Hello! I have a business trip with a speaking engagement on 13 Oct in Berlin and my family is coming along. We've honed in on the following cities that, if we had just a little bit more time, we would visit. However, we are still deciding how long we'll stay in central Europe, but probably about 12 days total. Kids are young, 6 years old and 1.5 - both good travelers and flexible / easygoing kids.
- Vienna (This seems like an easy point to include because we have direct flights from Washington to Vienna)
- Budapest (While this is further afield, I really want to see Budapest if at all possible).
- Prague (friends in Czech Republic, although not Prague but they'd meet us, and I have always wanted to go)
- Berlin (I must include a trip to Berlin, as I have a biz trip there lasting 1.5 days and would also like to spend additional time sightseeing)
- Back to Vienna to fly out? Or Fly out from Berlin or elsewhere?
I realize I will probably have to take at LEAST one of these cities off, possibly two. However, we are budget limited travelers and won't be back to this area again soon, and I don't mind seeing highlights of the places without digging deep, even though I know others disagree with that approach. On the other hand, we don't want to feel like we've made that trek only to spend 2/3 of our time getting from place to place (though scenic train rides are great!).
While kid-friendly spots are helpful, i'm not looking for that exclusively. But I'd avoid spots where the music stops if you walk in with them. :) We're also not going to do concentration camps, because that would be too much for our two.
Of these cities, I'd probably strike Vienna first, albeit reluctantly. On the other hand, Vienna is the logical in and out point, because i can get a direct flight there from DC. We are open to other ideas.
Any suggested itineraries? Before kids, my husband and I did a lot of winging it, but we need to plan this one out more carefully than that!
Finally, I travel with a carseat, which I'm not exactly sure what to do about - the carseat will be a huge pain to lug around once there. Maybe there's an alternative...but I don't like to fly without it for safety reasons. It almost makes me want to rent a car for the travel, but, I don't know anything about insurance, driving within countries, etc. Thanks again for all of the help!