Trip planning for 2 weeks after Christmas. 2 parents, 2 young adults- help me make it fun?

I've been to a lot of car museums (because I went to 15 European countries with a 12yoa boy). The best one I visited was the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, so depending on how far north you will be in Germany, I'd recommend that. There's a Porsche one across town, but I didn't care for it as much.
You're attempting to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. You don't say how you plan to travel. Even the relatively inexpensive intra-European flights start to add up when you're buying four tickets, but if you want to go to Sicily, Pompeii and Rome from northern Germany, that's a lot of flights.
For classical music fans, it seems like Vienna is a bucket list city. It looks like some of their Christmas markets continue after 12/25 if that's of any interest. Lots of direct flights home from there (though maybe not to your city).
Berlin, Prague, Vienna makes a good combo (though you could spend the whole trip in Berlin and not run out of things to see and do).

Welcome to the forum svbaloo,
Sicily needs a full week at least, so maybe another trip? Or fly to Sicily from wherever you are in Germany for the second week, then home from there (via Rome for plane change).

If Rome is in your plans, I would skip Sicily for this trip. Rome has so much to see and do. Sicily is on my list also, but I want to spend about 12-14 days there to appreciate it. I feel you won't have enough time there to make the journey worthwhile this trip.
Are you thinking one week in Germany, one week Italy (Rome)?

Germany and Austria separately or together will fill 2 weeks. So many options! Maybe check out New Year's Eve things to do and base your plans on what is feasible for NYE and build out from there.. Munich? Vienna? I don't know much about northern Germany. Ask on the Germany forum for ideas. Germany, Austria and Italy all have a fantastic musical heritages and performances to explore. (For me, I would choose Vienna for New Years Eve. If I am correct, there are numerous musical activities throughout the city on New Year' Eve and the city is aglow for NYE.)

To be honest, I would probably save Italy for another trip, and spend my first 4 full days in Vienna (nights 1-5, Dec. 29 to Jan. 3), then go to Germany for nights 6 through 14, (Jan. 3-10). Fly home from wherever you end up in Germany.
I would check out what there is to see and do in the cities you are considering and choose the places which have the most options that fit your desires. Pick no more than 3 cities (4 if staying in Germany and Austria, preferably 3).
(Sorry to interject Vienna. NYE always puts Vienna in mind.)
A couple of suggestions: Have each one of you put three things (cities, activities or sights) that they want to do or see on this trip. Or list their wishes starting with most important and moving down to less important, maybe up to 10 things (See where overlap occurs, if it does.) Try to incorporate one thing for each person. You may find an itinerary from this. Don't let FOMO take charge. Give yourselves down time to enjoy a coffee or hot chocolate or aperitif or a beer and just be part of that scene in a gasthaus or winstub. Do settle on your itinerary soon. You will want to nail down your lodgings soon.
Have fun!

The family enjoys exploring new places, meeting people, relaxing, classical music, good food - not necessarily fancy- maybe one great night out, a food tour or cooking class, cool cars, thrifting clothes, animals (agri-tourism?), hiking (them)/ walking (me)/ biking or scooters (all), boating/sailing though this may not be the time of year, no skiing.

Budapest

✓: Relaxing. If you want it to be the opportunities are there. We have a couple of RS types that return once or twice a year for a lot of that reason.

✓: Classical Music. I used to travel to go to concerts and operas and this is maybe the best place for the experience where it is still mostly focused on the locals and not tourism. The venues are pretty spectacular as well.

✓: Great Night Out. One of the most cultured cities I know of. Its just a matter of what you are looking for. We have a pretty good support network on the forum for Budapest and that does help for this sort of thing.

✓: Cooking Class. There are several, but my favorite involves a woman named Agnes who will take you to the old market hall to buy the ingredients then take you home to her apartment to cook with her. Great day.

✓: Thrifting clothes. I can head you to a few unique places.

✓: Boating. Well not in the traditional sense but the river sightseeing boats are running in the winter; and they are worth the time.

✓: Christmas Markets. Okay, not on your list but they do run until 1 January.

✓: Wine. Okay also not on your list. But 29 December is https://wineloversrendezvenyek.hu/sparkling-night/ which is very much worth it if you enjoy the topic. And if you enjoy the topic maybe a wine tasting trip outside of the city is in order as well.

X: Not so Much because of the time of the year: animals (agri-tourism?), hiking (them)/ walking (me)/ biking or scooters (all), sailing though this may not be the time of year, no skiing.

Since you have two weeks, you could do Vienna and Budapest. Or if you wanted to do something sort of off the wall, then Budapest (or Vienna) and a Wizzair flight to Montenegro for Orthodox Christmas.

Hi there and welcome! About Vienna - NYE has approx 800,000 extra people visiting (last time I checked a few years ago) so you'd need to book your hotel early, Vienna celebrates New Year's Eve with a massive, free open-air street festival known as the Silvesterpfad (New Year's Eve Trail)

Random thoughts - Wherever you end up, you can do a bike tour, we loved Fat Tires in Berlin, but there are many, many others. European kids are out of school until after Epiphany, January 6th. Assume many take the rest of the week off. So cities will be very crowded. You could watch a bit of PBS The New Dig and see if your kids become mesmerized by Pompeii, otherwise I would skip it. We've done a few walking food tours by Eating Europe that were excellent. Finding things to do in any city you choose won't be a problem! The tool bar on the home page is your friend - type in a city, a subject and just search what comes up, good luck with your planning, you've come to the right place!

I would also highly recommend that you do a food tour. When our daughter was in college, she said that the Secret Food Tour we did in Paris was her favorite thing we did there.

???????

Not sure that I understand what advice you are seeking … are you saying you will be in northern Germany with family for 2 weeks prior to Dec. 29 and that you want ideas for

1. The next two weeks, from Dec. 29 to Jan. 10 (actually 13 nights; 12 full days) with the idea of possibly flying home from Rome, plus
2. Any thoughts of what to see in Germany, apart from your family, while you visit in “northern” Germany? Or all of Germany?
   

Germany is the size of Montana and about 5/6 the size of California. Germany has more than twice the population of California.

As for Pompeii and Sicily, if those places - and the lure of milder weather in January - are high on your list, you might want to post an inquiry on the Italy page of the forum. You could fly home from Naples or Palermo or Catania with a change of planes of Munich, Frankfurt or any other major hub in Europe as an alternative to Rome.

LATE NOTE - I see that this is your first and only forum post. If you can clarify your thoughts or questions by posting a reply, here, that will lead to responses that might be more beneficial to you. Or, you may like the idea of the big wide canvas you’ve put up.

Re-reading your original post.....Maybe I got it wrong and it is 2 weeks AFTER a previous 2 weeks in Germany, as Fred wonders (4 weeks total)? Please clarify what your time frame is so we can be useful. (And as the responses you get here are all from real people and not a chatbot or AI, we appreciate knowing if our replies are helpful. Thanks you.)

Hello all and apologies for the confusion- I've edited the original entry to hopefully be more clear. Yes, in total this is a 4 week trip, basically split in half. The first half is in Germany (Berlin, Oldenburg) with family who have planned most activities for us. The second half is my nuclear family of 4 and a broad question- which is part of the issue for me - where in the world to go. These thoughts and ideas are truly helpful as I try to be reasonable and plan something cool-

-G3rryCee- OK! I'm smiling given your description :) Maybe not this trip but we’ll be back and will make our way to the Mercedes-Benz museum. We’ll definitely visit many Christmas markets and small towns before the 29th with the family, can’t wait. Yes, the flights could add up- I’m rethinking some of this. PS love B-ham ;)
- Judy- thanks for the Sicily thoughts- we do have 15 days so it would be tight but doable? However, maybe it just makes more sense to stay north and see Austria/ more of Germany…I imagine the boys would be thrilled w NYE in Vienna- 800,000 extra ppl according to Sandancisco!! I like the idea of the list of activities and have suggested this to everyone. I’ve edited my original entry to hopefully clarify the dates and have now learned how to respond to everyone - thank you :)
- Mr E’- Budapest sounds really interesting and offers a lot of what’s on the list- I’ll check out the forum for sure. You got me with Agnes! Montenegro- will research in the AM. I’ll reach out if the family responds positively- thank you!
- Sandancisco- wow, Vienna sounds like THE party, I’m sure the boys would love it! That’s good to know about the bike tour, I think we should include this wherever we go. The school dates are exactly the kind of info I don’t have but can use. I have one kid who’d love Pompeii, the other maybe not so much. We all love to eat so Eating Europe would be a good fit. Great tip re the tool bar- as noted I’m new to the forum. Thanks!
- cala- We’ve only done one food tour and it was super fun! History and food together in Lisbon (RS rec). It also felt like a great way to get dialed into the city quickly. Agree and thanks!
- fred- hello from Jet City :) Yes, #1. 2 additional weeks from Dec 29-Jan 12 (minor date change). WRT Germany, the first 2 weeks (Dec 15-Dec 28) are planned by others with Berlin, Oldenburg, and a few small towns near there. Christmas markets and a classical concert are what I’ve heard to date. Dec 28th will be our last day with the larger family group. I’m surprised to learn that Germany has 2x+ the CA population- whoa! After reading these responses I’m leaning towards staying more north- it may make the most sense even though the weather is likely similar to Seattle but colder (dang). Thanks!

Where does your visit in Germany end? Oldenburg or Berlin?

- Berlin to Vienna $150 carry on to $210 checked bag
- Berlin to Budapest $80 carry on to $90 checked bag
- Hanover to Vienna $166 carry on to $112 checked bag
- Hanover to Budapest no non-stop flights
- Hamburg to Vienna $70 carry on to $100 (guess) checked bag
- Hamburg to Budapest no non-stop flights

Let’s assume you go to Vienna first for the NYE party scene for the kids. That really is a good idea. That’s sort of pricy unless your Germany tour ends in Oldenburg and you go to Hamburg to catch a flight.

• 29/Hamburg has a morning flight on Eurowings. Hanover and Berlin are both evening flights … could you go the evening of the 28th? Best price is Hamburg.
• 30/Tour
• 31/Tour and celebrate
• 1/Tour … but maybe a lot will be closed. We have a Vienna expert named Emily that can help with this and where and what for NYE.
• 2/3/4/5/Tour
• 6/Morning train to Budapest. About 2.5 hours.
• 7/8/9/10/11/12 Budapest

Let’s assume that your Germany trip ends in Berlin you go to Budapest first. For NYE we find a great roof top party with a view of the river and the castle. A little more upscale than the partying in Vienna possibly. A bit more expensive too.

• 29/Wizzair and Ryanair both have morning flights. and this: https://wineloversrendezvenyek.hu/sparkling-night/
• 30/Tour – Christmas Markets Still Open
• 31/Tour and celebrate on the roof (there are other ideas like on a boat in the middle of the river) - Christmas Markets Still Open
• 1/Tour
• 2/3/4/5/Tour
• 6/Morning train to Vienna. About 2.5 hours.
• 7/8/9/10/11/12 Budapest

The other thing that will play into which comes first is what else is going on in town. You said classical music. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/updated-budapest-performance-venue-list is a list with links to the venues. See if anything works for you. When I travel I also love local stage plays as its an opportunity to do something purely local. We have a few classic old houses that do shows with subtitles in English. But here, if you chose wisely even the opera house can be mostly Hungarian. Unfortunately, many of the big and famous houses in Europe have turned into just another tourist venue.

Daytrips can be Szentendre. Oh, and the train from Budapest to Vienna in either direction, stopping in Gyor and seeing the Archabbey at Pannonhalma is always worth the time. They do have some concerts in the winter so check their program. And I like the wineries in the winter for tastings or even for the night.

I can help you fill your days in Budapest and I know there are those here who can help you fill your days in Vienna

One last thing about this pair, Vienna is somewhat expensive and Budapest is somewhat inexpensive so its a nice balance.

Here are four suggestions for hotels. Good to great locations. One or two of each type.

4 star: https://hoteloktogon.hu/ (popular with a lot of the RS folks)

3 star: https://medoshotel.hu/ (popular with a lot of the RS folks)
Apartment Hotels (might be better with the kids?): https://www.k46residence.com/ and https://www.collectresidence.com/ and https://www.operagardenhotel.hu/

And finally, I threw out Montenegro. That’s a really off the wall suggestion for January.

BUT, their Christmas is 7 January, so their markets run up to that date. Yes, they reportedly have a few. Temps will be 45F to 60F if they are normal. But things have been warmer than normal lately. So it is not terribly cold.

I can do these things because I live near by in Budapest. Well, you might be here too and thats almost living here.

The airfare for the 1:15 flight $90 round trip to $180 to $210 round trip depending on how you pack.

I am considering doing it this year. I love Montenegro that much.

So, you come to Budapest and do your thing until the 3rd, then you check out and store your luggage (i know where) and you board Wizzair with the underseat bag (actually they permit a fairly large bag for that) and it costs about $90 round trip.

I know a really nice sort of Eco-Lodge (need to check that they will be taking guests) with home cooked food family style and cooking lessons and sitting around with wine with the family. That I believe runs about $100 a night/room but again need to double check including meals. I might do that 2 to 3 nights and go into a town for the other nights. I go often so I know all of the people and its an easy stress free few days for me.

I'm still a little confused about the timeline of the German portion of your trip, but I will suggest a resource that might help make your decision. https://www.directflights.com can show you which destinations can be reached from Bremen (I assume you can fly just about anywhere from Berlin) by direct flight. This includes southern Spain and Mallorca. Double check the dates with the airline, of course.
I think the responses suggesting staying in Germany/Austria area were based on the understanding that the trip was JUST 12/29-1/10.

Thanks for this flight information link from Bremen- it will be super helpful!

Mr E'- wow! This is an amazing response and I'm looking forward to diving into it. I'm a bit swamped at the moment but will be back by Sunday. Thank you so much for your efforts and your obvious love of the area!

I missed Bremen airport. If that's the end of your travels in Germany, then there are connections to Vienna at pretty good prices.