Vienna, Prague and Berlin in 13 days

Each of those cities can keep you busy for a long time. I have no idea what any of them are like over the holidays, but from my perspective you have concentrated too much of your time in Vienna. Berlin has many, many interesting museums and historic sites. They are spread out over the city (requiring travel time) and tend to be time-consuming for those really interested in them. There aren't many place you pop into for an hour, in my experience. What I'm saying is that 4 days isn't going to feel all that long. I don't count the partial/arrival day because I'm too sleep-deprived/jetlagged to make effective use of it. Perhaps you'll be luckier. One negative to Berlin: It doesn't have much in the way of "Old Germany" architecture because of the wartime damage. If traditional exteriors are really important to you, you may have scheduled enough time there, and you should probably go to Potsdam.

You have planned only one full day in Prague. If you're returning to the US or Canada, you really shouldn't expect to accomplish much on Day 15 except for packing up, eating breakfast and getting yourself to the airport 3 hours before departure time. I'd give serious thought to whether one day and a few hours in Prague are worth the transportation time from Vienna (or Berlin) and possibly an otherwise-unnecessary connection (depending on where you live) on the way home. I really liked Prague; it's gorgeous. But for me that would be a frustratingly short visit, especially given how little daylight you'll have in late December.

I feel comfortable with that amount of time in Berlin, I think. We usually lose half a day on the travel day. We'll almost always land early early AM, we get breakfast, check into our hotel, get a nap and then go out mid afternoon/evening. My fiance mainly wants to see Berlin and will probably focus on the Berlin wall/WWII sites. I do love the Potsdam idea, though! Christmas Eve and Day must be in Vienna, for me, but I can probably cut one day off the end and add it to Prague. You're right, the final travel day won't have much sightseeing (or any) so the change would give us 2.5 days and three nights in Prague. I don't want to cut Vienna down any more because two full days of the "Vienna" time will be spent seeing small towns. We're currently thinking Halstatt, Salzburg or Wolfgangsee currently.

Day 1 - Arrive/Berlin (overnight in Berlin)
Day 2 - Berlin (overnight in Berlin)
Day 3 - Berlin (overnight in Berlin)
Day 4 - Berlin (overnight in Berlin)
Day 5 - Berlin (overnight in Berlin or Night Train to Vienna)
Day 6 - Vienna (overnight in Vienna)
Day 7 - CHRISTMAS Vienna (overnight in Vienna)
Day 8 - Vienna (overnight in Vienna)
Day 9 - Vienna/Day Trip (either overnight back in Vienna or overnight in country)
Day 10 - Vienna/Day Trip (overnight in Vienna)
Day 11 - Vienna (overnight in Vienna)
Day 12 - Vienna to Prague (overnight in Prague)
Day 13 - Prague (overnight in Prague)
Day 14 - Prague (overnight in Prague)
Day 15 - Prague (fly home)

I would question the order. A straight line from Berlin to Vienna goes through Prague.
More logical is : Berlin - (train) - Prague - (train) - Vienna - fly home.

and rent a car for the trip through the countryside.

Not sure where the car fits in, your plan just has 3 cities.

I would question the order. A straight line from Berlin to Vienna goes through Prague.
More logical is : Berlin - (train) - Prague - (train) - Vienna - fly home.

We have since decided to see Munich instead of Berlin. But the order was so we could take the night train and lose less time to traveling during the day. Thank you in any case!

Not sure where the car fits in, your plan just has 3 cities.

On days 10 and 11 I indicated we are taking day trips to the Austrian countryside we'll either stay in a town or travel back and forth from Vienna.

AnnaB,

A few thoughts based on your most recent post....

As you're experienced travellers, it's good that you've accounted for the two flight days. As others may have mentioned, it's better to plan on the basis of nights in a location rather than days.

If seeing WW-2 historic sites is a priority for you, both Munich and Berlin have lots of opportunities, including nearby concentration camps (Dachau or Sachsenhausen). As you're switching cities from Berlin to Munich, you could also make a trip to Berchtesgaden (that's very easy to do if you were to stay in Salzburg for a night or two). One point to note though, is that many historic sites will be operating on reduced hours in the winter, and some may be closed entirely (such as the famous Eagle's Nest).

Night trains are becoming less common, so I wouldn't focus too much on those. Most of cities you're visiting are relatively close, so fast day trains would be my choice. I assume you're using the DBahn website to research rail trips?

Your profile doesn't indicate where you're from, so a point regarding driving at that time of year. You may encounter winter driving conditions, so hopefully you're comfortable with that. Also, for driving in Austria, each driver listed on the rental will require an International Driver's Permit. If you rent the car in Germany and drive into Austria, you'll also need to buy the highway tax vignette (hefty fines if you're caught without it!).

I'll try to have another look at your last proposed Itinerary a bit later. You might find it really helpful to have a look at the RS guidebooks for the places you'll be visiting. They're a wealth of information and they'll be able to help you plan sighsteeing, hotels, transportation, etc.

Hi Ken,

Thanks for those suggestions! We noticed a lot of things either closed or open with limited hours in the winter months, but do want to see the Christmas markets as well. I believe we will definitely take the trip to Dachau while in Munich and if we head to Prague rather than spending time in Rothenburg, we'll brobably see some WWII things there, too.

My most recent post is here:

I have been having issues with my posts disappearing though, so possibly it's happened again.

So far I've just been using Man in seat 61 for reviews and things. That one has worked well for me in other countries. I will check out DBahn now, though. I think we'll have an easier time with the additional day. I was trying to pack too much in, and maybe still am, so thought I'd save any loss of time by taking the night train. The extra day will give us a chance to travel on the fast day trains and also let us take in any sights visible from the trains.

AnnaB,

I revised my previous reply to add a few points.

" I was trying to pack too much in, and maybe still am, so thought I'd save any loss of time by taking the night train."

If you don't sleep well on the night trains (frequent stops, train changes or whatever), you might find that you don't have a lot of energy for touring when you arrive in a new city. Also, as you'd probably be arriving in the morning, your next hotel may not let you check in right away so you'd have to stow your luggage in the lobby and check in later. I'll have another look at your latest Itinerary a bit later and add some suggestions.

This is the best website for researching rail trips anywhere in Europe (IMO) - https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml . However, they typically only sell tickets for trains originating in Germany, although there are some exceptions. If you wish to buy tickets in advance, have a look at www.trainline.com.

AnnaB,

Based on the last Itinerary you posted, is this along the lines of what you had in mind.....

D1 - Flight to Europe
D2 / N1 - Munich, touring
D3 / N2 - Munich, touring
D4 / N3 - Munich, touring (if you want an escorted tour to Dachau, have a look at Radius Tours. While you could do that trip on your own, it was great to have a guide along to answer questions and provide some background.
D5 / N4 - Munich, touring
D6 / N1 - Train to Vienna (there's a direct RJ departing Munich at 09:30, arriving Vienna Hbf at 13:30 (time 4H). That would get you there at about lunchtime, and it's late enough that your hotel might allow check in.
D7 / N2 - CHRISTMAS - touring or whatever
D8 / N3 - Vienna, touring
D9 / N4 - Vienna, touring
D10 / N5 - Vienna, touring
D11 / N6 - Vienna, touring
D12 / N1 - Train to Prague (there's a direct RJ train departing Wien Hbf at 09:10, arriving Praha hl.n at 13:13 (time 4H:03M). Again the hotel might allow check in at that time of the afternoon.
D13 / N2 - Prague, touring (if you want to see a significant WW-2 site in Prague, visit the small Museum below the St. Cyril & Methodius Cathedral.
D14 / N3 - Prague, touring
D15/ - Flight home

Salzburg would definitely be a good place to add perhaps two nights, as it's a beautiful city with lots of history. While there you could take a day trip to Berchtesgaden to visit the Dokumentation Centre & Bunkers. As I recall the trip is about an hour each way by DB Bus. However I'm not sure that Hallstatt would be a good choice at that time of year.

If you don't mind a longer day trip, you could perhaps spend a day in Budapest during your time in Vienna (about 2.5 hours each way).

That's all I can think of at the moment.

If you are really interested in history leaving out Berlin on a Europe trip is somehow a strange decision to me because Berlin has a lot of places of world history.

Maybe the best place to get an overview of German history is the German Historic Museum in Berlin, also no place in Europe was more standing for major changes of the continent than Berlin. You will also find two concentration camp memorials nearby but also the other side of that part of history.

Think of Cold War: Berlin was for decades the front line of a global conflict which was finally not solved by weapons. Think of German Reich with emperors who ruled in Berlin - and also palaces in Potsdam. Think of Weimar Republic which was announced initially in Berlin (even then not called "Weimar" which was 1919).

Also the symbolic buildings such as Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, New Synagogue, the cathedrales, Palace of Tears, TV tower, ...

Just my view on that. Whatever you do, have a great journey.

Hi,

Keep in mind that you can take the night train (more than one choice) from Vienna to Berlin and also from Vienna to Munich, if you want to use those options.

My first trip to Europe (summer 1971) included both Vienna and Berlin as well as Munich. If it's history you are focusing on, I would suggest Vienna and Berlin, especially if you are interested in Prussian history and the contrast between these 2 capitals historically within the framework of "dualism" (Dualismus) in German history. It all depends the level of your historical interest.

True that choosing Munich over Berlin may make more logistical sense, again I see that as a matter of priorities. If you intend to see 3 cities, skip Prague, choose Munich, Vienna and Berlin instead.