Scandinavia or Germany/Austria?

We've already been to the Swiss Alps around Interlaken (Jungrau, etc.). We loved it...but definitely want to see other places too. We're saving Italy for later due to some family trips that may be planned. I can see this is going to be a hard choice! :)

I loved the Scandinavian countries- they are pristiene and wonderful. Olso happens to be my favorite city there. That said they are VERY, VERY expensive. Austria is one of my favorite destinations. You cannot beat the combination of culture (arts, music, etc.), attitude (Austrians love life and take the attitude that you must smell the roses along the road to really enjoy the journey), history and natural beauty. The only place that I enjoy more is Scotland (whisky tops the list). Salzburg, Vienna, and Innsbruck are great, romantic destinations any time of the year. I know I've probably muddied the water, but if I HAD to choose- I'd go with Austria.

All good choices...

Scandinavia will probably the most expensive choice. With only 10 days, you'll see the major capitols but miss lots of scenery. You want might to consider a future trip here with more time.

For 10 days, Austria/Southern Germany sounds good.

But here's a thought...Budapest is only three hours by train from Vienna. You could fly into Budapest, then Vienna, Salzburg, Munich. Or if you wanted to include Innsbruck, then drop Budapest.

Germany and Austria can be MUCH cheaper than Scandinavia. We went to Ireland and Germany this summer, and were surprised at how much cheaper Germany was than Ireland.

In my opinion, the Norwegian fjords are tied with Jasper-Banff and Yosemite for most beautiful scenery in the world. We rented a car in Bergen and spent seven days driving through the fjord area (easy driving on very good roads). With ten days, you could add a stop in Copenhagen.

I do think it's too much to do all of Germany and Austria in 10 days.

We're planning a 2-week trip to Germany in March. When I actually wrote out the itinerary I found that for this trip we'll only have time to travel from Frankfurt on northward (the Rhine, Bonn, Cologne, Hamburg, then east towards Bergen-Belsen, Berlin, and all the way to the Polish border).

While I'd love to include Munich, Nuernberg, Rothenburg, and down into Austria, that's for another trip.

Germany is typically much cheaper than Scandinavia. We booked this nice little apartment in the Franconian village of Neustadt an der Aisch - not far from Nuremberg, Rothenburg and other Romantic Road towns, Bamberg, and Wuerzburg - a few years ago. The kitchenette was handy and perfect for getting breakfast or a light lunch. It was a nice village and a great base for daytrips by train or by car.

http://www.accommodation.de/48003.htm

It runs 26 Euros per night for two. Similar places/prices are common in this and other parts of Bavaria and throughout southern Germany. I don't think you'll come close to such pricing in the northern countries, where you can also expect to pay twice as much for restaurant meals, in my experience, and there aren't too many destinations anywhere with so many other interesting cities and villages so close by.

So many great thoughts. Thank you...and keep them coming! :)

Wherever you go, you probably ought to consider only three stops for your 10 day trip. Realize that you lose a full day in transit from the US, and that travel within Europe takes up time, too. If you want a vacation where you actually remember what you saw, I'd say count on three base stops.

No question that Germany is your cheapest option and Scandinavia the priciest. We've traveled all over the world, and even so found prices in Scandinavia eye-popping. I'm planning a trip later this spring to Finland and I plan to stay in a hostel with a shared bath--and it's still going to cost me about $75 a night. So it isn't just the inter-city travel--it's food and lodging, too.

From Gator Country, I would guess that mountain scenery and fjords might be especially interesting to you. If you are looking for hipness, cutting edge cuisine, and nightlife, you'd do better in Berlin. If you love classical music and baroque architecture, there's Vienna. Consider, also, that independent travel for the beginner is easiest when you are hopping from city to city rather than spending a lot of time in the countryside--public transit options are more plentiful, tourist infrastructure generally better, etc.

So...what would your ideal vacation include? We can be even more helpful if we know what you particularly would enjoy.

Good questions and thoughts JER. We aren't total novices, but aren't total experts either. We've been to England/Scotland/Wales for a month (including driving and train travel), Switzerland for 8 days (all public transport), and Puerto Rico for 7 days. We've figured out our travel days (hence the 10ish days, rather than a solid 10) and we've worked out how we like to budget ourselves.

As far as our styles and tastes, we are very eclectic. We enjoy the mountains and rural life (folk museums, etc.), but we also enjoy the urban vibe as well. We know that we'd enjoy all the different places from Berlin to Vienna to Oslo and all the countrysides - so that isn't really an issue. What we're trying to assess is other people's thoughts about the areas since, though we've traveled, we haven't been to any of these places.

The posts I dislike the most are when people ask, "Which would I like better?" b/c how is anyone else supposed to be able to answer that? What we're looking for is "Which did you like better and why?" and then we can use that with our own thoughts from reading and watching travelogues to make a decision.

Well, if you've been to Switzerland, that might militate against an Alpine vacation if you want a different experience.

If you want personal takes, here are a couple of mine: I have to say, I loved Berlin--even though I don't do nightlife, I just found the energy there infectious. And the museums there are world class, restaurants are varied and excellent, and the history is poignant and fascinating. Public transit within the city is also great. Nearby is Dresden, which is definitely worth a visit, The rebuilt cathedral and old town are beautiful, of course, but also a sobering reminder of the inevitable high cost of modern warfare on civilian populations. We really enjoyed the museums there, too. And nearby to that is Gorlitz, a charming Silesian town that is on the Polish border. Check out the renovated buildings now housing cafes and shops, and then nip across the bridge to the Polish side and see the same kinds of building, unrenovated, housing cigarette shops and exchange kiosks. Eastern Germany is one of the cheaper destinations in this part of Europe, so we ended up splurging on lodging, staying in nicer hotels compared to other Western European travel for the same price.

Copenhagen is not one of my favorite European cities--frankly, it was disappointing to me, except for Tivoli Gardens, which was a lot more beautiful and fun than I had expected. The pedestrianized main street is nothing special--filled with international chains, second rate street performers, and too many junkies begging for spare change. I have on my short list of "must do someday" ideas a cruise through the fjords, though. Others may have more detailed (and differing) takes on Scandinavia.

I highly recommend going to Germany and Austria as opposed to Scandinavia. There is SO much to do and see in Germany alone, that you could just do that for 10 days. Definitely check out Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Munich - awesome cities (Munich being the most expensive). And in Austria, I highly recommend Innsbruck - a small city surrounded by the Alps; just breathtaking.

Scandinavia is beautiful, but incredibly more expensive than Germany and Austria. I liked Stockholm but was also disappointed by Copenhagen and ended up skipping Oslo based on expenses.