post-trip week of relaxation: where?

The area around the Bodensee would be perfect. How about Lindau as a home base? Fly home from Zürich.

rich...i hadn't thought to use tripadvisor. will do that right now. additionally, after upping our budget a bit and checking out homeaway, i found a few more, including two houseboats i really like. fingers are crossed! thanks again everyone. oh, and my husband would love copenhagen, but i think that's for a future trip (next year, perhaps?)

Ocean City, NJ maybe? A few days down the shore there always helped me recharge the batteries. Or maybe as a teacher you would prefer something less kid friendly? But if it needs to be in Europe, perhaps we could suggest something that fits logically in the flow of your trip. So I would ask, what is the last destination you have planned for your itinerary (non-relaxing part) so far?

Go to Amsterdam and stay in Haarlem. It is a small city and close enough to Amsterdam for easy daytrips. I loved Haarlem; it's walkable, has a central square with market, and has some hotels with the steepest stairways I've ever seen. A B&B might work best. Expect good, big breakfasts and friendly, English-speaking hosts. I had lunch on the top floor of the large department store there and enjoyed the view--almost every day.

the last 'non relaxing' part (i love how insane that sounds!) was originally the mosel valley. the plan was munich and surrounds, salzburg and surrounds, fussen (or somewhere near there) and surrounds, rothenburg, and then cochem (or somewhere near there). but we could do the trip in the opposite order, as we're no longer ending up in amsterdam. oh and thanks for the suggestion of the jersey shore, but i hate the shore more than i hate paris. everyone there has fifteen screaming, ketchup stained children. i'm not saying this to be rude, i'm saying it to be funny! (though it is partially true.) we'd prefer to stay in europe and ideally go somewhere we've never been (which is why i'm secretly glad amsterdam isn't working out. i'm not a fan of returning to the same place two years in a row...though we've done that with vegas.)

Salzburg Austria. Small and pretty city much smaller than Amsterdam with very nice countryside nearby.

that's the second suggestion of haarlem. i will have to check it out. thanks! (ironically, our other choice for a summer trip was napa, where i see you are from!) i like the area outside of salzburg. perhaps a house on a lake somewhere near there? i have some research to do. thanks everyone!

Just to encourage your further: As I was reading your top post, I thought to myself, Doesn't she know about Haarlem? You have lots of great choices, obviously, but if your first choice was Amsterdam that's where I'd stay.

ok. consider me encouraged! i just spent my entire lunch break researching haarlem, and i'm sold. i found the spa in haarlem...sauna van egmond. we need to go there. my only current issue is finding non-hotel lodging in haarlem. for some reason, there's nothing listed on vrbo or homeaway. though i'm sure a bit of gooling when i get home tonight will turn up something. thanks again!!!

Tracy I remember all the things you didn't like, so I thought of both Haarlem and Salzburg. I'm confused that you couldn't find anywhere in Amsterdam. I don't use VRBO but I know folk here say its good. I put in 15 days in mid July (don't remember your travel dates) and stopped counting after 25 with full availability. Sleeping on a houseboat sounds great to me. Good luck..

i'm laughing at 'all of the things you didn't like'! there WERE a lot! ha! i should qualify my 'every apartment we found' with 'that we can afford'. we were looking at august 5th-12th (with a bit of wiggle room. my husband needs to be home by the 16h-ish). we were also looking for that elusive rental...reasonably priced but well located. there were five of them...and three of them were already booked. we've not heard from one, and determined the one that is available is too small for even the two of us (think easyhotel small; not fun for a week!) we also wanted some sort of outdoor space...that limits it a lot. i did just find a houseboat on homeaway for 1000 E a week which is a bit more than we wanted to spend, but not deal-breaking.

This doesnt fit with anything either you or anyone else has suggested, but for a week of relxation, i would grab a cottage in a small village in the English countryside or Richmond near London. My european equivalent would be the Dordogne (or possibly near Lascaux caves). Citywise, I would stay near Marienplatz in Munch, so walkable and not as hectic as Paris (which i like).

I quickly checked tripadvisor.com for Amsterdam lodging August 5-August 12 and found many options. It sounds like you are looking for an apartment to rent for that week and you will find those listed under Amsterdam Vacation Rentals. A quick look at those apartments showed some nice canal view places under "deals". Out of 337 hotels listed on the site 221 had availability for your week, plus 44 B&B's--so things don't appear to be highly booked. If I was able to recently book lodging for Queen's Day weekend in Amsterdam (canal district) I have no doubt that there is a place that meets your needs if you continue to search a bit. Booking.com also has many availabilities for your dates. Personally, I much prefer staying in Amsterdam along the canals rather than Haarlem.

Copenhagen.

We used Lindau for 4 days to chill and loved that, but I can't see an entire week there. Second vote also for the Dordogne, a week would be heavenly.
I have a sideways question here, not hijacking the thread but would a week on a houseboat in AMS be a comfortable temperature? Have been in hotels in AMS that were bearable only in front of a fan. would like to know from someone who has experienced it.

melissa...great question that i would like to know the answer to, too. (as i think i just found an acceptable house boat) when we were there last july, it was cold. i wore a sweater. but then, weather is always unpredictable.

A villa in Tuscany.

You might consider doing the trip in reverse as July might be more open than August. Europeans often vacation in August.

unfortunately, my husband teaches at a summer program that runs until july 22nd. and then he starts back to regular work on august 15th. frown.

Vienna

Tracy, I've stayed at B&B Batavia in A-dam twice now. It's only 2 rooms on the ground floor, the owners live upstairs. It's in an apartment building. One room opens out onto the common area where kids do play/bike/rollerblade etc, the other (bigger) room opens out onto the sidewalk that runs along a canal. I'm sure the owners could scare up a couple of outdoor chairs for you 2 to sit in, it's city but...They bring you breakfast the night before, rolls, meat, cheese, jam, chocolate sprinkles!, butter, lots of OJ, coffee and tea. You might be able to get a discount if you stay a week. Great place!!

My bad-no meat for breakfast (just looked at website), but it was plenty!

Having read your posts and blog entries from your past trip to Europe, I'm familiar with your intense dislike of big cities and, worse, big crowds or long lines. I know you enjoyed Amsterdam the last trip, but given your travel dates in early August this summer, you're trying to find a place smack in the middle of Amsterdam Gay Pride which brings big crowds and noise and long lines. And even though it's sure to be loads of fun (buff men in thongs & bondage gear dancing to loud techno while floating down canals on boats in a giant parade? Lots of great photo ops there!), it just doesn't seem like it would be your relaxing cup of tea! What about Belgium? Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges? Small enough for you to deal with but enough to see for your NYC loving husband, and it's very easy to get out into the countryside for relaxing day trips that might include great beers, fries and good chocolate (I remember how much you hated the food in Paris, but you won't starve in Belgium unless you don't like fries & chocolate). Good luck with the planning and hope this year's trip runs smoother for you than last year's.

great suggestions. and of course i love fries and chocolate! who doesn't!?! i'd even eat chocolate covered fries! i had no idea about the gay pride thing. i just checked, and i see that it is august 4th-7th. THAT explains why i couldn't get a rental anywhere until the 8th! makes perfect sense. and while yes, that does sound like a blast, it doesn't sound like my kind of blast, being an admitted crowd-hater.

Hi Tracy, I vote for a renting a cottage in England... in the country like the Cotswold...I know you would love it there.

Spa Priessnitz in Jesenik in the Czech Republic. Absolutely relaxing. Not discovered by mobs (yet). Setting is mountainous, quiet, picturesque. We had different kinds of baths, massages, relaxing in salt cave. Hiking, bicycling around. Tennis courts. Music and dancing in the evening. Trips around.

I was going to mention Ghent (with Bruges, Brussels, Anhtwerp for day trips if you want). A small city with great transportation options if you want to go to the beach, etc. We cycled along the canal from Bruges one day to Ghent - it's a bit off the "US tourist" network, but we could have spent several days - you've got the old country buildings like Bruges/Haarlam, the canals, the city squares.
Then I saw the suggestion of the Cotswolds - now that's where I'd relax :) - BUT it is not a city, with little public transport - you can walk all over (Rick suggests taking a taxi back if you want). It's a different kind of "relax"

camille...i will, but not as frequently. keeping up daily caused too much of an issue last time. i'll be doing more writing but less posting while traveling; most of it will be actually posted after i return home. but don't worry, i'm sure there will be lots of things for me to complain about! ha!

Hope you'll keep a blog like you did last trip. I really enjoyed reading your daily entries.

Tracy, I wondered if you found something yet, and hope you'll have a better trip to Europe this time. I too remember your blog and how you felt about Paris and even London. Am kind of surprised you're going back to Europe during such a busy time though. The heat, the crowds etc. But, I am sure your blog will make for good reading.