Help with itinerary please

Some of the most common side trips are: From Prague: Cesky Krumlov. There are coaches that will take you down and back in a day but we were glad we spent the night and could have spent two nights. If you arrange private transportation of some sort there are some really, really nice castles between Prague and Cesky Krumlov. From Vienna: The Abbery at Melk is a good day trip. Bratislava the cap of Slovakia is also a commond day trip (neve done it). Some people go as far as Salzburg for a night. Reports are mixed but I'm intrigued enough to put it on a future list. Halfway between Vienna and Budapest (on the direct rail line) is Gyor which has a great old center, square, markets, synagogue, rivers, etc. And best of all the Archabbey at Pannonhalma is a cab ride away. From Budapest is Szentendre a small artist town. In good weather take the commuter train up and the river taxi back. The palace at Godollo is another short commutter train away. Eger the wine town is about 3 hours by train and makes a good overnight trip. Tihany on lake Balaton. I guess I'll stop here since if you spend one night in Cesky K., four nights in Vienna, one night in Gyor and Five nights in Budapest you pretty much filled your time. Here's another wild suggestion. Head straight to Vienna, spend two or three nights then catch a flight out to Bucharest where you can meet a private guide that will take you cross country (hotels included) through the wonders of Transylvania for about the same cost per day as a nice hotel in Vienna. After about four days you will find your self safely delivered to Budapest by the same gentleman. Now spend four days in Budapest. That would be my perfect trip. I'm not a big Vienna fan but I think you can get the flight to Hucharest from there. If you like the idea i will send you the guides name. (we did this once)

Rick Steves Eastern Europe has more details on this region, so you should get a copy for more information. In addition to James's suggestions: From Prague, you can do a long day trip or (better) an overnight in Olomouc; I found this an interesting contrast to Prague, as it is still being polished. Thanks to the express train, it's actually a shorter journey from Prague to Olomouc than it is from Prague to Czesky Krumlov (which is lovely). My sister did a day trip from Prague to Kutna Hora, and enjoyed her tour of the silver mine. She did warn that it's not for the claustrophobic. She also liked the town (I didn't get to go). From Budapest, the "classic" day trip is Szentendre, but I preferred Vac. This is not in Rick's books; I found it in Frommers Budapest, which was a good complement to the info from Rick. The mummies under the main square were worth the trip in themselves, as was my meal there (cream of garlic soup, and pizza with goat cheese and ham - yummy!) I did not like Eger as much as others seem to, but I liked Pecs a lot (this was not in Rick's book when I went, but it is now). This is a few hours from Budapest, so it would be a rushed day trip or a good overnight. I'm interested in Sopron (in Hungary, near the Austrian border, and not far from Vienna), but haven't been yet.

thanks James and Harold - I do have the RS Eastern Europe - tho' it's from 2006 :) It's great to have a way to get ideas from other travellers, too. I'm now thinking about renting a car and driving from Prague to CK and enjoying the countryside ....dropping the car in Brno and then train to Vienna.
I love your ideas for daytrips out of Vienna and I'm really excited to be spending time in Budapest - it gets the most opposite of opinions... thanks again for your help

"I'm really excited to be spending time in Budapest - it gets the most opposite of opinions..." Doesn't it? I liked it a lot, and I think the key part of this (and to the region in general) is to realize that each of the cities in this region are different. Prague, Vienna and Budapest are spoken of as triplets, and of course they are not only close geographically, but have a shared history. But they're as different as apples, oranges, and bananas. I know of one person who loved Prague, and another who loved Vienna; each was disappointed in Budapest, because they saw it through a Prague or Vienna filter, and were expecting it to be "the same." It isn't.

While you are 6 nights in Prague you can do some easy day trips. Castle Karlstejn, Kutna Hora (it is in Rick Steves book: Prague & the Czech Republic). On the way from Prague to C.K. by car you can stop at chateau Konopiste (in R.S. book), Tabor - interesting medieval town founded not by king or nobility but by religious rebels Hussites. They have also their museum in the town. Google Jan Hus, hussites, Jan Zizka. I would also recommend stopping in Trebon (also in R.S. book), Ceske Budejovice (german name Budweiss). If you are interested or like beer you can visit original Budweiser brewery (beer from there IMHO much better than the one from St.Louis). On the way from C.K. to Brno there is Telc, beautiful little town in UNESCO cultural heritage list. If you still have car and time very close north of Brno there are Punkva caves (IMHO the best in C.R.). Half of a tour is on the underground river and lake. If you are into history less than 15 miles east of Brno there is a famous Austerlitz Battlefield with a memorial and museum. (Austerlitz=Slavkov in Czech).

both gyor and sopron look beautiful ....added to between Vienna/Budapest Ilja - my husband is very interested in battlefields and war history - thanks for the tip. I like the sound of the caves. We being able to get to the smaller villages/towns. I see you're Seattle - do you fly Delta to AMS as the best route over? My list of 'see this' is getting nice and long - the hard part is whittling it down so we don't rush and just tick boxes. Driving from Prague - where would you spend the night(s)? I've heard that CK doesn't make a great center for day trips...???
For the sights near Brno - would it be best to stay there for 1...2... nights?

For your husband: http://www.dukla-battlefield.com/ Little known (in the west) WWII battlefield. The biggest in former Czechoslovakia. Now in Slovakia. Disadvantage: relatively out of your way. Advantage: a lot of beautiful countryside around, nearby High Tatras. Krakow not that far away. I almost always fly Delta via Amsterdam to Prague. Other options with only one change of plane are Frankfurt, London, Paris. I tried all of them. IMHO the best is Amsterdam then Frankfurt, London, Paris. Where to spend night between Prague and C.K. it all depends. But if you stop on the way in chateau Konopiste and Tabor (like we did) then stay in Trebon. We stayed in hotel Bohemia (about 10 minutes walk from the center). The hotel is right on the shore of a relatively big manmade lake. Right next to it is a fish restaurant where you can order fish from that lake. Cesky Krumlov is certainly worth to stay overnight because day crowds disappear. In Brno we stayed in Penzion Brno: http://www.penzionbrno.eu/en
No luxury, reasonable price, place to park your car off the street close to your room, outdoor swimming pool. Penzion is in a nice quiet leafy neighborhood. It is slightly farther than 3 minutes by car (as they advertise) from the center of Brno. If you want something more upscale there are many other possibilities. South of Brno is wine country. Czech wine is not well known abroad because Czechs drink it all and almost nothing get exported. But especially white wines are excellent. Check: http://salonvin.cz It's also in English. The problem for you is that there is so much to see and not enough time for it.

If your husband like battle grounds and war history then Budapest will be one big living museum complete with machine gun bullet riddled walls; some from '56 and some from '44/45. They are still there. There is a museum on Andrassy ut called the House of Terror. Excuse the name. The building was at various times fascist secret police HQ, Nazi HQ and Communist police HQ. The exhibits including the dungeon are excellent. Another place of interest is "The Hospital in the Rock" which was built before WWII as a hospital. It was used heavily during the siege and after the communists took over it was forgotten and never spoken of. Of course, it was still there; a secret underground atomic bomb shelter. Now you can tour it. For that matter I own a cold war era bomb shelter in downtown Budapest. If he has any interest is the cold war he should read a couple of books before you leave: "The Forbidden Sky: Inside the Hungarian Revolution" by Endre Marton; written by a Cold War era news reporter in Budapest that worked for a western news agency. The second book; "Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America" by Kati Marton was written by the daughter of the first author and chronicles the truths she uncovered about her parents when she gained access to the secret police records pertaining to her parents. The places and a lot of the atmosphere described in the books still exists. One of the most interesting WWII books involving Budapest that I have read was "Katzner's Train" which chronicles a man's attempt to save (buy the lives of) Jews before and during the deportations.

And
About an hour outside of Budapest is Tata, a very pretty small town with a small "castle" and some nice lakes. Not far from Tata is the Monostori Er?d (fortress) in the town of Komarom. The fortress was constructed in the late 19th century to guard a bend in the Danube. The Soviets used it to house the largest store house of munitions outside of the Soviet Union. This place is wonderfully intact and you can wander the facilities at will.

WOW - thanks Ilja and James for great info.

O.K. I will also add some nonfiction literature about the area you are going to visit about not so remote past. Madeleine Albright: Prague Winter Victor Sebestyen: Twelve Days - The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution Anne Applebaum: Iron Curtain - The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956. The emphasis is on East Germany, Poland, Hungary.
I read all of them and can recommend for somebody who is interested in history. Madeleine Albright book is more than just history.

Linda, As regards to the interest in war history, I would suggest the Military/Army History Museum in Budapest. It's located on a hill.

The Museum of War Its located in Buda in the castle district (top of a hill) in the extreme north west corner of the district (face the Vienna gate then turn left). What interests me most when the topic of Hungary's history in WWII and the Cold War comes up is that so many of the references in the historic accounts are still standing and still serving purposes in the fabric of the town. That's one reason I recommend the books; you can read where so and so was imprisoned and then walk into that same prison, still in use today, see the yard where the "walks" took place and really get a connection. I don't want to make it trivial, but I do think these reminders are good medicine for complacency.

thanks everyone for the book suggestions - even tho' my husband is the history buff I always try to pick up books to read either set in or about the places I'm visiting. Now that I don't have to carry each of them with me (kindle) I can bring lots more to enjoy while travelling. I've been trying to pin down itinerary so I haven't looked much at each city yet - thanks for the museum tip in Buda. About that - other than rail tickets are there other thngs that I should schedule or buy in advance?
I am thinking about a guide for a few hours in each ciy - Prague, Vienna, Budapest - we had a fantastic experience in Italy and it got me to realize it's worth it for a very personal introduction to a place. thanks for sharing your expert opinions

Rick Steves recommends guides in his books. I have known and used a gentleman in Budapest named Andrew ILLES for about 10 years now; so you might guess I think he is pretty good. http://www.guideinbudapest.com/. Another thing you would want to get long in advance is theater tickets if you plan to go to the Opera, Ballet, Operett, etc. They sell out quickly, especially in Budapest. Generally they will go on sale 90 days before the performance but i would start checking the websites about 4 months early just to be sure. You can get everything but the Operett tickets at http://www.jegymester.hu/ The Operett tickets are available through their website at http://www.operettszinhaz.hu/
Train tickets need to be purchased a few days before departure as i understand you will get better prices that way. They can be purchased when you get in the country. Metro passes can be bought in country. The "Budapest Card" isnt a great deal for most people so unless you plan to go to a lot of museums and buy a lot of tourist trinkets I would skip that. Vienna and Prague might have similar "deals" so look close at them. I mention them because the Budapest Card can be purchased in advance.

James - since my RS book is 2006, I'm wary of outdated info, especially about guides. Much better to get your personal recommendation from experience. thanks for providing ticketing websites. Makes trip planning so much easier. I think we'll be staying at the K&K Opera...
I really appreciate your help - thanks

If you choose the K&K you choose well. I have an apartment nearby and choose the neighborhood because its just a great part of town. If you go to the following website there is a file you can download that is called "The Guide.pdf" It was put together to help our guests and its pretty location specific which works good for you since the K&K is in the same neighborhood. http://budapestflat.shutterfly.com/fivedaysinbudapest