lisa

we are planning a whirlwind less than 2 week trip and need help!! our flight arrives in Frankfurt and we had planned on leaving immediately for the following: <BR>Munich for 3 days (including Dachau if its worth it), <BR>Fussen (Nueschwanstein) - 1 day, <BR>Salzburg - 1 day <BR>Vienna - 2 days <BR>Budapest - 2 days <BR>Prague - 2 days. <BR>We want to add an extra day to Prague and are considering not going to Salzburg. Any ideas or suggestions???

Lee

Lisa: Your itinerary is aggressive indeed. <BR> <BR>Here's my suggestion: Leaving Frankfurt airport (it will be early morning), you could drive to Rothenburg on autobahn A3 (Wurzburg), then autobahn A7 (Rothenburg), which takes about two hours. You could stay in Rothenburg, get some rest, sightsee a little in the evening and in the morning. You could leave for Munich about midday and make it in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Finding your hotel or whatever, you could visit the Marienplatz and maybe the Hofbrauhaus in the late afternonn and evening. The next day, you could head over to Bertchesgaden and into Salzburg, Austria, staying in Salzburg to take in the fortress, Sound of Music tour, home of Mozart, etc. Leaving Salzburg, you can drive to Prague, stopping in Linz along the way. Linz is about two hours NE of Salzburg and Prague is maybe five hours north of Linz. This would be another day. You may choose to go to Vienna and then Budapest instead, finding Prague on your way back. Possibly someone with more experience with eastern Europe can help you here, maybe "Arizona" who is well-traveled. <BR> <BR>When you reenter Germany (I assume that you leave from Frankfurt as well), you can continue your Germany sights. Maybe take in another day of Munich, since you didn't get to see much the first time. Neuschwanstein castle is west of Munich, but I would suggest taking the autobahn A95 to Garmisch and see the sights there, including nearby Ettal (beautiful basillica), Linderhof castle (one of Ludwig's three) and Oberammergau. From there, you can head over to Schwangau along routes 23 to 187 to 314, possibly staying in one of these places for the night. Good idea and great area. In the morning, you can visit Neuschwanstein castle and Hohenschwangau both in (near) Schwangau. This would be an absolutely fantastic drive. <BR> <BR>I strongly suggest the locations in Germany as I don't feel that you'll be disappointed. Dachau is very close to Munich, but not for everyone. Nearly all of the buildings are gone, but there is a "display" in the main building and films depicting what happened there and elsewhere. Not many dry eyes leaving at the gate. <BR> <BR>Sorry about the long dissertation, but I was just trying to fit a lot in. <BR> <BR>Have a good trip! <BR>

Linda

Lee had some good suggestions. I would check with the car rental agency as not all let you take a car to Czech Republic or Hungary. I would suggest the train & you can get all the info you need at the German rail site bahn.hafas.de <BR>Also, if you need nice, safe, clean, shower & toilet in room, with helpful English-speaking staff--places in Prague & Budapest for $35-40/night for 2 with full breakfast, email me.

Anna

Dachau is an easy day trip (or 1/2 day) from Munich. The train ride is 45 minutes to Dachau, you then take a bus for the short ride to the concentration camp (follow the crowd to the public bus waiting outside the station). It is a valuable experience and should not be missed. <BR>

lisa

Thanks for the advice. We plan on taking the trains and not driving. I read great things about Salzburg but am undecided whether or not to forego Salzburg for an extra day in Prague.... <BR>

dan

Very doable. I went to all those places on the same trip, except didn't stop at Salzburg. Frankfurt to Munich is about 3 hours by train (a fairly scenic ride). Munich to Salzburg is an hour or so. Dachau is a half day trip and I think is worth it, unless you have already seen many other camps. Salzburg to Vienna is about 2 hours (maybe less - it's been three years). Vienna to Budapest is 3-4 hours). Budapest to Prague (don't know - was on a bus). I think your thoughts for how much time to spend in each city seem about right for this type of trip unless these days include a lot of travel. I would take some late or very early trains to save time. Prague is the right one for an extra day. Check out the deutsche bahn site for exact times and connections. You can even print out maps of train routes. <BR>

Christina

I just visited Austria this summer, <BR>including Vienna and Salzburg, and it <BR>is not 2 hrs or less by train between those <BR>2 cities--it's about 3 hrs 15 min (approx <BR>200 miles). Anyway, I didn't like Vienna <BR>that much, but did Salzburg, so if I were <BR>going to skip one, it would be Vienna <BR>rather than Salzburg. There wasn't anything <BR>in Vienna I found that interesting, to be <BR>honest (major museums not nearly close <BR>to NY, Paris or London) and the major <BR>pedestrian shopping area was very <BR>ugly. I was there in July when nothing <BR>much was going on, though--no Vienna <BR>boys choir, no white horses (which I wasn't <BR>interested in anyway), no decent concerts <BR>(only touristy Mozart excerpts), and <BR>the weather was awful--rained almost <BR>every day. Anyway, it's just a matter <BR>of taste, I guess, so who can say--I <BR>wouldn't be interested in spending 3 <BR>days in Munich, either, but perhaps you <BR>have a reason.