Two weeks in Europe - starting in Vienna

In February? I would go for western Austria and Switzerland. Alps. Beauty of the cities is in its lowest. Unless they are under fresh snow which is rare.

If you want to ski or enjoy frozen landscapes, Ilja's idea makes sense. For me, it would be about cities, especially that time of year. I'd follow your first idea -- Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest-Krakow. Bratislava is good for about a full day, Krakow maybe three, Vienna and Budapest all the time remaining. And why return to Vienna? Fly home from Krakow via Frankfurt and avoid another travel day backtracking. Or are you looking to spend time with daughter at both ends of your trip?

You might get more useful replies if you post your question on the "General Europe" forum, since you're really asking about more than Austria. If you want to spend time in Budapest, post something on the "Hungary" board and James will answer any and all questions. We enjoyed that city a great deal, stayed at the Kalvin House and liked it. But there are many good choices.

OK, I will post on the General Europe page. Thanks for the information! And I guess I could fly from Krakow and our daughter take the train back to Vienna. Or even take the train to Warsaw and fly back to the USA from there.

Krakow and Budapest on the same trip is a problem. The only direct connection between them is a 7+ hour bus through Slovakia (said to be scenic, but maybe not in February). Trains and flights will require changes and take at least as long. It works better with Prague/Berlin.

Bratislava is an easy day trip from Vienna, no need to change hotels. Or leave most of your luggage in Vienna and take an overnight bag.

Hi,

Between Krakow and Budapest is also the direct EN night train connection, Budapest being one of the hubs for night trains in Central Europe.

Hi,

Both doable as day trips from Vienna are Bratislava ( as suggested above) and Brno, ca roughly the same distance from Vienna

We spent a few weeks this past February in the region:

Here are some ideas
http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-02-04/winter-best-time-visit-budapest
http://budapestlocal.com/9-reasons-visit-budapest-winter/
http://www.mohacsibusojaras.hu/
http://lfze.hu/en/gallery/-/asset_publisher/7KF44EKLvmrX/content/tanevzaro-es-diszoklevel-atadas-2015
http://www.operett.hu/repertoar/wedding-dance/24/11
These were taken this past February: https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJg8soCGeOTyAhG592qg and https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJg8tAikoTbEyA08EKLw and
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJg745M5Wp7xGiCiJbeg and
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJg745M5Wp7xGiCiJbeg

@Fred: Bratislava is much closer to Vienna than Brno.

True, about Bratislava, by ca 20 mins? Still very doable from Vienna, both of them