Europe/Eastern Europe, 40 Days & 40 Nights, Too Much?
 

70 yr old in-laws who love art & architecture, no hiking or steep hills, sometimes get confused on things like airport transit, subway tickets...speak only English and Spanish. They are easygoing and easy to please but I don't know if they're organized enough to efficiently get from place to place and see everything. I'm afraid they're going to be "wanting to stay an extra 2 days" in every city that they plan to visit because it takes them awhile to get accustomed. Anyway, my question is, with laundry and airport transfers and train travel etc....is this itinerary too ambitious or too tiring? They have cut Budapest from their itinerary instead of cutting Vienna because they are music lovers and have wanted to visit Austria.

Some of the schedule is planned due to great low airfares between some of the city pairs (in case it seems like the direction Prague to Berlin to Krakow doesn't make sense. ) ---------------Any opinions or ideas appreciated. Also they want to know if there is such a thing as disposable underwear for travel, LOL?



5 nights in Liverpool first, with friends, flight to Prague.

5 nights in Prague, then train to Berlin with an overnight stop in Dresden.

7 nights in Berlin with friends, train trip to Hamburg for an overnight and bus trip to Copenhagen for an overnight (trying to convince them to forget Cope - by now the fatigue is setting in, right? Relaxing with friends is better)

Fly to Krakow, 4 nights in Krakow including a tour of Auschwitz, then train to Vienna.

3 nights in Vienna, train to Salzburg

3 nights in Salzburg, train to Munich

2 nights in Munich, fly to Cologne

4 nights in Cologne/Bonn with a day trip planned to either Bruges or Amsterdam or Brussels (any suggestions)?

Fly to Paris with 4 nights in Paris, train to London. (Have been to Paris and London before, returning to London only because flights home were $400 less than Paris)

2 nights in London

Hi t,

Just wondering why 3 nights in Salzburg?

Why 2 nights in Munich and 4 nights in Cologne. Why are they on the list?

I agree with you about Copenhagen. They should spend at least 3 nights.

((I))

Somehow, if you've never BEEN to Copenhagen, I cannot agree that to be "relaxing with friends" would be better; you can "relax with friends" at home IMO.

There are a lot of variations available for this itinerary which MIGHT be better...but you know something???? You ahve told us very little about your interests and frankly, without knowing that, I do not feel comfortable giving you much advice but only to question some of the modes of transport between places such as flying from Munich to Cologne; trying to do a day trip to Ametrdam (that takes 4.5 hours one way by train from Cologne), etc.

Good luck.

Actually, I don't think their itinerary is that bad. I'd probably add a day or 2 to Munich and take a ady or 2 from Cologne.

And I'd drop the day trip to A'dam or Bruges. They can't do it all - even w/ 40 days to do it in.

Oh - and there IS disposible underwear. I usually take 2 packets of 5 pair on most lengthy trips for when laundry isn't practical/possible. They are great. Check www.packinglight.com - one distributer for a couple of brands

While I am still several decades younger, this would be too much moving about for me.

Especially on a trip of fairly long length (40 days) I couldn't keep up this kind of pace. Moving every 3 days (yes I realize this only comes up a few times) makes me cranky.

If I'm counting correctly there are a dozen different locations they will be spending their nights. 12 times packing, moving, unpacking, sleeping in a new bed, I know this is completely personal taste but it would be disorienting to me.

I think so too, Suze, but can't convince them. To them it looks like a cinch on paper!

Intrepid, they are visiting a sick friend in Cologne, but want to make the most of their time there while also being able to visit w/him more than just once. Are you saying that the train from Munich is particularly scenic and recommended? Because the flight is $40 and the train is over $100pp.

The train to Amsterdam is 2.5 hours and leaves early morning returns late so they think they can do it. Trying to re-work the itinerary to include a couple of nights in Amsterdam maybe, instead.

hi
You asked if the itinerary is too ambitious, but then you've said you can't convince them.
Tell THEM to read this thread themselves, maybe it will seem like better advice coming from strangers.
If you're concerned about your editorial comments at the start of the thread, copy and paste into a Word document, edit, print it out, and show it to them.
Are they hiring guides or cars with drivers? Avoiding steep hills entirely, in, for example Prague, is hard to do, and subways have lots of stairs.

The daytrips proposed from Cologne/Bonn seem outlandish to me, as does Copenhagen for one day.

Why don't they rent an apartment somewhere for a week -- preferably one with a washing machine?

$0 days is a long, long time to be on the road. While they are staying with friends some of the time, I would want a little place of my own for a bit.

Lots of flats for rent in Prague for example...