Help me plan my trip PLEASSSE!

[mandy]

Hello there experienced travel guru's, you see I have a real problem in choosing a route to travel europe I only have two months to travel so I am trying not to cram but it aint working. I wonder if you could give me some advice on this particular route and if some cities are really worth it.
Here goes Paris - Brugges-Amsterdam-Berlin (long journey?)
-prague-vienna-venice-zurich-geneva-Barcelona
(long journey?) Back up to milan (is this stupid coming back on myself?)-Florence-Rome-Boat to corfu-Boat to Athens - Fly home. You see I don't know If this is going to be too much Is there a better route?  I definatly want to go to greece and I have forfitted Denmark Sweeden and Norway. Is there any one who can help me?

[nitsansh]

Whichever route you go, Barcelona will take you a long way off the course.

['Guest']

OK, Mandy.  Not being a "Guru," your question isn't directed at me.  But, here's my 2 cents.  

You are tackling an awful lot for one trip!  Are you sure you want to cover so much ground?

Try to time your trip such that you are in the North in the warmest time of your trip.  <if it's a Spring trip, start in Greece, if a Fall trip, start in Paris>  Try to avoid Greek heat. Starting & ending your trip at different ends of Europe ("open jaw" tix) is smart.  Based on what you say, i hope you aren't going in the Spring.  If so, you might want to fly to Greece at the start of the trip, work your way North as it gets warmer.  

The last time I was in Berlin, my 4th visit, it just wasn't as much fun as I'd remembered from my student days, just before the wall came down.  [Before then, young men who lived in Berlin were exempt from West Germany's universal military service.  So, lots of them went to Berlin.  This made Berlin's youth culture much stronger, so young women also moved there!  Berlin also got lots of extra cash from the West German government to make it an attractive place to live.  All this pretty much ended after the Oct 1990 reunification.]  But, I understand the "Love Parade" is lots of fun!  

If you still want to go to Berlin, which I would tend to discourage, I would suggest taking a night train.  Get a couchette & sleep your way from Amsterdam (or, wherever) to Berlin!  Frankly, depending on timing, Copenhagen can be more interesting/fun than Berlin.  I understand Budapest, which isn't too far from Vienna, is also very interesting.  

Prague & Vienna are cool cities!  Vienna has a small city feel, in spite of being Austria's capitol.  Actually, today's Vienna is smaller than it once was.  (Barcelona is also smaller than it once was, it's also a cool place!  But it's also a long way from other cities on your list.)  

Other places in Austria are worth a look.  Salzburg & Innsbruck are lovely!  Also, South of Munich, the castles near Füssen are spectacular. You could integrate all these into your travel plans without much trouble.  

Zürich is such a business oriented town!  Are you sure you want to vacation there?  I've twice flown into Zürich, but haven't felt the interest in spending any time there.  

Although I've yet to ride it, I understand there is a great gondola ride from France to Italy, or vice versa, through Switzerland!  It's said to be spectacularly beautiful!  

I do think you ought to cut some things.  Switzerland is nice, but too expensive, IMO.  And there are other places more interesting than Berlin, yet not so far away from your other destinations.  

Be flexible.  Make a plan, but be ready to change it if something better comes up.  Serindipity can be lots of fun!  

[nitsansh]

Gondola ride? what are you talking about?

['Guest']

don't remember the deails. . .  it was written up in a 1999 Rick Steves book I once have.  

OK: it's the Aiguille du Midi téléphérique, from La Palud, in Italy, to Chamonix, in France.  I was mistaken, it doesn't go through Switzerland.  It goes near Mt Blanc, a few miles from Switzerland.  Sorry for my mistake.  (I was writing from memory)

- d

['Guest']

A detail I forgot to tell: on that last trip to Berlin, I came in on a sleeper from Vienna.  Aside from customs checks *four* times in the middle of the night, it was a great way to get to Berlin.  

(after leaving Vienna, at the Czech border, Austrian border police did an exit check.  Later, Czech border cops did an entry check.  Then, at the German border, the Czechs did an exit check.  after a while, German border cops did an entry check!  I hope these countries have Schengen border controls by now!  those cops really deprived me of my beauty sleep! ;-)

I've advised others on things to see/routes to take, elsewhere on this site.  Check 'em out!  

[snorkelman]

just my initial thoughts.  2 months is a good amount of time.  It is POSSIBEL to do everything that you have planned, but you may want to cut out a few things so that you are not rushed.

First off, cut out Milan unless you are into fashion or opera type stuff.  Milan is the most expansive city in Italy, and the prices are similar to Paris or Berlin and I suggest skipping Milan altogether – especially if this is your first trip to Europe.


No problem doubling back - but i never learned the proper way to do it until my 3rd trip to europe.  To best double back, use night trains.  You can go from amsterdam to berlin by using a night train & that will speed up your travels.  Also, although i prefer to go in a loop, there is nothing to stop you from bouncing all over the place.  Keep in mind, night trains do not have showers and long train rides get to suck after a while - so maybe just do a few of these.

I think that if you really want to do the whole greece thing - cut out spain.  it really will cut into your time (especially since you don't have any other cities listed that you want to see, i gather that it isn't that important to you).

i would go from vienna to your couple of cities in switzerland an then down into italy (bypassing milan and barcelona)

Hope that helps.  If you need more, just ask.

Dave - a.k.a. snorkelman
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I'd strongly suggest looking at the following web sites...Virgin-express.com, Ryanair.com, EasyJet.com...I love the trains, but in the last few weeks book a flight from London to Edinburgh for 7 pounds, Edinburgh to Dublin for 1.99 pounds !! and Dublin to Cardiff for 11.99 Euro's...it is not to good to be true, you can actually fly, save time and spend more time looking at the sights.....We took a convienent overnight train from Munich to Rome (couchette) and from Bern to Paris