European Travel Advice

[Erin]

Between Berlin, Budapest, and Prague, I'd definitely pick Prague.

Just goes to show that people's tastes differ...I would pick Budapest, then Berlin, and Prague would be my last choice of the three. I liked Prague, but just don't love it the way I do Budapest and Berlin. Budapest is probably the prettiest city I've ever been to between the castle district, the Parliament building, and the river. I also loved the food there (I even taught myself to make chicken paprikash when I got home because I missed being able to eat it) and found Hungarian people to be some of the friendliest I've met in my travels. And whoever said that they thought Budapest was cheap, it absolutely is, probably the best value for money of any European city I've been to. If you do want a little more on Budapest, my friend that I traveled with did a few blog entries on my first trip there:
http://newbulgarians.blogspot.com/2011/10/budapest.html
http://newbulgarians.blogspot.com/2011/10/hungarian-cuisine.html
http://newbulgarians.blogspot.com/2011/11/turkish-baths.html

And Berlin just has non-stop stuff to do. I've been there twice, for 3 days and then for 5 days, and I still feel like I could spend another week there and not run out of stuff to do. I still haven't even been to any of the museums on Museum Island But I was fascinated by all the history and I probably barely scratched the surface of it. I was obsessed with Berlin wall stuff, but also super interested in WWII and the end of the Hohenzollern era. And that's only covering the last 150 years or so of history there.

Your Eastern Europe trip sounds doable but maybe a bit rushed. I did Berlin-Prague-Vienna-Budapest-Krakow-Warsaw in 16 days, so you are basically taking out Warsaw and adding Salzburg in a similar time frame, but I did find that to be a bit too much in that time and wished I had more time in Prague and Vienna (and probably would have wished for more in Budapest if it hadn't been my second time there). If you had to pull something out of that leg, I'd probably scratch Krakow...not that I didn't like it, but it is the furthest out of the way and I just didn't like it quite as much as the other cities. Or if you took the five days where you were going to travel to Barcelona and added that to this leg and just flew straight to Barcelona, that would probably help. That said, a lot of people are talking about all the time on trains like it is a bad thing, but I quite enjoy time on trains, having time to read and relax and also just watch the scenery.

 

[vesperholly]

(tip: if you want to see the Anne Frank House, book tickets NOW or be prepared to spend hours in line)

This, this, this. It was unbelievable how the lines snaked all down the street toward the church, and my friend and I who bought tickets in advance literally sauntered in and waited approximately 10 seconds. It's an incredible experience and not to be missed.

Barcelona is quite out of the way from the rest of your trip. If it's a must-see, I would consider skipping Switzerland and Italy altogether and flying there from Salzburg or Munich (whichever is cheaper/easier). Or maybe fly to Rome for a few days then fly to Barcelona.

In 2014 I did 4 cities in 2 weeks - Dusseldorf (flew in and out, 1.5 days), Paris (5 days), London (5 days) and Amsterdam (2.5 days). I would have liked to have seen more, especially in London, but frankly that was enough. One can only take in so much amazing culture. I was exhausted! One thing I would recommend is finding a hotel or hostel with laundry so you can properly clean your clothes. That'll make it so much easier to pack light.

Highly recommend this backpack, crammed tons of stuff into it AND it fit in an overhead compartment: http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/tls-mother-lode-weekender-convertible-junior/241465

One of the things I recommend for museums is to make a hit list of the paintings/sculptures you really want to see, then getting the hell out. This might not work for other people, but I tend to wander around and lose track of time, without really taking in the meaning of anything. I would also really recommend audio guides - especially if you go to Versailles because nothing is labeled and everything at the Louvre is in French. I had books but that's so distracting trying to read the book and then look at the art.

Side trips: Stonehenge was a must-see for me but don't try to get yourself there - giant PITA from tube to regional train to bus. Stick with a direct bus tour that picks you up in London, both cheaper and more convenient. Versailles is very easy to get to from Paris via RER A. Rent a bike or pay for the tram if you want to see the out buildings, because walking the gardens, though beautiful, takes forever. Pompeii is a must-see if you're in Rome and it's an easy 2.5 hour train trip away (skip Naples). Then again, I'm a huge Ancient Rome geek so I spent far more time there looking at old rocks than churches

 

[Allskate]

I also want to add that the Berliners were among the friendliest and most helpful people I've met in Europe.

Budapest is probably the prettiest city I've ever been to between the castle district, the Parliament building, and the river.

I think this illustrates how much people's tastes and experiences influence their opinions. Budapest is not the prettiest city I've visited. Also, my experience in Berlin was quite different. I didn't find the people very friendly or particularly talkative. OTOH, the people I met in Prague were very friendly, talkative, and helpful. How people interact with you -- and how much -- definitely affects your experience. And, it may just be the particular part of the country or city, or just your good luck or bad luck that influences your experience. Also, PRLady visited Berlin more recently than I did, so maybe attitudes have changed somewhat towards tourists (or American tourists).

 

[Erin]

Yes, people's experiences can wildly affect their view on a place. I also find that who I travel with or who I meet on the trip also influences my view of a city. Two of my favorite trips are the ones to Budapest and to Argentina, which were both with the same friend who is an awesome traveling companion and someone I don't see very often. And I think that part of the reason Barcelona is one of my favorite cities is because of the great time I had meeting so many FSUers there at the GPF. Meanwhile I am very meh on Geneva and I think it's because mostly what I remember is fighting with my then-boyfriend and having a massive hangover after my uncle's wedding. It's probably a lovely city, but I didn't experience much of that. So I agree that it's work taking people's advice with a grain of salt.

Side trips: Stonehenge was a must-see for me but don't try to get yourself there - giant PITA from tube to regional train to bus. Stick with a direct bus tour that picks you up in London, both cheaper and more convenient.

Not to sidetrack this thread too much, but do you think it would be the same if you're not staying in London? My whole family is meeting up in Portsmouth in June and we are planning to go to Stonehenge. At a minimum, we'll need to take a train to Salisbury because there wouldn't be tours directly from Portsmouth, but we're trying to decide whether to do a tour from Salisbury or just take a bus or even hop in a cab since there are enough of us that the cab might be cheaper after you split it between all of us.

ETA - I also wanted to ask about the backpack you recommended...I've always shied away from stuffing backpacks because I hate carrying heavy ones. How heavy did you find it?

 

[PRlady]

On another trip, I met up with daughter in London on my way back from Israel...she had been doing the youth hostel thing with a friend for 10 days, the friend left, and then she got nice hotels with mom and a show.

We went to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath on a day tour bus. It was July 4 and there were some Texans dressed in the American flag, no shite. We had a ball. We played at Jane Austen scenes from Persuasion in Bath and decided we were not really Druids at Stonehenge. It was reasonably priced, too. Every now and then it's just nice to accept that you're a tourist and behave like one.

 

[ballettmaus]

Don't know if that interests you but we currently have the dinosaur Skeleton "Tristan" in one of our museums. http://www.naturkundemuseum.berlin/en/museum/exhibitions/tristan-berlin-bares-teeth

Oh, and the European Soccer Championships start on June 10th. They take place in France and last a month. So, France might be very crowded and very expensive during that time.

 

[acraven]

In case you want to maximize daytime sightseeing in the cities: Someone on the Rick Steves forum mentioned today that there are night trains from Berlin to Budapest and Krakow. I haven't verified this, nor do I know how (un)comfortable they might be. When I was much younger I took a number of night trains and slept in couchettes. Not the same as a hotel bed, but not bad as an occasional thing. I had a different experience last year while traveling from Rome to Sicily. I'm not sure I slept at all--which rather defeated the purpose--because of the constant jerking from left to right. Don't know whether the tracks are worse than they used to be, the trains go faster, or I'm older. Or perhaps all of the above.

Incidentally, the Deutsche Bahn web site is widely considered the best source of info on European train schedules, though you might do better on prices by going to the appropriate country-specific web site. That's if you want to book some trains ahead of time, preferring financial savings to flexibility.

 

[Deleted member 1204]

I hadn't done an overnight train in years when I decided to take one from Paris to Madrid. It was awful- really hot, really boring, and really bumpy. I barely slept and was miserable the next day. Definitely a bad decision for me, but everyone is different.

 

[vesperholly]

Not to sidetrack this thread too much, but do you think it would be the same if you're not staying in London? My whole family is meeting up in Portsmouth in June and we are planning to go to Stonehenge. At a minimum, we'll need to take a train to Salisbury because there wouldn't be tours directly from Portsmouth, but we're trying to decide whether to do a tour from Salisbury or just take a bus or even hop in a cab since there are enough of us that the cab might be cheaper after you split it between all of us.

Portsmouth is so close! Just a 1-hour drive! If you take a train, it will only go to Salisbury. Don't bother with an actual tour from Salisbury. From there you can hop on the giant purple STONEHENGE bus, I think it was £10? It's another 20min to the site in Amesbury. Buy your tickets in advance online. That bus has a narrated audio guide as you drive ~20min to the site and will drop you off right at Stonehenge. It does meander a bit through Salisbury high street on the way back, tho. Not sure if local bus lines stop at Stonehenge, but if you're taking the train to Salisbury you might as well just take the dedicated Stonehenge bus. Most convenient would be a cab right from Portsmouth, even if it was more expensive, because navigating and waiting for public transport is a time suck.

ETA - I also wanted to ask about the backpack you recommended...I've always shied away from stuffing backpacks because I hate carrying heavy ones. How heavy did you find it?

It's definitely an "instead of a suitcase" kind of backpack. I only packed that and a Stella & Dot tote bag for my two-week trip (did laundry once). Though mine was quite heavy because I shoved so much crap in there, the straps are really nicely padded and set up well so it never dug into my shoulders or hurt badly. It also has a waist strap that does alleviate the pressure a lot. And despite its weight, every time I entered a metro station and saw all the stairs I thought, BEST DECISION EVER. I have distinct memories of dragging a rolling suitcase around Rome and it was annoying AF.

 

[screech]

Only negative I had in Berlin was the train from Schoenfeld airport to the city centre. I don't know what was going on, but with no notification, the trains direct to the airport weren't running, you had to guess what train to take, and to where, and how to connect, and there was nobody anywhere near the platforms to offer any assistance. This was a huge issue both from the airport to the city and on my return. I was very lucky that I tend to leave earlier than needed.

 

[star_gazer11]

I'm thinking of starting in Berlin to Prague, Kraków, Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg over about 2.5 weeks and then spending about 5 days travelling to Barcelona with stop overs along the way, finishing with 4 or 5 days in Barcelona, depending on how long I take to get there. Better?

Yep, better. I agree you should use some flights, though.
I wouldn't recommend overnight trains. I did Lisbon-Madrid on my backpacking trip. I didn't really sleep because there were eight (!) stops and one woman boarded at around stop four or five in the middle of the night.

See what the prices are like to book an open jaw flight from Canada to minimize backtracking. Example:
Home - Berlin
Barcelona - Home
or reverse,
Home - Barcelona
Berlin - Home

Try these sites to see intra-europe flights:
whichbudget.com
skyscanner.com

Just be sure to double check airports. Some of those european budget airlines use secondary airports farther out from the city.