Hello Fodorites,

The trip I'm planning is to Vienna, Danube Valley (Krems, Durnstein), Prague, Cesky Krumlov., and want to do it in the most practical way. I would start the trip in either Vienna or Prague. Any advantages/disadvantages to either? I'd prefer to drive between the major cities. What's the best routing to take from either of these towns? Are there any problems with renting a car in Austria and returning it in Czech Republic, or vice versa? How's the drive between Cesky Krumlov and Durnstein, or the other way around?

I will adjust the trip to the time it takes to do it right and would appreciate any thoughts regarding how many days to allow in each area, as well as anything not famous along the way I might not know about. Our interests are food, history, food, culture, nature and, what else? Oh, right...food.

As I refine the trip I will post re: hotels and restaurants, but welcome any thoughts now about either. We like moderately upscale, atmospheric hotels with a good location and fun, local color, restaurants with good food over formal ones with great cuisine.

Also, Vienna Woods, daytrip or worth an overnight?

Thanks guys, in advance, for any and all responses.

How many days do you have for this trip?

I'm figuring fifteen days, but could add two or three more if needed

In Vienna I can recommend the Kaiserin Elizabeth Hotel, in Prague the Josef.

Thanks, Ron. Will check them out.

hi, CYA,

we started off in Vienna [stayed at the Hotel austria which I highly recommend], then planned to drive down the Wachau to the Salkammergut, but the Danube flooded the roads the very day we were leaving Vienna, so we did the valley [Melk, Krems und Stein] on the way back.

frankly, I don't think that the direction makes any difference - it's lovely either way.

as for the Vienna woods, whilst we were in Vienna, we did a day trip out to the northern woods by tram and bus, exploring the wine villages of Heiligenstadt and Nussdorf. and at the end of the trip, we stayed at Gumpoldskirchen [another wine-village] which is on the edge of the woods to the south of Vienna. we really liked the area, and it's well worth stopping there a day or two [or even more - Vienna is easily reached by local train if you wanted to do it that way].

we spent half a day in Baden [lovely spa town with a terrific rose garden and walks that go straight into the wienerwaelder] and half a day walking the nearby "Beethovenwanderweg" trying to remember the themes from the 6th Symphony! we never got to Mayerling, which is also lovely, so I gather.

Altogether we spent about a week in Vienna and around and could have spent more.

Thanks for all the info Annhig,

We will be get all the culture and history we need in Vienna and Prague. A little nature time sounds like just the ticket to balance things out. I'm going to dig out a day or two to get lost in the Woods.

hi CYA,

in Gumpoldskirchen we stayed here - www.krug.at. As well as the old wine tavern they have a B&B building in the village centre. although the website quotes the rooms as being €80 including breakfast, they only charged us €70 per night. they were spotlessly clean with good bathrooms and firm beds. there were several other places to stay as well, or you could look at Baden instead if you want a town.

there are also inns in the woods themselves - we ate lunch at the Augustinehuette near Baden which I think also has rooms.

regards, ann

Nobody's answered your car rental questions yet. You will probably have a drop fee if you pick up in one country and drop in another. When we visited the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary last year, it was cheaper to pick up in Prague and drop in Budapest, so we structured our trip that way. Check with some car rental companies - we used AutoEurope, which we've used many times in the past.

In the Czech Republic, we spent several days to the south of Prague visiting castles, though not Cesky Krumlov. We were a little to the east, staying in Telc and visiting a number of castles near there.

Great info guys. Thanks.

The Vienna Woods are large, but if you're staying in Vienna, parts of it are easily reached via tram. You can definitely spend anywhere from a half day to one or more full days hiking around it -- no need for an overnight, really, unless you want to do it this way. I thought it was well worth a visit regardless.

Ummm. If you're that interested in food, go south to Italy. The "Czech cuisine" label doesn't exactly sell cookbooks at a rate that rivals JK Rowling novels. There are reasons for this.

But because you've made this choice, and there are fine reasons to do so other than food, enjoy the beer. Beer is food in liquid form, and the pivo in Czech land is good stuff.

BigRuss, I'll agree with you on Czech beer, but I'm not one to dismiss Czech or Viennese food staples, no matter how much I like Italian food. I think Czech/Viennese cuisine has its hearty charms and when done well is well worth experiencing: schnitzel, spaetzle, rosti, sausage soup, goulash, and (in Vienna) tortes and similar desserts -- it's all fine with me. Maybe not a steady diet of it, but I can pretty much say that about any country's food standards. Variety is good.

Of course, if I were going to pick one European country to visit solely for its cuisine, my choice would be France. But to each their own.

Thanks Bach and Big Russ. While I agree that if I were going someplace only for the food, Austria and CR would not be my fave choices, eating local cuisine is part of the whole travel experience to me, and hanging out in "locals" restaurants makes for great people watching and getting a feeling for what a city/country is really like. Let the schnitzel and goulash flow!!

'Beer is food in liquid form, and the pivo in Czech land is good stuff.'

not a big beer drinker, but loved Czech pivo..

I don't think Czech food is bad ( it is different than Austrian or German) but huge portions of meat with no green stuff on the plate got to me!

<<I don't think Czech food is bad ( it is different than Austrian or German) but huge portions of meat with no green stuff on the plate got to me!>>

danon - we felt like that too. fortunately we had one great meal at the restaurant next to the opera - very modern, light cuisine. that acted as an antedote to all the dumplings.

Hello, I went to high school in Vienna way back when and haven't been back since 2002. Now I'm getting worked up about going again. Wurstel stand, mmmm.

Just a couple things, the wine villages are great fun. Grinzing is the most popular, but also more touristy. The two
mentioned above are nice, but another that is less known is Sievering (there's a bus, the 40A, I think it was, that goes right there-it connects from the 38 tram going to Grinzing). Great place without a lot of tourists-unless it's changed. Wandering around the vineyards is a lot of fun as well. Fond memories of that from back in the day. Just head to the end of the 38 tram in Grinzing and start walking into the vineyards. You could then head off on a trail thru the Wienerwald.

Melk Monastery is famous, so I probably don't need to mention it, but the chapel inside it is dazzling. Well worth seeing.

You mention Durnstein, so I'm assuming you're going to hike up to the ruins of the castle. If not, do, it's a great view of the Wachau.

Thanks Weimarer.

Haven't heard of Sievering, will definitely check it out.

Plan to do the Melk Abbey and will be hiking up to Durnstein Castle. Should work up a good appetite, lol.

Seriously considering staying at the Konig von Ungarn in Vienna. Any reviews would be most welcome.

I can't comment on the Konig von Ungarn, but I'll second annhig's recommendation of Hotel Austria.

"Seriously considering staying at the Konig von Ungarn in Vienna. Any reviews would be most welcome"

There's another Austria thread where a bunch of people are recommending it. Pricy for me, but it looks real nice.