My husband and I are going to Europe for 6 weeks in October and are still figuring out our itinerary. Would love some comments/feedback. <BR> <BR>We start with a month in Amsterdam (why so long? We're considering moving abroad, want to experience day-to-day living.) We've already booked an apartment ,so that's set. Figure we'll explore the surrounding Benelux countries as daytrips. Can also do some travel further afield using airpasses, so we're considering a couple additional 2-3 day trips from Amsterdam to somewhere Scandinavian (Stockholm?) and German (Berlin? Vienna?) <BR> <BR>Last but not least are our final 2 weeks. We'll be out of Amsterdam, and my partner wants to go to Aix en Provence, or start in Aix and go to....where would you go? Is Spain better/cheaper? I'm leery of Aix being too touristy and/or expensive. (It'll be the early November at this point) <BR> <BR>Would love any words of wisdom at this point - pro or con. Thanks.

By November it will be getting pretty cool in Amsterdam and the North, so I'd definitely head South - Barcelona? <BR>French Riviera? Venice? You could manage all three in the two weeks you have, with a quick look at Aix en Provence maybe. <BR>I think Scandinavia, Berlin, and possibly even Vienna will have lost their Summer charm by November.

If you are considering living in northern Europe, I suggest you see places like Amsterdam and Berlin at the end of your six weeks stay. <BR>Having gone through a European winter in Germany, I really don't think you experience the full flavor of it until January and February. Spain and Italy, south of the Alps, are usually mild in the winter, much more so than US locations at a comparable latitude. <BR>

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For your trips from Amsterdam to other cities, you can get very cheap return tickets on the day before you travel by calling KLM Call and Go at 023 - 567 4567 after 1 PM. Departure the next day. or have a look at: http://en.nederland.klm.com/ <BR>"click and go" <BR>

Random thoughts: I might not describe Amsterdam-to-Vienna as a 2-3 day trip. Quite a haul for just a couple of nights. If the SE of France sounds too touristy to you (but it probably won't be in Nov.) and Spain sounds too far, consider SW France - Toulouse, Albi, Pau, coastal France near Spain, Lourdes, foothills of Pyrenees, etc.

I don't think Aix is too touristy, and it's a lovely town. If you're sun-deprived, by November you might want to get even closer to the Mediterranean, so either turn left and head over to the Cote d'Azur (Menton would be our choice,) or turn right and hit Avignon or Arles or Nimes (or all of 'em) and then make for Languedoc and Spain, seeing Montpelier, Perpignan, and ending in Barcelona. <BR> <BR>Pshaw on avoiding the north in the winter. Places like Berlin or Amsterdam and Edinburgh really come alive in the winter, and in most northern capitals winter is when culture happens. <BR> <BR>Have a great time.

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