Three Week Itinerary Through Europe: Seeking Feedback and Words of Wisdom

It sounds like Berlin will tick a lot of your boxes, so don't skimp on time there. You can day trip to the Sachsenhausen memorial. On the way to Prague, you can also stop in Dresden. I think Vienna has a lot more to see than Salzburg (especially art museums) and has easier train transport from Prague.

I doubt that you have time for Copenhagen or Stockholm, but see www.skyscanner.com for flights. Is it certain that you're flying home from Rome? Is anything booked that you can start to fill in on a calendar?

Hello gpotter511. It is good that you will be at Europe for three weeks. But I think you will not have time for going to Prague. After France, ride in trains north, to Belgium, and to Amsterdam. Ride in an express train from Amsterdam to Koblenz in Germany. (you might change trains at a city on the Rhine river in Germany). And ride in a train from Koblenz to Bacharach. Two nights at a hotel at Bacharach. Between those nights, ride on a K-D ship on the Rhine river from Bacharach to St. Goar. (medieval castles are on hills at the sides of the river). And return to Bacharach via a train. It is possible to also go to the Neiderwald monument on top of the hill above Rudesheim that day, before the boat ride from Rudesheim to St. Goar. The next day, ride in trains to Berlin. Be at a hotel at Berlin a minimum of 4 nights, for you to have time for a day trip to Potsdam (Sansuzi palace) . Fly from Berlin to Vienna. Be at Vienna 5 nights. Doing all of that will use 21 nights at Europe.

if you're interested in modern architecture, don't miss a day in Rotterdam. The tourist office has a free map of an architecture walking tour, which doubles as a free city map (their regular city map is not free). Be sure to visit the Cube Houses Museum. I'm not saying "Rotterdam over Amsterdam" as they are quite different. You will be very interested in the Amsterdam Museum, about the city's history.

I agree that Berlin will have a lot of interest for you. Past and present interact there in a dramatic way. Plan on spending much of a whole day at the German History Museum, and do go to Sachsenhausen (concentration camp memorial). Jewish history, Cold War history, gay history, Prussian history, and of course WWII and Nazi history - Berlin has it all, and much of it is visible and palpable, all smushed together and on top of each other. You should take one or more walking tours to get a handle on it all - Insider Tours http://www.insidertour.com/ and Berlin Walks http://www.berlinwalks.de/public/ are often recommended.

How about Munich after Berlin? Dachau is located nearby, you can experience a weekend evening in one of the beer gardens and see how the locals enjoy themselves, watch a Bayern Munich match, jump in some of the many fantastic lakes in the area and take a short, easy drive to Salzburg and perhaps even take some time to visit Hitler's Eagles Nest.

With regards to sports, most football Leagues finish in june, but you might be able to catch an international World cup qualifying match or a friendly. When exactly do you plan to go?

Ah, I didn't notice the June date until Morten mentioned it. Forget a Bayern Munich game in that case!

I agree with the idea of not being wedded to capital cities. I have to confess I have not been to Berlin, but I have been to Dresden and Weimar, two very nice German cities which are not far from Prague. I agree that Salzburg makes a good alternative to Vienna, though I like both. You can explore the lakes and mountains near Salzburg. I have been to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and I have to admit, that Rotterdam did not do much for me.

But on the other hand, it is the capital cities which do give a good mix of modern and historical. I don't know whether you are visiting Paris, but it is a good example of this. Yes it has plenty of old buildings, but it has its share of modern buildings as well. It is not just the capital city, it also the centre of the French financial world. So in US terms, it combines the functions of New York and Washington DC, so it is an excellent place to see modern France.

On the whole, I agree with not just visiting capital cities, that is certainly my approach. But do not necessarily ignore them either.

Three weeks sounds like a lot, but it still has practical limits.
I remember one of my first European trips we did three weeks visiting Rome, Pompeii, Florence, Venice, Salzburg (and Berchtesgaden), Munich and Paris. If you do Paris and Rome you need five days each to do justice.

You can do Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in a week. Switzerland is amazing, but expensive, as are the Scandinavian countries.

I would skip Scandinavia for now, since geographically it is out of the way.

We have been to Auschwitz and Dachau. Dachau was a concentration camp, while Auschwitz was a death camp. Prisoners were shipped from Dachau to Auschqitz for elimination. I would plan on visiting Auschwitz when you go to Poland rather than go to Dachau.

Normandy is nice and you can do a day tour that goes to the D-Day beaches, cemetery and Bayeux. Don't miss the amazing 900 year old Bayeux Tapestry.

I'm very grateful to everyone for weighing in so far. It's been very helpful as I narrow down my plans. That's a very helpful tip about the timing of the sports leagues - can't feel bad about missing something that's not happening!

Laura had asked if I'd booked anything yet. I'm set on travel accommodations for the trip, and lodging for the first few days. Everything after that I'm planning on locking in shortly. The first couple weeks appear to be settling into a fairly clear pattern.

I'd been thinking about trying to do both Munich and Vienna, but spending more time in Munich does sound like it could allow me to still see Austria via Salzburg. I feel like I have slightly more interest, on this trip, in the natural beauty of Austria vs. the history of Vienna.

A couple additional questions:

• Traveling to Rome: Can folks offer additional insights into the most logical ways to travel from either Munich or Vienna to Rome, via Northern Italy? Are they both equally practicable by train, or is one route superior in one way over another?
• Vatican on a Sunday: My thinking has been based in part on spending the last Sunday at the Vatican, taking in the experience when it's theoretically at full tilt. But not being tied to a Sunday would add significant flexibility. Do folks have thoughts on, and experience with, the Vatican on a Sunday?

Thanks!

I'd keep it very simple, and drop a few things from your list.

Paris - 5 nights
Normandy - 3 nights
Belgium - 3 nights
Amsterdam - 3 nights
Berlin - 4 nights
Prague - 3 nights

Any chance of or interest in making it all the way East to Russia? That would tick off two big boxes: football (with Confed Cup starting in mid-June) and WWII history. As an added bonus, the somewhat strenuous visa requirements are waived for the whole duration of Confed Cup (even though if "banya/parilka" is anything to go by, you might not need the visa in the first place :-)