apostle2

My girlfriend and I are planning on taking a trip to Europe in late May 2014. I will be defending my dissertation in early May, and after years of avoiding long trips for my Ph.D. studies, we want to celebrate with a romantic two-week adventure. It will probably need to be the last week in May and the first week in June.

We have some clear ideas of what we want to do, but we're very open to recommendations/suggestions to tighten up the itinerary. We have both previously been to Europe - she went on a week trip to Paris and the south of France, and I studied abroad in London for about six months. I went to Dublin, around the UK, Paris, Barcelona, and Rome. In terms of what we're looking for in a trip, we both want to see things that we will never get the chance to see again, either man-made or natural, we are very into food and the culinary arts (especially dessert...haha) and culture. We are not looking for any clubbing or partying. We want experiences. In terms of $$, we are looking for something middle of the road. We're not on a crazy strict budget, but I am a long-time graduate student, so we can't do anything super expensive either.

My heritage is very German, so we were thinking about starting our trip in Munich (seems more our style with beer halls and castles and alps rather than Berlin). After staying there for a few days, we were thinking about taking the train through the Alps and into Switzerland, perhaps to spend a couple days in Zurich/Lucerne. After that, we're not sure...haha. We know we want to end the trip with 4-ish days in London. I have very fond memories of my time there, and my girlfriend has never been, so she wants to experience the city with a guide (me) and I want to relive my not-so-distant youth. I will also say that we would consider dropping Switzerland and doing something else for the middle leg of the trip if it fits what we're looking for. So, can anyone give advice on what we have already or suggest what happens between Munich and London? Thanks!

Michael

For Germany you may want to take a look at my trip report from this May; click on my name to find it.

Dukey1

Well, just what ARE you looking for? You say you'll consider dropping Switzerland if you can find what you are looking for but other than drinking beer, seeing castles and mountains we have no clue.

apostle2

Well, I did say in the original post "we both want to see things that we will never get the chance to see again, either man-made or natural, we are very into food and the culinary arts (especially dessert...haha) and culture...We want experiences."

I personally like historical sites, architecture, experiencing the culture of an area, the food and drink, things like that. We are not interested in partying or shopping. Thanks for the help so far.

nytraveler

I think that trip sounds fine - but Switzerland is VERY expensive - so I would look at details of prices before setting your heart on it. (I find prices there close to double what they are in NYC.)

trotters

You might consider Austria instead of Switzerland. Salzburg is an easy train ride from Munich and has its own castle high above the city. It's a great place to spend a few days. From Salzburg you could take a 45-minute bus ride to St. Gilgen and experience a couple of days on the Wolfgangsee surrounded by mountains. Austria is also easier on the budget than Switzerland.

StCirq

Yes, Switzerland can be frighteningly expensive. And Zürich is the last place I'd go for romance. Salzburg as a substitute is a nice idea.

msteacher

If you are really into history, architecture, food, and culture, Switzerland would not be my first choice for you. Of course, it has all those things, but almost any other European country/ city has more. The best thing about Switzerland is the mountains. So if you want spectacular natural beauty, head to the Bernese Oberland and do some hiking. A small mountain town like Wengen can be very romantic.

But if you rather stick with big cities for history and culture, I'd encourage you to reconsider Berlin. It's a fabulous city. Vienna or Prague might also pair nicely with Munich (I personally find Prague to be very romantic and architecturally stunning). From there, you'd need to fly to London.

One other thought is Amsterdam. No, it's not all partying. Lots of great history, architecture, etc. and you could then Eurostar to London. Just throwing out some thoughts for you to consider. Happy planning!

apostle2

Thank you VERY MUCH for the help so far. We're having a great time reading all the cool ideas you guys have. We heard switzerland was expensive, but we didn't realize it was THAT expensive...haha. I think we would be interested in Munich > another city in that general area and then a flight to the uk "area" for a stop or two. Please keep it coming!

ElendilPickle

Can you give us an idea of how much you'd like to spend on lodging per night?

Lee Ann

apostle2

Sure, we were thinking if we were to go to four cities, we might do nicer hotels in two of those cities and private rooms in hostels (if possible) in the other two. I was looking at maybe ~$250-300 per night in the hotel cities and $100-150 per night in the cheaper cities. So perhaps a budget of $2500-3000 for the entire trip.

mamcalice

Have you considered Venice? You could train there from Munich and then fly to London. Venice is unique, romantic, and meets all of your interests.

apostle2

Thanks again for the suggestions everyone, this is really helping us narrow down the best plan possible (for us). We had discussed Venice, but as a means of paring down our options we decided that we would come back and do a long trip throughout Italy somewhere down the road - honeymoon, perhaps? : )

With everyone's help, we're now considering two itineraries:

1 - Fly into Munich, spend 5-ish days there with side trips to Neuschwanstein, Salzburg, and maybe another day trip.
- Fly from Munich to London, and spend 6-ish days there, with various day trips around the UK, or a two day or so trip to Edinburgh.

2 - Buy a eurail pass for Germany and Benelux, and spend less time in each location. Do Munich > Amsterdam essentially, with stops along the way. Then fly to London for the last ~3 days.

I think we're still leaning toward itinerary #1

msteacher

Yes, I vote for itinerary #1. Two bases in two weeks will make for a pleasant and romantic trip. While plan #2 includes some nice places, I think you will find yourself doing too much moving around.

PalenQ

For getting a good fix on the European rail system check out these IMO superb sources - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free online and superb IMO European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of rail-oriented itineraries in each country (http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id2.html) - if traveling enough in various countries check out railpasses - there are zillions of them - one country ones, two country ones; 3-5 countryones (Eurail Select Pass) and Global ones covering every coungtry practically but the UK, which of course has is its BritRail Pass.

The Germany-Benelux Pass is a good deal if taking several trains and it allows full flexibility to hop virutally any train any time in those four countries (and IME do not neglect stopping by gorgeous Luxembourg City - a city bisected by a deep gorge! Thalys trains should be avoided with a pass as they charge a ridiculous supplement in addition to using a day on your pass - you do not need to take them as slightly slower trains run the same routes that you can just hop on - the complete flexibility of a railpass to some is priceless.