Hotels Budapest, Vienna

It's all a matter of personal taste and enjoyment. I can only relate our experience with Vienna. The horses were grand, the Mozarts were pests. The general feel of the environment was a little cold and sterile. The plan was 4 days Vienna and 3 in Budapest. It was 2002 and Budapest was still hard to research at the time. We had no idea what were going to get into so we thought the longer stay in Vienna would be a good way to play it safe. After 3 days in Vienna we woke up in the morning and knew it was time to leave. 3.5 hours later we were in Budapest. Since that day in 2002 we have been back to Budapest a dozen times. We now own property in Budapest (yes, nutty) and we return 2 to 3 times a year. Since that day in 2002 we have also driven past Vienna once on the way to Melk. Cesky Krumlov is an A+ trip. Wish I could remember the name of the hotel we stayed in. We got the "Presidential Suite" for about 80 euro and had a balcony that faced the castle. Outstanding! Love the town. If you are traveling Prague, Cesky Krumlov and back to Prague you hit one wonderful castle on the way down and anoter on the way back. Not to be missed if at all possible. Prague, eeeeee, welllllll, okay. So for my taste you must see Vienna, but 3 days is enough if you can add a day to Budapest. Again, this is all personal and not intended to denigrate the taste or enjoyments of other folks.

Oh, the credit card. Yup its common. Is it smart? Possibly not. Especially with a small company. With Marriot i wouldnt worry or with the K&K chain in europe i wouldnt worry (my favorite in Budapest by the way). My bank will issue me a temporary card number for just such ocassions. You might look into that if you are worried.

Castles south of Prague on the way to Cesky Krumlov ............................................................................................. http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d923b3127cceced0d1190d5600000010O09AZsXDdo5Zg9vPhQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/ ............................................................................................. http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d923b3127cceced11508ac5900000010O09AZsXDdo5Zg9vPhQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/ ............................................................................................. Views from room balcony in Cesky Krumlov ............................................................................................. http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d923b3127cceced135272d5600000010O09AZsXDdo5Zg9vPhQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/ .............................................................................................. http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d923b3127cceced13c0f6de200000010O09AZsXDdo5Zg9vPhQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/ .............................................................................................. The hotel Ventana in Prague (excellent) .............................................................................................. http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d923b3127cceced128056de200000010O09AZsXDdo5Zg9vPhQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/ ............................................................................................. The hotel in Prague is to the right and slightly behind the church. Note ALLLLLL the people. Disney Land! .............................................................................................
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I would not give up a day in Vienna for Budapest. Budapest is very nice but a lot of construction around the city right now. For a great place to stay in Vienna Pension Sacher. Go to www.flickr.com and look at pictures of Vienna and Budapest. Vienna is not stuffy or grand. Very nice city with a great center. You will love Prague and CK.

Never my intention to denegrate Prague or the V town. Your observations and feelings are the reason that there exist so many place to see; no two are alike and not two people will find the same enjoyment no matter where they go. BUT, rather than finding the negatives of any place why don't we take this opportunity to extol the virtues as seen through different eyes. Explain your feelings about Vienna in such a way as to ignite the interest of someone who shares your interests or perspective. This sort of poetic marketing (for need of a better word) does provide a lot of help for people looking for new experiences. I'm serious here. Talk to us.

Another way to provide credit card # is to split it between two e-mails. Send an e-mail with the first eight digits and an explanation of what you're doing, then send another right away with the remaining digits and expiration date. This has worked for me in other situations. I think the theory is that e-mail traffic is so immense that no interception program will capture both of your messages. But I just checked the Kalvin House website and it looks like they use booking.com for reservations, and booking.com displays the little padlock icon that tells you your info is secure. That's how we made our reservation there for June 12-15 (so maybe we'll see you). So are you sure you need to use regular e-mail at all?

Hi Carol. My computer guru tells me I can split the cc number into 2 emails. But I usually email them that I will telephone them with the information and that works fine. (and for the previous poster, sometimes if you go directly through the hotel rather than a booking agency, you get a better rate) It's not quite clear exactly how much time you have in each city. For instance, are you arriving in Vienna June 6 in the evening and leaving on June 10 in the morning? That would give you 3 full days in Vienna, and much of the 10th in Budapest. Then 3 full days in Budapest, and at some point on the 14th going to the airport? That sounds about right for me. I think there is more to see in Budapest, and as you intimate, it is much different from the West. In Vienna I made the mistake of going to both the Schonbrunn Palace and the Hofburg. The Schonbrunn is better. Skip the Hofburg - the state apartments are almost identical to those at the Schonbrunn (but the Schonbrunn has more rooms on display) and the Sisi Museum was more than I ever wanted to know about Sisi and the Imperial Silver Collection was enormous (yawn, yawn). And the Schonbrunn has lovely gardens as well. There are several quirky (but very interesting) museums in Budapest. The Post Office Museum is a real charmer. The Museum of Ethnology has traditional dress and customs of many different areas of Hungary. The Holocaust Memorial is very well done. The Museum of Applied Arts - just go inside to see the architecture, it's like being inside a wedding cake.

I agree the Schonbrunn Palace is the one to see. Don't miss the carriage museum. In a separate building and a separate ticket. Give at least four hours total for the palace and the gardens. Opera house is scheduled tours only and buying tickets in advance can save time there too not standing in long lines. Food in Vienna is very, very good and English widely spoken. People are very friendly. I too thought of Vienna as more of a formal place. Not true at all. In Budapest there is a tour of the Parliment building. Buy tickets in advance on line. Lines can be very long. Didn't find the people as friendly or the food as good in Budapest. One very, very good place to eat is the Gerlockzy Cafe. t There were four of us that did the same trip you are taking. All four of us agreed Prague was the favorite followed by Vienna and then Budapest. Been to Prague several times and Vienna twice. Once in Budapest and I wouldn't go back. Ages from 66 to 28. Not saying Budapest is not a great place to see, but once is enough.

I've been to Budapest four times and love it! I've never had a problem giving out my credit card information to reserve a hotel room. If the hotel doesn't have a secure site, then I simply call them and give them the information over the phone. I have found the Hungarian people to be very friendly and the food extremely good (contrary to some other comments made by travelers). Having been to both Budapest and Vienna, I would recommend spending more time in Budapest. I prefer eastern Europe anyway. I also recommend visiting the House of Terror, Statue Park, and any of the Baths. If you have a full day open, take the train to the town of Szentendre; about an hour away.