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Spring 2020 central Europe tour

Currently planning a trip to central Europe just after next Easter with my father, assuming nothing disastrous happens in the meantime. The main point of this is to see Prague and revisit Vienna without flying. Current proposed schedule:

Day 1: Train London-Aachen via Brussels, overnight in Aachen. (I've been to Cologne and wasn't impressed - is Aachen worth more than an overnight stop?)
Day 2-3: Train Aachen-Leipzig, stay two nights in Leipzig (dad wants to see the Runde Ecke, and I preferred Leipzig to Dresden)
Day 4-8: Train Leipzig-Prague, four full days in Prague
Day 9-11: Train Prague-Vienna, two full days in Vienna
Day 12-13: Train Vienna-Bamberg, full day in Bamberg (hope to visit a German friend who lives there)
Day 14: Train Bamberg-Paris, overnight in Paris.
Day 15: Paris-London.

We plan to stay in the Motel Ones in Prague and Vienna, as we both like the chain. Leipzig I hope to go to the same hotel as I did a few years ago. Does anyone have any suggestions for places to stay in Aachen and Bamberg (we aren't expecting my friend to put us up)?

Also, the fares for Regiojet from Prague to Vienna look very tempting, but has anyone had any bad experiences about reliability or facilities?

Posted by
15777 posts

Aachen - I was on a tour that detoured from Cologne on the way to Aachen (2N) for a short (3-4 hour) visit in Monschau (rome2rio shows a 1 hour bus from Aachen). The only thing I liked about Cologne was the cathedral's stained glass. Monschau is a charming picture-postcard village, Aachen was a treat. Very pretty town, wonderful cathedral with stained glass, frescoes, amazing chandelier and Charlemagne's throne and lots of interesting relics, many related to Charlemagne. I don't think you'll regret having a full day there by adding a night. Would you have to take a night away from somewhere or would you add a day to the trip?

Posted by
4684 posts

To be honest this is the maximum time I want to spend, so I think I'll stick with the evening/night in Aachen. Thanks for the info on the cathedral.

Posted by
15777 posts

Enjoy your trip with Dad, sounds like a very good plan.