flpab

Bavaria, fly into Munich and take the train south. So many beautiful places. Or Paris!

LSky

Why does he want to go to Brussels?

StuDudley

CLM

You're dancing all over the place - you don't seem to know what you want to do. That's OK - there are so many fantastic destinations in Europe, that it's hard to settle on just one or two for an upcoming Christmas trip.

Make it easy on yourself. Go to Paris. Keep "wasted" travel time to a minimum. Hard to be disappointed or go wrong in Paris. Weather's drab - go to a museum, explore covered passages, or just hang out in a cafe. Cold but clear day - walk along the Seine, see decorations at at Galleries Lafayette or Printemps.

Stu Dudley

Frances

Until you are pregnant you cannot know how you will feel. The first three months (and the last three) are the times you will feel most tired and it can be tiredness which significantly impacts on your energy- e.g. needing to rest and sleep and take time off work. You will know that you can also be physically sick.
I hope you sail through it with no such problems at all- but very few do.
I think it likely that you may need to rest up daily -possibly twice or more.
Unless all your arrangements are fully cancellable, I recommend that you book now before you become pregnant and put your insurance in place at the same time. If you do not insure until after you are pregnant it is likely that any claim for cancellation/medical expenses will not be met as it will be a pre-existing condition.
I'm not trying to discourage you (please note that I'm not saying you shouldn't go!) but pointing out things which you will not have to consider until you have conceived.

(From a veteran at travelling whilst pregnant and dealing with travel insurance claims!)

msteacher

I think the above post was meant for a different thread. Anyway, yes, Amsterdam and Bruges would make a nice trip. Or if you still want to go to Prague, it might pair better with Berlin or Vienna. And I agree with the question above... ask your husband why he wants to go to Brussels. There is not a lot to see and do there for the typical tourist, compared to the other cities mentioned.

Graziella5b

I have visited París and Rome many times in Winter both are great choices. Wake up early and enjoy your day Sun sets early.

CLM1980

Hi All. Thanks again for all your input and for allowing me to be all over the place with my thoughts. Thanks for understanding how much I just want to make sure we pick the right vacation for us at this time of year. It def is not that easy when there is so much you want to see! haha! I think I have somewhat narrowed it down and would love your help deciding and figuring out details.

So here are my thoughts: Because we dont have too much time we would prefer to have a nonstop flight from Newark so that means no Prague this vacation. Although we do want to travel to Paris, my husband and I have decided we want to save Paris and the Provence area for warmer weather and a romantic wedding anniversary. (something to look forward to one day)

So this means we are deciding between these two trips:
1. Belgium (staying in either Ghent or Bruges) with some sightseeing in Brussels and Amsterdam. Thinking of New Years Eve in Amsterdam and the remainder of the trip.
2. Munich and Bavaria area with a 2 night stay in Salzburg since its close by. ( I was a big sound of music fan growing up) haha. New Years Eve in Munich.

I started looking at hotels for Ghent and Amsterdam.....I like the Marriott in Ghent and the De L' Europe in Amsterdam. Need to do more searching for the other cities.

What trip would you all choose for this time of year and with only 7 nights?

StuDudley

Here is what we did on one of our trips to Europe:

- Flew to Brussels & took the train to the station nearest the main square (forgot the name of the station - easy to look up, however). Stashed the bags at the train station & spent 3 hrs wandering around the main square area. Perhaps our favorite main square in Europe. Visited the covered mall too. Had lunch at the main square.

- Retrieved the bags and then back on the train & headed to Paris.

You might consider something similar:

- Fly to Brussels & visit 3 hrs, then head to Ghent on the train. Spend 3 nights in Ghent

- Take the train to Amsterdam & spend 4 nights there

- Fly home from Amsterdam

The Belgium train system is excellent. I think there is more stuff to do in Ghent & Amsterdam than in Salzburg. I would get bored in Salzburg at about day 2. I've never done a "Sound of Music" tour - but that seems like it would be better in non-winter months.

Stu Dudley

CLM1980

Thank you Stu! The 3 hrs in Brussels sounds like a great idea. With the 3 days in Ghent, would you spend a day in Bruges? 1/2 day? I would love to see it if possible.

LSky

"What trip would you all choose for this time of year and with only 7 nights?"


I would put all the ideas into a hat. Paris/London, Munich/Salzburg, Amsterdam/Belgium/ Prague/Berlin (good idea msteacher) and pick one.

Know that you are going for a taste and can always return.

StuDudley

>>With the 3 days in Ghent, would you spend a day in Bruges? 1/2 day? I would love to see it if possible.<<

You don't have 3 full days in Ghent - only 2 1/2 days/3 nights - with short daylight hours. Bruges is only 30 mins away by train, so wait until the last full day you are in Ghent & take the train to Bruges as a full-day trip. I think we took a taxi to central Bruges from/to the Bruges train station. 1 1/2 days in Ghent is adequate, IMO.

I don't know if you are a foodie or not - we are. My wife & I spend 2 months vacationing in Europe every year (we leave for Spain tomorrow). About 75% of our time is spent in France, 15% in Italy, & the remainder elsewhere. That's around 30-40 restaurant meals every year, and we eat at "better" restaurants - no cafes & few Bistros for dinners. We also dine out about once a week where we live - San Francisco. One of our "top 5" meals of all time was at Jan Van den Bon in Ghent.
http://www.janvandenbon.be/
We took a taxi there. It is a tad outside of central Ghent - but a short taxi ride. We had another great meal in Ghent. Many say the food is better in Belgium than in France - and I wouldn't disagree (but we've only had about 10 dinners in Belgium). I don't recall anyone saying that the food is better in Germany than in France or Belgium, however.

Stu Dudley

CLM1980

Thank you so much Stu! Actually my husband and I travel to San Fran quite often as that is where he is from and still has family there. We live about an hour outside NYC so we are able to go to some great restaurants for dinner and drinks. We are foodies. We love good food & restaurants with great atmospheres and wine. I think I am leaning towards the Belgium & Amsterdam trip during this time. SO any other restaurant recommendations would be wonderful as we tend to make our night time fun around our dinner and drinks.

StuDudley

We also had a great meal at Belga Queen in Ghent. Very interesting interior. Seems to be a good place for drinks too.

You are new to Fodors - so here are some San Francisco suggestions for things to do & see in the Bay Area:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

eglise

Paris is beautiful at Christmas - you could base yourself there and take a train (day-trip or stay overnight) to Strasbourg and enjoy the Christmas markets and festivities and see the Astronomical Clock, and also to Bruges to walk or take a horse and carriage ride along the fairy-tale town's cobblestoned streets,
lunch on moules frites and bier on the colorful town square, and dine at the duc de Bourgogne hotel on the canal - our meal there was an absolute highlight- in Paris attend an intimate holiday concert at st chappelle, view the animated windows of galleries Lafayette, explore the enclosed passages throughout the city, visit Versailles, Chantilly, and enjoy the Paris museums - ride the giant Ferris wheel and take a romantic new years eve cruise on the Seine with the Eiffel Tower twinkling above. Dress warm!

CLM1980

Wow! Belga Queen restaurant looks fabulous. Love the look of the atmosphere! Thanks Stu

CLM1980

Stu: When we spend one full day in Bruges, should we stay for dinner there or head back to Ghent?

StuDudley

There are better restaurants in Ghent (IMO) - based on the 2 where we had dinner in each city. One was quite good in Bruges - but the other was only so-so. Bruges is a little more touristy - so the restaurants tend to cater more to tourists than they do in Ghent. Plus, the train stations are a long walk or a taxi ride from where you would probably choose to eat in Bruges and a long walk/taxi once back in Ghent. I would not want to be hailing a cab or walking at 10-11pm (or later) in a strange city if the weather is rainy or snowy. I also like to get freshened-up before dinner.

Dine in Ghent. You could have lunch in Bruges, but with so little time, I would not want to "loose" 1 to 1 1/2 hrs out of 6 hrs of sunlight. Grab a sandwich instead.

Stu Dudley

Zohar

I would suggest Israel where in winter it is quite warm and pleasant at the Dead Sea, either at the Ein Gedi Oasis Hotel or the Ein Bokek Hotel resort

Israel is a small country and one can easily make day trip from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Another possibility is Eilat on the Red Sea with a pleasant winter climate and good hotels.