travel & room bookings

I try to time long travel days for Mondays or the day of the week that most museums (love museums) are closed, but transportation follows a normal schedule. In some places Sunday travel options are more limited, and Friday can be a big day for weekend getaways.

Thanks. It sounds like stopping on a Friday and resume travel on Mondays would be the best options.

Traditionally, many areas of Germany closed up shop Saturday afternoon and stayed closed Sunday. Longer hours and days are gradually being pried out of the tradition by EU integration, cross-border shopping and international merchandising chains. At one vicinty where Germany borders intersect with three other countries at the same place, my German friend joked that the only way of knowing which country you are in is by what businesses are open.
You can always choose one or two major destinations, such as a museum, and then check websites to see if they will be a worthwhile Sunday plan.

Thanks all for your answers!

I think it is going to depend on which country. Everything is not closed on Sunday. Monday is often called blue Monday because of the tendency for many public tourist sites to be closed on Monday especially if open on the weekend. And train traffic tends to be a little heavier on weekends. Not because of wise travelers but more locals are out and about. But it has never impacted our ability to easily travel on the weekends. Sunday mornings can be pretty dead but the PM livens up. I think Germany has some blue laws that require closing on the weekends but not in Italy, France, England. We have spent less time in the Netherlands so do not remember the closing patterns.

Our travels are Germany (Rhine,down to Freiburg), Austria (Innsbruck,Salzburg & area) Nehterland (Amsterdam & area), Belguim (Brussels & area)and France. Not in this order. Still trying to figure the route yet. Any suggestion would be great.

hi, with regards to your travel route and how to plan them. i try to not cross my path and minimize any backtracking. try, using a map of the areas/countries you plan on traveling to. you can even print them from google maps. then plot out the cities/places you want to go to and see if you can figure out some type of path. if you know where you are flying into and out of, put those in too. then its a matter of connecting the dots. then what i do is to get an idea on costs from getting to point a to b. i will look at flights, transfers AND times/durations and then the same for trains (times, $$ and duration and transfers). If the trains are < 6 hours i will go by train since in my experience (ime) the train stations are in the city center where as if you fly in, you will need to commute to the city (time & $$). thats how i do it, but you can do as you please and what floats your boat. happy trails.

Lynda, For travel in June, booking rooms "on the go" may take a bit of time, as that's the middle of spring shoulder season and Europe can be busy at that time of year. You may end up paying more or having to take what you can get, but that travel method is certainly possible. I wouldn't bother trying to plan travel days only on Sundays (or whatever). The trains run every day so plan on travelling on whichever day works best for your Itinerary. Schedules may be different on weekends, but that's not a problem. Some stores may be closed on Sundays and some Museums and other sites may be closed on Mondays or Tuesday, so just adjust your touring plans accordingly. Is this your first visit to Europe? If so, I'd recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip, as it has a LOT of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. Use the country-specific Guidebooks to plan sightseeing, hotels, transportation and other things in more detail. Happy travels!

Just found a site that list farms that may have rooms for rent. Unfortunately the important info are in German. Bavarian Ben's (www.bensbauernhof.com&#41;

As you have been told, which things are closed depends on the country, as well as the particular town. Many museums are closed Mondays, but certainly not all. In countries where stores are closed on Sundays, you can often go to the train station to find stores open (this is also true if you need something on another day, but after the other stores have closed; train station grocery stores, etc, will have longer hours, as well as usually higher prices). And larger stores (like department stores) are more likely to have longer hours and Sunday openings. Trains run every day, and Sunday service is usually only a bit less frequent (if at there's any difference at all). But buses can be curtailed on Sundays, sometimes severely; for smaller British or Italian towns, for example, there may be little or no Sunday service. Friday and Sunday travel can be more crowded (roads, buses, and trains), depending on the route. Reservations can be a good idea, even on routes that don't require them. Saturdays are practically weekdays, in terms of train schedules and museum openings. Some stores do have shorter hours (half day or the like). For me, the big problem is that Saturdays and Sundays often have much bigger crowds at popular attractions (since the locals have to work on the weekdays). For a place like Versailles, going on a weekday can be a very good plan. I certainly wouldn't plan on staying put for a whole weekend just for fear of closures. But do check on the specific places you have in mind, to avoid a repeat of my old mistake. I went to Toledo, Spain on a Monday, when almost everything of interest is closed. If I had done the most basic of research, I would have learned that this is a bad idea.

If you plan on staying at a farm, check to see if you'll need a car.

There are lots of festivals happening on weekends, especially in June, so check the cities or towns you will be visiting to see what kind of events you might want to experience. Traveling on trains is easy on any day of the week, it isn't something I would plan my trip around, as the only difference, might be not quite as many trains on a Sunday or late in the evening, or not so frequent. Fridays may be a bit busier between certain destinations, due to commuters or trade fairs, or holidays. As already noted, all stores are closed in Germany on Sundays, and many museums are closed on Mondays. Check the websites for the ones you are interested in visiting to see what their opening hours will be. Some are open 7 days a week, or may have later opening hours.

Hello Lynda. I am not omniscient. I know what I experienced. On a Saturday morning in May I traveled, in a train, from St. Goar (at the Rhine River) west to Koblenz. Very many German people were in all of the train cars. There was no seat for me to sit on. I stood on the floor, from St. Goar to Koblenz. My baggage was annoying to other people in the train car. (in my subsequent trips to Europe, I carried a smaller bag). I could not move, because the train car was filled with people. The big crowd of German people in that train is typical of Saturday mornings. Late Saturday afternoon there were a few people at the Koblenz railroad train station. Sunday morning, few travelers were there, I went in a train from Koblenz to Braubach for me to visit the castle Marksburg. I did not see any human at Braubach, other than a few German women in a small cafe that served a cherry pastry. Other people went in motor vehicles on the road up the hill to the Marksburg castle's parking lot. At the castle Marksburg, there could be many tourists, at any time of the day, any day of the week, in June. In Austria, traveling in a train between Salzburg and Melk (at the Danube river) Friday morning, it was necessary to have a reserved seat in the train. When the train stopped at a small town, a conductor said all of us must go out from that train car, because a group of Austrian Boy Scouts reserved all of the seats in that train car. The Boy Scouts walked fast into the train, carrying large canvass bags causing obstructions, preventing other people from moving in the train.

Hotels. At some cities in Europe, some hotels are not totally filled with people on Friday nights and Saturday nights, because many of the European people going on business trips are not working on Saturdays and Sundays. Thus, some hotels lower the room rates for Friday and Saturday nights. There are exceptions. If there is a big trade show in a city on a Saturday, many sales people will be there, and the hotel room rates could be high. And at a city that has a big festival, it is likely that hotel rooms will not be available on the days when the festival occurs.

Thanks for all for your advise. I am keeping everyone ideas as I do the planning.