My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe in the spring. We are having difficulty determining an itinerary that would maximize our time and be at least a little cost effective, and I was hoping for some useful suggestions. The ideas we have bounced around thus far include Switzerland (primarily Berner Oberland region), Germany, Italy, and Austria. We have already visited France several times and have eliminated it as a possibility for this trip.

Our primary parameters/interests/thoughts are below:

Ideally, we would visit 2 countries on this trip. We are very open to the idea of taking an overnight train between two destinations.

I'm hoping to eventually create an itinerary that definitely isn't bare bones, but makes sense financially.

We have blocked out May 15-May 26 (presumably leaving the US on May 15, arriving in Europe on May 16 and returning to the US on May 26).

We greatly enjoy being outdoors and ideally would be in locations that would allow us to walk for hours on end while exploring the area.

We enjoy the things that--presumably--most Americans visiting these areas of Europe enjoy: historical sites, great food, music, museums, etc. Although, as I mentioned, we would prefer to spend most of our time outdoors on this trip.

Again, we're debating any number of things and I would appreciate any recommendations regarding which two countries would be the "best" to visit on this trip, considering cost and time.

Thank you!

So, you have 10 full days.

I'd suggest S Germany (Bavaria) and Austria (Salzburg). In Bavaria, you can visit historic towns (eg Rothenberg), modern cities (eg Munich), go hiking (Bavarian Alps) ...

May/June is also the spargel season (white asparagus) in Germany. They are so good that I ate it every day during my last trip in Germany.

BTW, I have traveled to Europe a lot (4 trips in 2008, 3 trips in 2007 etc etc), and I have found Germany to be one of the cheaper countries to visit in Western Europe. If you stay in smaller towns instead of big cities, you can find a guesthouse for 60-80 euros inclu breakfast. Dinners can be 25-30 euros for 2.

One of my favorite trip report is a mostly Bavarian trip report by artstuff.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35116484

marking

I agree your trip ought to be a Germany-Austria combo. Smaller towns, in/out Frankfurt or Munich. You call this trip a Spring trip, but end of May is actually early Summer; prices will not be low-shoulder season at the end of May.

Hmmm ! I also agree---May is too early for the Swiss alps. With 10 days I would fly into and home from Munich and include 3 destinations---Munich, the castle country of Bavaria, and the Salzburg area to include the Wolfgangsee. Nice trip for May---and do not miss the spargel.

Agree with Munich (or at least somewhere in Bavaria) and Austria. However, I would spend more time in Vienna than in Salzburg and devote a couple of days to Prague as you mentioned that you're interested in history and music. Vienna is "ground zero" for classical music and Prague has connections to Mozart as well as Dvorak--in Prague we saw notices for some musical performance every night we were there. You could walk in the Vienna Woods or the Czech countryside if you're tired of cathedrals, music, and pastries.

There are lots of interesting towns within an hour or two of Salzburg:
Hallstadt, St. Wolfgang and Steyr are three we explored and loved. Walking around any of them (especially Steyr where we allotted a half-day but wished we had had much more) is really fun.

Did you see all the other answers people gave you when you asked this question a few days ago? If you click on your own screen-name, you can find your previous post.

By the way, do you have any feeling for lots of walking in a city? Berlin is cheap, and full of music and incredible museums.