Trying to fit too much in

We have 40 days - is that enough to do it all?

Doesn't look too rushed to me, except for one detail. Switerland is out of your way, because your general flow moves you northeast from Italy, and Switzerland is to the northwest. And you're passing through the Alps anyway along your route to Vienna and Prague. So... cut Switzerland and I think you'll be OK.

So I figure as a minum:

Travel Days 8
Milan 2 days
Lakes District in Italy 2
Zurich and other places in Switzerland 4
Prague 3
Vienna 2
Budapest 4
Cesky Kumlov 1
Bratislava 1
Krakow 2
Warsaw 2
Berlin 2

So a bare minimum of 33 days. Do some research and expand days in the locations that you are most interested in.

You didn't mention how you were going to get around, public transport or a rental car. Assuming public transport, trains, busses, etc this is a start. The problems are always Krakow and Cesky Krumlov. Neither has just wonderful connections. A day trip to Cesky sort of cheats you of the time to enjoy it when the tourists are gone in the early morning and evening.

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http://goo.gl/maps/uAwRb

"A day trip to Cesky sort of cheats you of the time to enjoy it when the tourists are gone in the early morning and evening."

I agree. I had originally planned this as a day-trip from Prague but after more research and reading on this forum I have changed my mind. I didn't like the idea of 6 hours transport time to enjoy a few mid-day crowded hours in the town. So I changed my itinerary and I'm using it as a bridge between Munich and Prague. I'll get in about 3:00pm and have the late afternoon and evening to explore, have dinner, maybe hit a pub or music venue and then I'll have until about 3:00pm the next afternoon before my train to Prague, so I'll get the less crowded evening and morning to, hopefully, snap some good photos.

Thanks for your ideas. We will be travelling around mostly by train. Are there any places where it would be better to take a bus or where travel to a particular place will be difficult? I vaguely recall reading about problems getting from Cesky Kumlov to Budapest? Difficult train connections or something like that.

Train travel time is close to a full day between several of these destinations. There is an overnight train available from Zurich to Prague, or maybe you'd fly. Rick's Cost & Time map at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/cost-maps gives you an overview of travel time, plus full-fare 2nd class train ticket rates. From Cesky Krumlov, you can take a private van shuttle to Linz through Pension Lobo or Sebastian Tours, under 1.5 hours, then train from Linz to Vienna takes another 1.5 hours.

I would love to skip Switzerland but Graham really wants to go there and it was dropped from our last trip so I won't get away with it this time. On the other hand I really want to see Poland and Berlin. I think we will probably need to do a speed trip through Prague and Budapest and maybe skip Vienna as we have both been there before. How can I speed up the middle section of the trip without missing too much?

I went to Berlin and Poland for the first time last year and loved them. Poland is still great value for money, I think, and has so much to offer.