Hi,

My husand and are in the beginning stages of planning a two week trip to Europe in Sept 2006. We are interested in "middle Europe" mostly for this trip. Some countries we are considering are Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech, Netherlands, Poland. Of course we know we can NOT do them all in two weeks!
I'd like suggestions from anyone on a nice two week itinerary.
We will most likely rent a car, as we like the independence that it brings, also we are planning on getting an open jawed ticket to make the most out of our time without backtracking. We'd like the trip to incorporate stops in cities, as well as stays or visits to the countryside.
Thanks!

I just wanted to advise you that while I think renting a car is a great idea, you must be aware of the hefty drop-off charges if you pick the car up in one country and drop it off in another. It can add an extra $700 - $1000 on to the price of the rental. Unless you have an unlimited budget, you may want to consider an itinerary in a a circle pattern of some kind, at least getting you back into the country where you picked the car up from to avoid the charges.

What kind of things do you like to do? Do you prefer more cities or countryside or a mixture of both? That will help us give you ideas about your itinerary.

I've been to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech and the Netherlands. We recently did a trip that included Bavaria, Austria and eastern Switzerland, flying into and out of Nuremberg, Germany, and had a fabulous time. From our apartment near Salzburg we daytripped to Cesky Krumlov, in the Czech Republic, and got a nice feel for the country without going all the way up to Prague (which is definitely on our to-do list for future trips!). The trip was incredible. But I think we could better help you with your itinerary if we knew a little bit more about you and what you are hoping to experience.

Tracy

This is why I start the planning so early and why these message boards are so great, I wasn't aware of the hefty drop-off charge, but I guess it makes sense. Unfortunately, we don't have an unlimited budget! I will keep that in mind, thanks.

We really do enjoy both cities and the countryside, and I guess we are looking for a nice mixture. We took a fabulous trip to Italy where we stayed in the countryside for four nights and were able to take day trips into small towns and larger cities, during this trip we also stayed Rome, which we loved too. We'd love to see beautiful scenery and also visit some interesting cities where we can walk around, eat at cafes, look at architecture, etc... I guess we would like to stay in 3, maybe 4 different areas (3-4 nights each)while on this two week trip. With maybe a one night stop somewhere if a lot of travel is involved.

My husband and I are both 30 and love to explore when we travel, although we like to make the most out of our vacations, we don't like to pack too much in, we always leave time for relaxing at cafes and just getting a feel for each place we are in.

Hmmm, maybe into Geneva and out of Amsterdam is one idea? Geneva is a great airport to arrive with a connected train station, so you can easily get to downtown Geneva or better yet out to Lausanne, Vevey, or Montreux- 3 lovely towns on Lac Leman. This would be a beautiful and relaxing stop to get over your jet lag, wander the lakeside promondade, do some cafe sitting, before the rest of your trip.

Maybe waiting until you are out of Switzerland and rent a car in just one country, like Germany? Then train on to Netherlands.

I agree with Suze. If you wish to move in one direction, maybe you should consider renting the car in only one country or location. Switzerland has such a great rail system that a car wouldn't be as necessary. For a country like Germany, I personally would prefer to have a car. While the cities I have been to were great, the countryside is wonderful and I prefer to spend most of my time there. A car would give you maximum freedom to explore on your own.We also enjoyed driving around the Austria countryside, especially the Salzkammergut, as well.

Since you are interested in Austria as well, you could always fly into Switzerland and train to your locations, then train to Germany and rent a car for your time there. Drop it off in somewhere like Munich and take the 4-5 hour train to Vienna (which you wouldn't need a car for) and fly home from there. Or, as Suze mentioned, you could train up to Amsterdam instead. Either way, you would have the makings of a fantastic trip!

Good luck!
Tracy

Actually Amsterdam seems a bit out of the way, though I mentioned it mostly because Geneva and Amsterdam are the only airports (and they're great ones) I'm familiar with that kind of fit with the countries mentioned! I like the Munich and Vienna suggestions better.

Thank you both!
I like these ideas, especially renting a car just for Germany perhaps. And although Amesterdam is somewhat out of the way, both my husband and I are very interested in visiting, so we may keep this idea in the mix!
Thanks again, you've helped me organize my thoughts a great deal.

Sure, it was fun to help (the only problem is now *I* want to plan a trip for myself like the one we planned for you!)

I did a nice 2 week loop one time that we loved---startin and ending in Munich for lower car prices and no drop. It looked like this:
Munich
Salzburg/Salzkammergut
Vienna
Prague[via Cesky Krumlov]
Rothenburg
Depart Munich

Good luck !

We did an open jaws trip (on FF miles) into Munich, out of Zurich. After a few days in Munich, we picked up the car and drove to Salzburg, stayed there several days and did an excursion into the Salzkammergut. Then we went back into Germany via the Alpenstrasse to Neuschwanstein, and up the Romantic Road to Rothenburg. Next we went over to the scenic part of the Rhine and then the Mosel. We dropped the car off in Heidelberg and took the train to Interlaken. We stayed 5 days or so in Interlaken doing excursions up into the mountains and on the lakes. Finally we spent a couple days in Zurich before flying home.

So basically southern Germany, Salzburg and north central Switzerland. This was a great trip, longer than you plan. The highlight was the Mosel, though Interlaken et al is a close second. For the Swiss part of the trip we bought a Swiss pass, which was good on train, buses, and boats, and good for a discount on privately-owned railways. The car rental in Germany as I remember was quite reasonable.

^^^

Thanks, everyone...great suggestions, so many options, now all I have to do is pick one!

Didn't see this one earlier, but my suggestion would have been similar to Bob's - - but jut want to point out that you don't HAVE to pick up and return in the same city withIN Germany. You coul start in one corner (this includes as far west as Strasbourg, France/Kiel, Germany and fly home from any other gateway (Basel, Switzerland is another border town where a German car can be rented or returned).

Best wishes,

Rex

Our nice two-week itinerary in Bavaria and along the Mosel two summers ago:

Flew into Frankfurt.

Train to Bamberg--3 nights Hotel Brudermuehle.

Train to Munich--3 nights.

Rented car and drove to Hohenschwangau (Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwagau castles) via A95, then off the Autobahn thru Habach, Saulgrub, Oberammergau, Linderhof, Austria along the Plansee, Reutte--2 nights in Hohenschwangau, Romantic Pension Albrecht.

Drove up the Romantic Road via the Wieskirche, Augsburg, Dinkelsbuehl, to Colmberg. 2 nights Burg Colmberg castle hotel near Rothenburg).

Drove to Beilstein on the Mosel River. Had planned to stop in some combo of Schwaebisch Hall, Bad Wimpfen, Heidelberg, but it was too hot (hit 100 F. that day). 3 nights Hotel Haus Lipmann in Beilstein.

Drove to Walldorf (at Frankfurt airport) via the Rhein River--stopped at various towns and sights along the Rhein. In Walldorf, stayed 1 night at Hotel Albatros on southern edge of airport.

The train/car combo worked well for us as driving and parking in Bamberg and Munich are not ideal, while the rest of the way a car was a real plus.

I've posted details here before, but if anyone wants them again, just ask.

Mr. Fly, I would love to read your details, if you would be so kind as to post the link.