Ukraine - England via everywhere!

[marstm]

Gday all,
Im a first time-abroad aussie and this is what im thinking of at the moment.

I'm heavily interested in architecture.

Lviv to Budapest (Overnight Train)
Budapest 4 days
Bratislavia 3 to 5 nights
Vienna 3 days/2nights
Graz 2 days/ 2 nights
Venice 3 Nights / 3.5 Days
Bologna 3 Days / 3 nights
Rome 3.5 days / 3 nights
Verona 2.5 days /3 nights
Trento 2 days / 2 nights
Innsbruck 4 days / 4 nights
Munich 4 days
Nurnberg 2 - 3 days
Leipzig / Dresden 3 days
Nordhaussen 1 day
Dortmund 2 days
Cologne 2.5 days
Amsterdam 4 days
Rotterdam 2 days
Bruxells 2 days
Paris 5 - 6 days
London 4 days

How does that sound?

Many Thanks in advance.

Tom.

[madamtrashheap]

marstm, welcome to GFE.

if you're interested in architecture, then you've made some great choices in cities to visit. I'm particularly intrigued by Nordhausen, Dortmund and Bologna - not places usually chosen by travellers, but well worth including (IMO). The old town of Nordhausen is pretty and quaint (reminds me of the Schnoor district of Bremen) and the archtecture specific to Bologna (ie the porticoes or covered walkways over a lot of the city) is interesting as well as functional!

With regard to the time you've alloted for cities, a few stand out that might warrant rejigging:

Rome - architectural styles of many eras abound here, so you may find that 3.5 days is just enough time to see the main areas.
I might also suggest staring in Venice then going down to Rome and working your way back up to Bologna, Verona and Trento. The Eurostar Italia takes 4.5hrs between Venice and Rome so you can easily do it one morning to sneak in that arrival afternoon to your time in Rome.
Verona - it's a small town, so 1.5 days may be enough time to explore things like the Arena, Piazza della Erbe, the Duomo, the Roman theatre and a lot of the other areas in the World Heritage Listed city.
Innsbruck - 4 nights here is a lot of time, unless you plan to do a little hiking and trips to the surrounding areas, in which case it's fine.
Dresden - would get my vote over Leipzig if you have to choose, otherwise spend 1.5 days in each place as both are interesting architecturally and historically.
Amsterdam - 4 days is again a fair amount of time, so you could plan a day trip to Groningen, Den Haag, etc as well.
Brussels - make a beeline for the Grand'Place as the history of the guild buildings surrounding it is fantastic.

How were you planning to travel between each city? You may find that a combination of rail and flights will work best and make the most of your time. Also, what time of year are you planning to travel? This will have a bearing on access to some sights, bookings, etc.

[herrbert]

to follow up:

I would extend the stay in Vienna with at least 1 day for sure, there is too much to see, if you are into architecture, to see in just 2 days.

Bratislava seems a bit too much for me. The same is true for Innsbruck, I would divide it between Innsbruck and Salzburg. (and from Salzburg a trip to Eisriesenwelt in Werfen.) (I have no knowledge about Graz, so I don't know if that's a place you need to see or not, but maybe I would swap it for Trieste.)

If it's modern architecture that you like, than Rotterdam is OK. but besides that there is not that much, although the nightlife is better than that in Amsterdam.

Dortmund and Nordhausen are not places I see a lot in initeraries, so I am curious about this choice? anything there you need to see?

[marstm]

Many thanks for the lengthy replies.

My primary mode of transport during my trip will be by train - Ive been interested in railways from a young age, and high-speed trains such as the ICEs and TGVs I find facinating. This is also my reason for wanting to visit Nordhaussen; the 'narrow gauge' entirely steam operated Harz network.

To be truthful, rushing around like one would on a contiki type trip is not what Im looking for; each place has it's own identity and want to absorb as much as possiable. Hence, why so much time has initially been allocated to places such as Verona and Trento.

Innsbruck; Id like to visit the glacier nearby and the steam rack railway at Jenbach. Any advice?

Since posting the initial post, I have decided not to visit slovakia or Hungary, insted visiting Krakow and Brno. The reason for such lengthy time allocated to Bratislavia, was to do some hiking in the High tratas; where would be recomended to go hiking?

I'll be travelling from Mid August until early November; yes, i know - peak season. Alas, its all part of the experience.

Once again, many thanks for your help.
Tom.

[madamtrashheap]

A point about the time of year you're travelling Tom/marstm - as you know August and even into early September is busy season, so no surprises there, but after that, you'll find the opening times and access to certain services change with the season, so by late October many places are operating on "Winter Time" hours. I mention this so that you can research any sights/services you want to access during this period and make sure that they are open or that you know the hours of operation and don't miss out. These things can be train routes, museums, access to mountainous areas, etc.

So you're a train spotter eh?! Trains from Innsbruck to Jenbach are prety frequent and the journey is around 20mins, so that's easy enough. The Zillertalbahn is cool (the steam part) and the Achenseebahn has great scenery so if you can go on either of these then do. herrbert may be able to provide more information on Jenbach and the region, but I can tell you that Innsbruck is a great town to visit and the hiking in the area is good too, but again only up until around October. What glacier did you mean - Stubai? There are also a lot of varying gauge train lines in Switzerland that may interest you next time around (look at those in the Berner Oberland around Lauterbrunnen, Murren, etc, the Glacier Express...).

[herrbert]

Jenbach is on the crossroad of the Inntal, the Achental and the Zillertal. It's 20 minutes trainride to Jenbach from Innsbruck so it's not that far. I presume that the steamtrain you mention is the Zillertalbahn www.zillertalbahn.at/page.cfm?vpath=index&switchLocale=en_UK, at least that's the one I've seen a few times. (with my parents I spend a lot of time in Pinzgau, which is across the Gerlospass, so I have been in the Zillertal a lot of times, but only stopped a few times.) The question is what do you do, when you get to Mayrhofen from Jenbach? If you want to make the trip back to Jenbach by the steamtrain, but there will be no time to enjoy some time in Mayrhofen. (of course you can return to Innsbruck from Mayrhofen, by normal train.and busline 8330, can also take you back to Innsbruck), efa.vvt.at/vvtadr/TTB/000058dc.pdf) But you can also opt to stay for a day in Mayrhofen for a night. In this part of Austria, you only need to look for the Zimmer Frei signs, to find a room, and normaly there are plenty.

If you want to experience some real taste of the Austrian countryside and go hiking for a few days, it might be an even better place to stay than Innsbruck. At least it will be a break from all the cities.

From Mayrhofen, you can make the trip to Hintertux, which is at the end of the Zillertal, higher and nearer to the main ridge, and take a trip to the glacier from there. www.hintertuxergletscher.at/en/erlebniswelt-gletscher/80/365-tage-gletscherwelt-sommer.html. If I would decide, I think I would replace Trento for a few days here (2 in Innsbruck itself, and 3 days in Mayrhofen/Hintertux), and relax in the mountains.

If you look for something else to do near to Innsbruck, you can also check for a tour in the old silvermines in Schwaz. www.silberbergwerk.eu/eng/index.html