MomDD-
I have been to Baden Baden and Strasbourg a few years. It was my first European trip and I believe I was 15 or 16 at the time. We did Strasbourg, Colmar, Baden Baden and Heidelberg before flying out of Frankfurt. I would suggest looking into Colmar and Heidelberg. They make very nice day trips and have plenty of things to be seen.

I'm sure you'll have a great time!

nessa - I will just that :-)

Jean - I have my tickets - Delta ff on Airfrance. It was the only place the agent could find non-stop for me around those dates.

I had a nightmare trip getting across the pond last June. I swore to myself that I would not stop in the good ole USA again on my way to Europe unless I had to 100%. (we went from LAX to DFW to Santigo Chile to Paris France).

I want to stay in London on the way home. I have never been and of course neither has dd.

"I swore to myself I would not stop in the good ole USA." Well, good luck at Heathrow!

LOL - one evil for another eh? Crapola

Okay - some hotel updates - wanted to see if anyone had any feedback.
Not in order:


In Venice we are staying here:
http://tinyurl.com/5n54gj

190,00 E a night including tax & Breakfast more then I wanted to spend but I like the looks of it.

Salzburg (outside of)
http://www.gasthofschorn.at/

80 E a night including tax and breakfast (that is more like what I wanted to spend)

Verona - Hotel Colomba d'Oro
161,00 including buffet breakfast

München - Hotel Uhland

90,50 includes breakfast, service and tax, per room, net hotel

Assisi -
http://www.pallottaassisi.it/ EURO

70,00 E

Siena - Hotel Chiusarelli
EUR 105.00 per room per night with buffet breakfast included

I still need to fill in a few spaces...

I think your choice in Salzburg is just too far from the center without a car. According to viamichelin, it is 10 kilometers from Salzburg. You may be able to take a bus, but how often does it run, and how often do you want to take it?

It's nice to have a hotel where you can go back in the middle of the day to rest between sightseeing excursions.

I was worried about that. They say they have a bus that runs right in front and so did the trip advisor. Every 10 mintues I believe for most of the day and then every 1/2 hour.

I just loved the price!

btw, I should say "I AM worried about that - not I "was" worried".

I am hoping since one day we want to do a Sound of Music Tour, the other day I wan to go to the Salt Mines and I was thinking of seeing if there is a locker in the train station - checking our bags on the 3rd day and going into Salzburg on that day before we head to Munich.

I guess I would question the "every 10 minutes" bus since it's so far out. Instead, I would spend more in Salzburg to stay closer to the center, and economize a little more in Venice and Verona.

This religious house in Venice, Artigianelli, gets very good reviews on Tripadvisor and has a 1 a.m. curfew which I don't suppose would bother you:

http://www.donorione-venezia.it/

I've booked my son into a double at Hotel Bologna in Verona at the end of June for Euro 125. I would imagine it could be a little less in the fall:
http://www.hotelbologna.vr.it/eng/hotel.html

Thanks for the tip on the place in Venice - I will check it out. No, LOL the curfew is fine - I would be fine with it at 11:00 pm. :-)

I will question more on the Salzburg. I believe that place got good reviews. Not sure where from at the moment. As with something, I have read SO much from so many sources it is all beginning to blur.

Okay - here is the information off the Salzburg booking:

Our family guided 'Inn' Gasthof Schorn is 8 km in the south of the center of Salzburg. There is puplic bus connection to go direct in the center of the city (bus nr. 25 - running all 20 minutes).

For Salzburg, how about the Hotel Weisse Taube in the Altstadt? It gets great reviews, and I believe you would be there in low season:

http://www.weissetaube.at/

Or you could use some of your Starwood points at the Goldener Hirsch or Sheraton in Salzburg.

Thanks so much for all your help. I emailed them and will see what they come back with.

I am holding out on the starwood points for the 3 nights in London at the end of the trip. I have about 80,000 hilton as well.

Hi Dawn, I like the hotel in Verona and the location is wonderful.

Regarding Salzburg:

That gasthof is located in St. Leonhard, a couple of kilometers further south of Grödig, an area where we have stayed. I have seen that hotel. We had a car, and it took us ~15 minutes from Grödig to get into Salzburg...with bus, it will take longer because of the stops.I have heard it takes from 25-45 minutes especially during business hours.

If you want to stay in/walking distance to the center, there are many resonably-priced hotels & B&Bs around...don't discount them. We loved Grödig but this Christmas we are staying in town at the Hotel Auersperg, mainly because we want to partake in many activities around the city.

What saltmine do you plan on visiting? Hallein is the nearest from Salzburg, though there's also one in Halstatt and Berchtesgaden.

On another note...I may just see you in Salzburg since I'll be in that area last week of October!!

All great information Joy.

I do not know what Saltmines yet. One thing is dd's foot situaiton (she had surgery March 26) I am hoping she is able to do the salt mine but have to sort of play it by ear.

I will definately check out the properties you have suggested. I watched Rick Steves with her last night on Salzburg and it looked so crowded in the old town!

If you see a Mom looking sort of confused and dazed dragging around a perky 11 year old ...that is me
:-)

Oh and Love -thank you! I know you stayed there - I got the recommendation from you off this board when you were recommending to Patrick in a post from 2006!

Oh Joy - I love the looks of Hotel Auersperg - please tell me why you selected it?

You have great experience that I am lacking in Europe travel!

Dear Mom: I think you are trying to pack in too many destinations for the time you have. You will spend a lot of time in transit.

Could you post the "shape" of your itinerary?

As near as I can figure it goes something like this:

Sept. 26 London
27 -28 Brugge
29 - 30 Haarlem
Oct 1 2 3 Baden Baden or somewhere in Germany
Oct 4 Rome
Oct 5 18 Lecce language school
Oct 19 Rome
Oct 20 21 22 23 - Assisi, Siena Venice
Oct 24 Verona
25 -27 Salzburg
28 - 31 Munich
Nov 1- 3 London

I would cut down on your Italian destinations after Lecce, think about spending more time in Belgium and the Netherlands in the beginning, eliminating that initial Germany portion, and flying directly from Amsterdam to an Italy destination.

I suggest you look up transit times from one place to another on Bahn.de. For example, on an ES (fastest) train it will take a little over 6 hours travel time from Lecce to Rome. That pretty well wipes out the day.

I know you want to do it all, but right now it's just too much - a lot of transit time.

As near as I can figure it goes something like this:

Sept. 26 London
27 -28 Brugge
29 - 30 Haarlem
Oct 1 2 3 Baden Baden or somewhere in Germany
Oct 4 Rome
Oct 5 18 Lecce language school
Oct 19 Rome
Oct 20 21 22 23 - Assisi, Siena Venice
Oct 24 Verona
25 -27 Salzburg
28 - 31 Munich
Nov 1- 3 London

I would cut down on your Italian destinations after Lecce, think about spending more time in Belgium and the Netherlands in the beginning, eliminating that initial Germany portion, and flying directly from Amsterdam to an Italy destination.

I suggest you look up transit times from one place to another on Bahn.de. For example, on an ES (fastest) train it will take a little over 6 hours travel time from Lecce to Rome. That pretty well wipes out the day.

I know you want to do it all, but right now it's just too much - a lot of transit time.

----
On the 18 - I have decided I think to train up to the Marches area and over to Assisi.

18 (Marches area)
19 Assisi
20 Sienna
21 Sienna
22 Venice
23 Venice
24 Verona
25 Salzburg
26 Salzburg
27 Salzburg
28 Munich
29 Munich
30 Munich
31 Munich
1 London
2 London
3 London
4 London - leave for LAX 5:00 pm

I know that it is a lot - I have certain dates I have to be in Lecce due to the school (the entire reason for the trip)

The largest amount of moving/transist in in the 7 days after the school in Italy. I am hoping it is not overwhelming as there are a number of one night stays. (three)