Ambitious Trip???

Yes it is almost a journey and this is my "trip of lifetime". I haven't ruled out not going back, especially if there's an area we really like, but for now, it the one and only. As far as Fussen goes, the quiet town atmosphere appeals to me. I live in the country and tend to get really citied out in the large metropolitan areas. I've never travelled on a train, so I'm using the trip as one more "thing" to do. I'm in the small majority that enjoy travelling by bus, so I think I will enjoy the train.

Not bad at all since you have plenty of time to do it. Time in each place looks okay except Athens/Greece. If all the time is in Athens, that's way to much; if it's going to include other parts of Greece it's fine as well.

For what it's worth:

Fussen is not in the same league as the rest of the itinerary

Paris has a bazillion hotels unknown to RS that will do just fine and are more conveniently located; don't hang up your planning on that one aspect

I think your trip sounds fabulous! You only have two one-night stays, I don't see how you could cut that down much more...unless you stay two nights in Venice and cut Athens back to 4. I'm one of the few that wasn't overly impressed with Venice, so I think one night is fine. I enjoyed Fussen so much that I'm taking my hubby and son back this summer...we also are only staying one night. We are staying at the Hotel Kurcafe...it's beautiful and has an amazing breakfast buffet...but it's definitely not a budget hotel.

My last trip in 2004 was very much like yours...20 days trying to see as much as possible with my 3 daughters...we loved it!! I planned it as a once-in-a-lifetime trip...and it was. I am taking another trip this summer with my hubby and son...and again we are seeing as much as possible in 23 days. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, I want to travel as if it's my last trip...and have fun doing it.

Warren, your train trip from Paris to Fussen will be about 8 1/2 hrs and you will have to change trains twice. So you lose a day of sightseeing. Have you thought about taking a night train?

Personally, I wouldn't try to include stops in such widely divergent places in one trip, but that's me. I like to keep things within one region, even if it's a BIG region.

What you have going for you is time. In 28 days, you can see a lot, and the time you spend in transit, while significant, still pales in comparison to your remaining time. The other person you refered to who wanted to cross Europe in 10 days was so far out of line I almost thought the question was a joke. Yours is no comparison. You could have a great trip.

We'll be doing 10 (admittedly small) countries in 35 days. We'll be in transit a lot, too. But we don't have a single 1-night stay, we have two nights on trains, and many of our other jaunts are of the 1-3 hour variety which can actually serve as a respite from being on your feet all day. Not too bad at all, really.

It all depends on the planning. That's why planning is so much fun!!!

Someone commented that this is more like a journey than a vacation, but I think sometimes Journey's are vacation. I always say that my vacation includes all the journey's to get to a place as well as the time there.

That said, I think that the one night stands are tough. Make sure that you know what you want to see and decide if you have left enough time and whether or not it might be better to just add it to another city.

Also, I love Scotland--all parts of it--but if this is your first visit to Scotland, Glasgow is a bit of strange choice. Maybe you have personal reasons--family ancestry, interest in the music scene, or something that is pulling you to Glasgow. If however, it's your first visit to Scotland, think about hopping the train to Edinburgh. There is more to see there and you can still get the train to London.

Pam

Thank you for all the comments. I picked Glasgow just because I like the sound of the word. Its our first stop and I think we will be tired after flying all day/night. We have a bus tour booked the next day to see the highlands and Loch Ness. My wife are both taken by pictures of the countryside and want to see it first hand. Touring the city wasn't a real highpoint,although I do want to partake in some beverage tasting.

On a side note, just noticing hotels in Paris and Fussen seem to be filling up. Couldn't get my first choice so went with Hotel Beaugency in Paris. Their website says its the last room available and my first attemp in Fussen had no vacancy for all of July.

I was holding back on Glasgow, but no more since I see what you're about.

Fear not, there are many hotels in Paris and Munich isn't that far from Fussen.

I think this is a pretty good itinerary. It covers more ground than I like to do, but I could have a have a lot of fun on this trip, and I bet you will too. The only thing I would change is replace Glasgow with Edinburgh (my favorite city in the world) and skip the stop in Fussen for reasons already mentioned. I liked the castles there a lot, though. I hope you have a wonderful time!

I hope you have tons on energy. Sometimes flying is cheaper than taking the train. In Fussen you can take side trip to Munich or stop in Oberammergau. One night stops are hectic.

Well it may be long, but you seem to have it well organized. The one you are referring to was just a bit unrealistic because of the travel distances and the fact that they were committed to traveling in and out of one city.

I started my last trip in Glasgow and I thought it was well worth a day. I was with my mother (in her late 60's) so we did the hop on hop off bus tour and it gave a great overview of the city and allowed us to work off the jet lag. Should be a great place to kick off a highland tour.