Final Itinerary

[thinkingbouteurope]

Good afternoon ...

Fly to Cologne - train to ...

Paris
Interlaken (stay in Gimmelwald)
Salzburg
Munich

Cologne for a day to two before flight home

28 days, 4 travel days including day of arrival, 5-7 days in each city except Cologne.

Now have smaller point and shoot cameras (Polaroid i633, 6.1MP, 3x, fit in shirt pocket and Fulifilm MX-2700, 2.1MP, 3X) so I don't have use Fujifilm s5200 in "riskier" situations.

4 interesting touring locations in 4 different countries with a minimum of train travel.

[herrbert]

5-7 days in Salzburg?

Can I ask you what your plans are in and (I presume) around Salzburg, because it seems like a lot.

[thinkingbouteurope]

basically eat, drink, walk, bike, take photos, check out (nearby) sights as the spirit moves. you are right though, herrbert. after doublechecking Salzburg probably would be 3 to 5 days, though the food and drink my be appealing. Any less days in Salzburg I would add to Paris, Gimmelwald and Munich in that order

[herrbert]

I am not saying you should do less days in Salzburg, but you need to get out of town, if you want to make it worth the stay.

For the town itself (and the castle above it), you really need not more that 1 / 1,5 day. As you have a bit more time, you can discover the town a bit more relaxed. (if they are still selling those giant pretzels on the main shopping street, have one, they are lovely).

Of course from Salzburg you can do the Sound of music tour. if you like that, you can go to see the lake area, Hallstatt, you can see the ice-caves of Eisreisenwelt in Werfen (and the Castle there). Or the Salt mines in Bad Durnberg, near Hallein.

But you could also go and spend a few days in the mountains. In which case I would suggest getting a place for a few nights in the Hohe Tauern region. (Habachtal is my favourite, in that area.) If you really like hiking, you could try to get a room at the Enzianhütte in this valley.

ice-caves:
www.eisriesenwelt.com/site/content/CB_ContentShow.php?coType=home&lang=EN
salt mines:
www.salzburg-hotel.at/en-salzburg_sightseeing-salt_mines_hallein_durrnberg.shtml
hohe tauern:
www.hohetauern.at/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=75&lang=en

[thinkingbouteurope]

Actually, Hallstatt would be unlikely as I understand that it would be 5 hours roundtrip. The salt mines in Bad Durnberg, a short 12 mile bus ride, I believe, sounds very likely, as well as a DAILY giant pretzel I would like to walk around town the first day and half, pick out places to eat and visit; maybe spend two half days (mountain?) biking. I would tend to make Salzburg my base for however many days I'm in the area though.

That said, my mind has started wandering again which is made possible by the fact I haven't bought my plane ticket. Now, I have two final itineraries. Could you, Herrbert (or anyone else) give me a rough idea of how to allocate 23 days (28 minus 5 for travel) in both itineraries based upon the actvities and points of interests available in a city and within less than an hour? Thank you in advance for you input ...

ITINERARY #1
Fly to Cologne then train to ...
Paris
Interlaken (stay in Gimmelwald)
Salzburg
Vienna (a possibility)
Munich
Cologne (1 or 2 days max)

ITINERARY #2
Fly to Paris then train to ...
Avignon
Nice (French Riviera)
Genoa (stay in CT-Vernazza most likely)
Interlaken
Paris

The second is the most efficient and cost-effective and even more appealing as I could easily stay 7-10 days in Paris and surroundings at the end while Cologne is a place I would get to and wait to fly out of. (comparatively)

Also several people I work suggested my first trip to Europe should be 2 weeks and suggest visiting London and Paris during the trip. We talked some more and they agreed that it was a good idea to extend the trip to 4 weeks if I have the budget. I got the idea in my head to spend the 28 days in 4 or 5 cities max, minimizing travel time and expense and taking a slower pace.

Thanks again for your input