Winter in Europe

Many places increase their price for lodging that time of year. I traveled in the exact same time period. I spent most of the time in a Paris apartment and was lucky the owner didn't charge me extra. I was in Amsterdam for only one night, but our 'moderately' priced B&B was twice as expensive as the place we stayed at in Bruges. I've never been to Stockholm, but have always understood Scandinavia to be quite expensive. What kind of places are you hoping to stay in? Hostels, B&B's, hotels? I would start looking now, as that is a popular time for people to travel. As for a shoestring budget, keep in mind that the more traveling around you do the more your trip will cost. Amsterdam and Salzburg are not near each other, so transportation could be costly.

No matter how much string there is on your shoes Salzburg, Stockholm and Amsterdam will all be cold at that time of year. And if this winter coming is anything like the last two ...

I didn't mention the cold because he is from Michigan. I assume he is used to it. Being a California girl, I froze. The warmest it ever got during that two week trip was 33 degrees.

Coming from Michigan and its "lake-effect weather", European winter temperatures probably won't bother you. As others have noted- Stockholm, Salzburg and Amsterdam are all fairly distant from each other. Two weeks is a reasonable amount of time for these three destinations, but you will chew up a lot of your "shoestring budget". For practical purposes, daylight hours at that time of year are very short, even compared to a northerly state like Michigan. And the few hours of light you do get are often gray and hazy. What relevance does this have? It means that unless you specifically want to ski or do other winter sports, your time would be best spent primarily in cities, where the reduced visibility will effect your sight-seeing considerably less.

Salzburg is really far away (and a fairly small destination) for your original location and the other places you want to see. If you want to save money, stay in one general "area". However the Scandanavian countries are not cheap, in fact they're some of the priciest places in Europe. So you could get out of the north ASAP after the wedding, skip Stockholm and Amsterdam, and concentrate on a cheaper area - like Germany/Austria.

Sarah writes, "Salzburg is really far away (and a fairly small destination) for your original location and the other places you want to see. If you want to save money, stay in one general 'area.'" I've done some January travel in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy recently, and maybe I've been fortunate, but things went well. The Netherlands and the Rhineland were cold but not frigid. Florence and Rome weren't balmy either, but in all these places we had several hours of sunshine as a rule. I don't think you should worry much about staying close to Oslo or Norway, generally, at this time of year. A Ryanair (or other cheap carrier) flight can have you in more temperate places within a couple of hours. At that point, it's generally wise to do as Sarah suggests and not spend too much on ground transportation - keep your travel circle tight if possible. But it's also wise to be aware of special offers. If you're set on A'dam and Salzburg, you can probably do that cheaply by train. It's an 8-hour trip that would normally cost about $200. But DB (German Railways) offers advance-sale deals at 39€ for A'dam to Munich if you jump on these prices 92 days in advance. (I just looked at Sept. 4 as an example and found this price.)

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Two can travel all over Bavaria (next door to Salzburg) for 26€/day total on a Bayern Ticket daypass, which covers Salzburg, Munich, and much more. Other states have similar offers. Innkeepers in Germany sometimes require a surcharge in winter for heating. But hostels do not, and they tend to be pretty underused at this time. Germany has around 600 official (DJH) hostels. They're generally a good bargain compared to big-city alternatives. Some regions offer winter hostel deals to draw guests. In the Rhine/Mosel area, a family of up to 6 gets a 2-night stay in a family room, 2 breakfasts and one dinner for all, for a total of 39-74€ depending on grade of hostel (between Nov. 15 and Mar. 15., some holiday black-out dates.)

Andrea, looking for hostels or hotels. Hope to have a place in Stockholm with friends or long lost relatives. Knowing Scandanavia is expensive is why we hoped to do some touring further south. Looking at the 2 hostels in Salzburg, both are full and a 3rd hasn't opened yet. Do many hostels have private rooms? Wife doesn't like dorm style. Nigel, If temps. are near freezing, we'll be fine. Live on 45th parallel. Picked Salzburg as I was nearly born there and hope to see where dad was stationed and the castle mom talked about. May have to keep this stop short. Tom, only 1 hr. sunlight in Norway in January. Stay with city touring sounds good. Hope to X-C ski. Recommendations other than in Scandanavia? Sarah, Norway wedding will probably be at the end of our trip. Where is best place to stay in Germany and do a day trip to Salzburg? May not stay in Amsterdam, just tour for the day while passing through. Thanks all for your help. Keep the comments coming.

we'll be fine. Live on 45th parallel OK, but Amsterdam is 52.3 degrees North, Stockholm is 59.3 - even Salzburg is beyond 47. Don't forget what happened to Napoleon (and that funny guy with the strange mustache) when he went east in the winter.

"Do many hostels have private rooms? Wife doesn't like dorm style." Nowadays it's tougher to find huge dorm rooms. Many hostels have been remodeled to accommodate families, and rooms tend to be mostly of the 2-4-6 bed variety now. Many are en suite (private bath.) Check the room descriptions and photos for this German hostel near Salzburg in Berchtesgaden as an example: http://www.jugendherberge.de/jh/bayern/berchtesgaden/ausstattung/05830.shtml.en Official German hostel site: http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/ Official Austrian hostels: http://www.oejhv.at/index.php?id=28&L=1 Official Dutch hostels: http://www.stayokay.com/?language=en

"Hope to X-C ski. Recommendations other than in Scandanavia?" Many of the larger resort towns in the Alps have "Langlaufen" courses, but they're not as common as down-hill skiing. Although I haven't specifically looked, I have not seen any places where you can rent cross country skis.

Munich and Salzburg are only about 2 hours apart by train, so basing out of one to see the other makes sense. Alternatively, you could enjoy Vienna. It's a bit further away from Salzburg but it's an idea. Not that any of those 3 cities are cheap, but my understanding is that they're still a lot cheaper than Scandinavia. If you're already thinking of spending more time in Germany, I know that X-C skiing is big in the Black Forest area. Where prices are quite reasonable.

Russ, just missed your msg. yesterday. Thanks for the heads up on rail prices. I'm still researching rail rates. Lots to sort through. Plans will likely have us there during holidays so not sure how many low rates we'll find. Thanks for the Hostel links too. Nigel, LOL, yes you are further north but get the warm ocean currents to moderate temps. and not nearly the snow we get here. Do hope for snow in Sweden and Norway. Tom, sounds like here, many down hill ski areas but X-C trails are not advertised nearly as much and rentals are hard to find too. Thanks Sarah, I'll look for more info online. All the research is fun but really appreciate any and all help provided. It narrows my focus considerably.
Many areas celebrate Christmas and the New Year. Are there any that are extra special? Not necessarily big but meaningful and cultural.