Leisurely way to get from Vienna to Prague?
 

I haven't yet departed for my spring trip to Italy, and I'm already planning the next excursion to Europe. I'd love to revisit Vienna (the first time was way too short) and also see Prague. My husband and I really enjoy the smaller towns as well, and would like to incorporate a short visit somehow. I understand the Eurostar takes you from Vienna to Prague in about 4 1/2 hours. I assume there are few (no?) stops...is there a regional train that will give you a more leisurely trek through the countryside, perhaps with a nice little town along the way where we could overnight? I know we could drive and have more control, but we're still relatively new to this Europe thing and would feel more comfortable training it. Thanks in advance.

You can take several different trains taking from 41/2 to 61/2 hours for the trip. Try www.oebb.at this is the Austrian train system website( english also) for trains, times and stops.
Perhaps the best stop is Brno, the second city of the Czech Republic( www.Brno.cz) It is not a small town but some interesting things to do in town and nearby.There are several 3 and 4 star hotels in town, plus other accomodations that you can review on the website.
I do not know how much time you have for this trip but with so much to see in both cities, your time may be better used in Vienna and Prague.
While it is not a long drive, the train is convenient and not costly. A car is not really needed in either city and is just a worry you do not need.

molker, thank you for the information. I see that on the oebb.at website I can also go through Bratislava; between Brno and Bratislava, which would give us more of a break from the larger cities? We'd like a place to relax and recharge for a day or two before tackling Prague. I also assume it's no big deal to cross these borders? As far as time goes, we'd probably spend 10-12 days there total--any more than that and we get burned out.

ttt

IMHO Bratislava is a slightly better choice than Brno, but 12 days for Vienna and Prague is not much at all. Don't waste time, take a direct train.

Brno is the 2nd largest city in the Czech Republic after Prague. It is centre of the South Moravia:
http://www.discoverczech.com/brno/index.php4