I'm still debating on going to London or to Germany over Thanksgiving. It would be a Thurs, Fri, Sat return on Sunday.

1. How do you folks that go for just a short period of time keep your body functioning? Do you stay on your local time the entire time, within reason?

2. For inter-country rail travel, how can I find fares and times? I don't see many options when I use the Eurostar website for getting from say Frankfurt to Salzburg.

Thanks.

www.bahn.de gives schedules for most European train journeys, and gives fares for German journeys.

Going five or more hours out of your time zone for only a few days is difficult, no matter how you try to prepare. The last time I did such a trip for a long weekend, four zones behind, I just went to bed later every night for about a week before. You can do the same in reverse, go to bed earlier and earlier and start getting up around 4 a.m. That will help you maximize your time there.

There are lots of train experts who can probably help you, but I remembered a thread from the not-too-distant past that has websites and info:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

hope this helps!

The key going from west to east is to get some sleep on the plane. The lack of sleep is the biggest part of fatigue on that first day. Take an OTC sleep aid, or get something from your doctor, and try to get at least 5 hours of sleep.
If you can't, some people are able to stay awake all day at their destination (caffeine-assisted, no doubt) and then just go to bed early, and wake up fine. Others must have an hour or two of nap time during that first afternoon, and then are able to stay awake for a dinner and a moderatly-late bedtime. Again, a sleep aid helps you sleep through the night. Either way,I'm usually ok the second day. It's when I arrive back home that I'm exhausted.

Switch all of your watches on the plane to the new European time. Don't think about what time it is back home. There isn't much to do in Frankfurt, so if you can get a direct flight into either Berlin or Munich, go for Germany. If you need to switch in Frankfurt, I'd go for London.

The time change can be a problem. Shown below is what I do. Also, limit alchohol on the plane, drink plenty of water, and move around when possible.

If arriving in the AM, try to get some sleep on the plane before landing. After check in, start doing some easy touring. Try to avoid dark areas on that day. Maybe go to bed a little earlier than you usually do.

If however you arrive in the late PM, try not to sleep on the plane. If you do, when it is time to go to bed, you won't be able to sleep. Also, do not just check in and go to sleep, get moving to relax from the flight.

The general idea of this is that when it is time to wake up, you wake up and when it is time to go to bed you can go to sleep.

By doing this, I have returned from Italy to MST zone and gone to work the next day.

I would insist on a non-stop flight for such a short trip. Every hour will count and I wouldn't feel like I had time to spare on connecting at both ends of the trip.