt was appealing to us. Not too interested in seeing a bunch of Sound of Music sites.

Then, how long to drive to Vienna? What to do with only 1.5 days there. We've been to Vienna and taken horse-drawn carriage tour, visited the Imperial Treasury (loved it!), seen the Lipizzaners horses at practice, eaten Sacher Torte, etc.. Thanks in advance!

PS Our hotels are centrally located in both Salzburg and Vienna.

Michael

viamichelin.com will give you a choice of itineraries (fast, scenic, no tolls, etc.) with cost, mileage and driving time, which does not take into account stops or traffic, but takes into account the seasons.

If cost is an issue, keep in mind that there are high cross-border drop-off fees.

If your itinerary takes you through the Czech Republic, make sure that you are allowed to take a rental through that country.

Autoeurope or Kemwel are the best bet for choice of rentals.

Christina

I didn't even go to Salzburg for any Sound of Music stuff so not even sure what that is, I went for its history, especially in relationship to Mozart. So some of the things I did was due to that. But you apparently have no such interest as you don't even mention it, so it would be meaningless to you. Other than that, I just did the usual things -- visited the fortress and the museum and cathedral, walked around, did a little shopping. It's a small place so easy to walk around. I was only there a couple days.

I didn't have a Segway and easily walked around by myself, don't see the need to "cover a lot of ground" that way. It's not that big. I can't imagine they go outside the city.

fourfortravel

Since you have a car in Salzburg, perhaps spend one of the days at Herrenchiemsee? Salzburg is very walkable.

The drive from Salzburg to Vienna is about 3 hours, only the first of which is scenic. In Vienna, currently running are a number of exhibits celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Ringstraße, though several museums may be closed on your arrival day (Monday). The Winter Palace is hosting an exhibit of Rembrandt and Titian from the Dresden Gallerie. If beautiful monastery libraries are of interest, , perhaps detour to Admont en route to Vienna on Monday.

This time of year is incredibly beautiful up in the vineyards at the northern edge of Vienna. For something a little different, take the 38A bus from the terminus of the U4 (Heiligenstadt) to Kahlenberg (lovely cafe and striking views across the city and vineyards) or Cobenzl, not as far up but still lovely. Walk down the marked paths into Grinzing for a late lunch at a heuriger (or Ninos, our favorite pizza place), then catch the 38 tram in Grinzing back to the Inner Stadt.

Toto

Michael, thanks for the heads up on the border fees. Husband says he was quoted 100 euros, so that's in our budget. Appreciate the Michelin link. Christina, you quickly judged us as cultural Neanderthals, but we've already booked a Mozart concert in Salzburg and BTW I played classical violin and viola for 25 years. I would be interested in how you specifically pursued your Mozart agenda. One of us has a great interest in architecture of castles and churches, so Fourfortravel, I thank you for the monastery library and other helpful thoughts on Vienna, including exhibits of Rembrandt and Titan. I will check out Herrenchiemsee. We agree that grape harvest is a lovely time of year in this gorgeous country!

Michael

Browse through these pictures. You might be interested in Wilhering and Kremsmunster (not to be confused with the town of Krems). The pictures are geotagged, which will give a generally idea of where they are located.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7622926792957/

wanderfrau

If I wanted to relax after the bike trip, I would spend the four days in Dresden and forget Austria (as much as I like it) altogether. There is more than enough to do, the food is good, the beer is good, and the wine, while not the best in Germany, is still worth drinking.

If Vienna and Salzburg are must dos, I wouldn't bother with a rental car. I don't really see the need other than to get from point A to point B. In the short amount of time you have in each city, the car is just going to sit in a park spot. For me, taking the train is much more relaxing.

maxima

The historic old town Salzburg is extremely walkable. Your won't need a car and can cover a lot of ground on foot. There are a lot of shops in the old narrow streets; the cathedral is worth a visit, and you can take the cable car up to the castle for a lovely view, if the weather is good. There are two houses associated with Mozart.. both are museums. One is the birthplace, in the old town area...just above a small Spar supermarket.

The is a house where Mozart and family members lived.. actually it is rebuilt house as the original building was pretty much destroyed during WWII. That museum has instruments Mozart owned and played, manuscripts and other belongings of Mozart, his father and sister. There is an audio guide for the exhibits. I only visited this house, and found it interesting.

You can see the major sites in Salzburg in a day or two at the most. Segway would be fun but wouldn't save any time.

If you will be stopping along the way from Salzburg to Vienna in any of the lake district towns, then having a car would be fine. But if you intend to just drive straight to Vienna, you may want to consider dropping the car in Dresden and taking the train to Salzburg and then the train from Salzburg to Vienna.

In Vienna, you may want to down load a free audio tour, and take a self guided walk.