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Easter in Vienna/Prague/Berlin

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe this Easter. After much thought, we've decided on Vienna-Prague-Berlin as our destinations. We'll fly the red-eye (to maximize time spent there) to Vienna and arrive on Holy Thursday, April 17th. We plan to stay in Vienna through Easter, taking a train to Prague on Monday the 21st (we thought that since so many places are closed for "Easter Monday," that would be a good day to travel). I'd absolutely like to take in services (in either English or German) during that Easter weekend-- open to suggestions!

We'll spend the afternoon of the 21st through the morning of Friday the 25th in Prague, when we'll take the train up to Berlin. We'll fly out Sunday morning on the 27th to go home-- we know it's a very short stay in Berlin, but I can't pass up the opportunity to visit, if only for a day and a half. (After studying German from grades 7-12, I can't pass up the opportunity to see Berlin-- if only for a short time-- let's hope I haven't forgotten everything in the 20+ years since high school!)

We're planning to stay in hotels rather than pensions... it's the first time in 20 years we'll be heading to Europe, so we're treating ourselves a bit. I'd like a bit of local flavor (not completely corporate hotel stays), while my husband would like to balance that with a little luxury-- our budget is approx. $200 per night). We are considering Hotel Josef in Prague; other than that, we're open to some recommendations.

Finally, are there any special things we need to know about being in Europe at Easter? Will everything be closed on Easter Monday, or will we be able to at least find some restaurants open? We'd like to balance sight-seeing with some more open-ended exploration, and are open to suggestions (even day trips we can access by train from our hub cities). Thanks for any and all help!

Posted by
8318 posts

Anne: You seem to have a good handle on your trip, and Easter Monday is a holiday in most places and a great time to travel between cities.

I'll be in Vienna and Prague 10 days before you, but we're staying in the small B&B in Vienna where Rick Steves stays @ 70 Euros. We stayed there 10 years ago, and it was great.

In Prague, we'll be in a 78 Euro apartment found on Booking.com. We're more comfortable staying in quieter accommodations in great locations--doing picnics, etc. We've also been known to cook a meal or two.

When I'm looking at a website like Booking.com, I'll first filter by price. Then, I'll go down the list looking for places with superlative customer ratings. It's done us well, as we've been finding great places online.

Our last trip was to Rome on Easter weekend, and it was very interesting. We toured out in the suburbs on Easter, and the tourist sights were empty. If you're wanting to go to Sunday services in Vienna, you don't necessarily have to go to St. Stephens Cathedral. There are many more incredible churches to visit where you can get into. You'll always find restaurants to eat in on Easter Sunday.

You're going to great cities, and have a wonderful time.

Posted by
14970 posts

Hi,

"...but I can't pass up the opportunity to visit (Berlin)...."

Great that you are squeezing in Berlin to the tight schedule, even if for a day and a half. I would too. If you take the early direct train 4+ hrs, you'll get there by noon. No need to concern yourself if your secondary school German (Schuldeutsch) will still function. Just being in the environment brings your linguistic skills back and enhances them.