"because they got extremely cheap tickets"

Ah, I read upward and see they got extremely cheap one way tickets. Sometimes cheap tickets can cost a lot but other times they are a good bargain.

I hope they are a bargain!

>>Sometimes cheap tickets can cost a lot but other times they are a good bargain. <<

exactly - great 'bargains' can be false economies . . . or great bargains.

I know someone who likes to say, "if you can find a good fare to Europe you can get anywhere easily enough."

While that's true, it's not always sensible if you only have limited time. If I took a cheap fare, I'd want it to be to a place where I will enjoy being or at least in the country I'll enjoy being.

Like the OP, I usually only have 17 days and I don't want to spend but a couple of those days traveling and the traveling has to be fun too. IMO, I miss too much of the city I land in if I don't get to spend a whole day there b/c of jet lag.

Plus, if someone is shopping for the cheapest airfare but planning to take a lot of trains, that's going to add up. Might as well land in one of the cities you want to see. If you want to save money with the price of the Euro buying transportation to the city you want to be in may not price out.