Hi Folks, All suggestions and advice appreciated. I lived in Germany for 5 years visited Munich, Nerumberg, Koln, Dauchau, Wutzberg, Colberg, ..Ok you get the picture. I have friends near to Amberg where I lived. I also have visited Salzberg, Treieste,and Venice. I have been to London twice. I am 53 and I am planning trip from June 23-July 15 give or take a day or so with my 16 year old daughter. We will be backpacking, staying at hostels, once in a while a B and B. Traveling mostly point to point by train. My thoughts are; Rome 3 days Florence 1 day Venice 2 days Treieste 2 days (family there) Munich 6 days with some day trips to Salzberg(maybe stay over in Salzberg)..Amberg Nuremberg etc.. FLY to London 6 days with day trips in and around. 1-2 days overage pending advice.
It has been 25 years since I have have been to Europe. The point being I would like my daughter to see the things I have seen, see some of the sites she wants to see, and share some great times. Please send out the comments and suggestions. Thanks, Steve
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
15 posts
It depends on what type of sights and activities you and your daughter are looking for but my favorite part of Europe ( so far) is the Lauterbrunen Valley in Switzerland. Great scenery. Great hiking. Great people. Happy travels to you.
Posted by
southwest, Missouri, U.S.A.
1717 posts
Hello Steve. What country is Treleste in ? I recommend that you and your daughter read parts of a good travel guide book on each country that you intend to go to. The books that I like are : Rick Steves' ITALY. Rick Steves' GERMANY or Rick Steves' GERMANY & AUSTRIA. Rick Steves' LONDON. And, travel guide books on those countries, from DK Eyewitness, and INSIGHT GUIDES, have hundreds of photographs of places and things and people in those countries. Also, for help in planning a good trip in Europe, I highly recommend that you read the book Rick Steves' EUROPE THROUGH THE BACK DOOR. any edition of it, 2009 or later. That book has much very good advice and knowledge for helping people plan their trips to and in Europe and Britain. In that book, read PART ONE: TRAVEL SKILLS. If enjoying your days in Europe, feeling good there, and experiencing quality time with your daughter, are of high priority for you, my thoughts are :
(1) In each big city, plan to go to not more than one major site each day. An example : one day in Munich - go in one big museum, such as the museum of the history of the city Munich. And you could walk into Saint Michael's church. And relax on the big grass lawn at Englischer Garten. (2) Do not make a tight or rigid schedule for your activities each day. Rigid or tight schedules can result in people suffering from feelings of anxiety and stress. (3) When you are at Europe, try to do all the things that you need to do for you to have good health and a feeling of good mental well being, that you do when you are at your home. That includes getting plenty of good sleep every night. And eating good food every day.
Posted by
Lewiston, Idaho, USA
2091 posts
The first thing I do when I'm planning a trip, Steve, is figure out how long and how many travel days we'll have. I usually just use the Deutsch Bahn site even though for travel outside Germany I can't get prices. I also figure that the first day we arrive is our jet lag day so that first 1/2 day is just our oohing and ahhing day. When figuring how long for each city, I count by hotel nights and figure that 2 nights actually gives us 1 site seeing day. I prefer to use trains but if a train day is too long will compare with skyscanner.net, adding in all the check-in time. You mean Trieste, Italy, right? If I didn't need to consider budget or the time away from home, I'd try the following for your itinerary: Rome 3 nights Florence 3 nights Venice 2 nights Trieste 3 nights Munich 5 nights
London 5 nights I haven't gone to the Deutsch Bahn to check travel time though.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
These are great destinations but I'd be a little concerned about the pace, especially in Italy. It's easy to think about all the things you could see in Florence in a day, but if you are only spending one night, arriving one day and departing the next, you really have less than a full day there. Don't forget time spent getting to your hostel, unpacking, getting your bearings, packing, getting to the train. Southern Europe is richly rewarding but sometimes moves at a slower pace. Hours are only approximate, things are on strike, etc. Of course there's nothing wrong with a fast-paced trip where you see lots of great stuff. There's no "minumum stay" requirement for Rome or Florence. But there is a point at which you actually get to see very little because you are spending so much of your time on logistics.
Posted by
Columbia, SC
389 posts
Trieste is a city in Italy, y'all, near the Slovenian border. Steve, Trieste to Munich is a very long trip by train, at least 8hr45min. I see that Lufthansa flies direct Trieste-Munich. I plugged in some dates in July on skyscanner.net for this route- one-way prices were sky high ($800 per person) but round trip prices were a reasonable $176 per person. You could buy round trip and just throw away the return leg. Given the substantial time savings of the flight, I would fly even if the cost were a bit higher. You'll have to compare costs of flights and discount train tickets on trenitalia.com when you get about three months out from your trip.
Posted by
Lewiston, Idaho, USA
2091 posts
Thanks for the correction, Will! I guess it was too early in the morning for me.