Greece or Germany
 

Hi,

My wife and I have the opportunity of spending about 28 days in Europe in July 2014. Problem is it must either start with a week in Athens or Frankfurt?
I haven't got a clue which to choose because they are so different.
I hear Athens is air polluted and dirty but great history. The Greek Isles I'm told are beautiful.
Germany also great history and green with mountains and is sort of in the centre of europe.
So Basically its either Germany -> Paris -> Italy -> Croatia?
or Athens -> Greek Isles -> Italy -> Paris?
As you can see Paris and Italy is a must.
Any recommendations and why would be very much appreciated :)

I vote for Greece. The islands are spectacular and the ruins in Athens are not to be missed.

I think if is difficult to compare different scenarios based on country (well, Paris is a city) and general one liner description for each place alone.

I would actually fill out key stops along the way, what you want to do there, pros (benefits, life long desire, relaxing, etc) and cons (cost, long walk in hot weather, crowd, risks, etc) for each scenario and do side by side comparisons.

I have spent 2 weeks each in Germany and Greece during the past year but for different reasons.

Germany and Greece are interesting choices. Is this a vacation home swap type of arrangement?

I'd vote for Greece--it's central to European civilization in a way that Germany is not. Do cruise the Islands--a day (or at most two) in Athens for Acropolis and National Archaeological Museum, and Agora if a second day, is plenty. Delphi, Olympia, Corinth if you're interested in trips by land.

But it's your trip and we don't know what you enjoy doing.

Although Athens is not the cleanest city in the world, it gets an unfair share of bad-mouthing. Air pollution was a problem in the '80s and early '90s when a "fog" of car gas was covering the city. This is not the case any more.

Greece with islands would be my choice, too. Spend 2 nights in Athens as suggested above and there are a plenty of opportunities for continuation of your trip in Greece.

You should have a certain "heat resistance" if you travel to Greece, and especially to the mainland, in July. Most people who travel to Greece in July or August do so to hang loose on one of the islands.
The culture-focused roundtrip of the Peleponnes can be more enjoyable in the shoulder seasons with just warm but not smoking hot temperatures.
The islands differ substantially by character and what you can do there - not least by size there are major differences between Crete and the thousands of small Aegean islands. As July is also peak season for island tourism, it may take some planning longer in advance to secure accomodation and transport between them and the mainland.

Even if Frankfurt or Athens is your European airport for arrival you don't need to linger there if something else appeals to you more. You can usually connect there to another airline the same day with little additional cost and be in Paris or Rome or whereever within a few hours of landing in Europe.

We really enjoyed our recent visit to Athens, but I have to agree about the temperatures there in July. We were just there for 1 day (post-cruise) and it was the most hot and humid weather that I have experienced in a LONG time (and I am used to both hot and humid in Texas and D.C.) We were constantly stopping to buy water to keep hydrated.

But I also love Germany. (We lived in two different areas of Germany for a number of years.) If you decide to start your trip there, skip Frankfurt and head either to Berlin or Bavaria.

I'd go for Germany. I don't travel to places like Greece, Italy, and Spain in July. It's just too hot.