What to see between Amsterdam & Vienna in 4-5 Days

Andrea, after having visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam your daughter might be interested to see her birth house in Frankfurt and - just around the corner - the house she moved to at age 2 and where she spent her childhood. The Frankfurt cathedral, more than 1,000 years old is also the one where all Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations where crowned. North of Frankfurt you can find the Limes, the Northern fortified border of the Roman Empire. South of Frankfurt Heidelberg is a city packed with history. Of course another city packed with history would be Berlin, where you find remains of the various eras of the city: Berlin as capital of the Prussion kingdom, the German Reich, Hitler's Reich (Third Reich), the cold war era with Eastern Berlin being capital of the German Democratic Republic separated from UK/US/French West Berlin by a misanthropical wall. An hour south of Berlin lies Wittenberg, where Martin Luther...

... started the protestant church movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittenberg). And then there's always Munich and the surroundings with beautiful castles of Bavarian kings. Munich played a dominant role in Hitler's Germany as well...

I love Amsterdam, it’s one of my favourite cities but you have to know what you are letting yourself in for. Anne Frank house is something I would recommend for anyone, but in order to get there your kids are going to see a lot more than you may have bargained for. Be aware that you are going to a city where drugs and sex are sold openly. Enjoy Amsterdam, it’s one of the world’s greatest cities, but understand the character of the city.

We vistied the Ann Frank house then took a water taxi to the Rijksmuseum....teenagers would enjoy both. I would also suggest the Van Gogh museum...

Another suggestion - Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland....day trips to Wengen, Murren and Gimmelwald...

http://www.valleyhostel.ch/index.php?lan=e&pag=0

Hostel rates are very inexpensive. The scenery is majestic and the train trip is awesome.

Since you are going to Vienna, you will be in the absolute heart of history. The Habsburg's were the absolute center of control for Europe for centuries.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Very much appreciated.

Could use suggestions on train travel by day or night, best rails to get where we want to go? Thanks again everyone for your assistance.

Andrea, My first recommendation is the Corrie ten Boom (http://www.corrietenboom.com/exhbits.htm) house in Haarlem, RS's favored place to stay in the Amstedam area. I did 3 trips to Amsterdam trying to get to the A.F. House and have to admitt that I liked this one better; no lines, personal tour, looks just as it did when they were captured.
On the trian suggestions, it depends on what you want to see. This is a trip I've made a number of times and Amsterdam and Vienna could easily use up your 4-5 days. Are you meeting your father in Vienna or going on to Hungary? I'd try to take at least one night train in there, but if you want to do some of Germany or maybe Salzberg too you might be hopping on and off at various places Frankfurt, Munich, Salzberg, Vienna would be my sight seeing route. If you want specifics, contact me.
Linda