I’ve hinted at this a few times, but it’s time to confirm it – we will be returning to Europe in 2014! Not much of a surprise, I know, but Soctt and I have been planning this out for awhile and now that we’ve got some stuff booked, today felt like a good day to post about it.
Of course, the burning question is “Where are you going this time?”. Well, I’m so glad you asked! Here is this year’s itinerary:
- Budapest, Hungary
- Berlin, Germany
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Munich, Germany
- Zurich, Switzerland
We’re going to be traveling in the Aug/Sep timeframe again, but we’re taking just over two weeks instead of a full three weeks this time. That’s actually more in line with the traveling I’ve always done in the past, so I would imagine that’s the trend we’ll continue on in the future. In fact, the only other time I took a three-week trip aside from last year was in 2012 and that was only because I wasn’t able to take an international trip in 2011 due to grad school, so I decided to make up for it the following year. Obviously that means we won’t have as much time in each location, but based on our experience last year, I feel confident that we’ll still get to see and do a lot by spending 3-4 nights in each city. The exception to that is Zurich, which we added to the end of the trip (we’re only spending two nights there).
So what have we booked so far? We’ve got the round-trip airfare from Minneapolis (flying into Budapest and out of Zurich), airfare from Budapest to Berlin, and apartments in each city via Airbnb already booked. We’ve definitely been looking at day trip options for each city, but haven’t booked any of them yet. Scott has done some research into transportation to the other cities, but we haven’t booked them yet because we’re likely taking trains for most, if not all, of it and you typically can’t book train tickets more than 90 days out because timetables are subject to change.
I say this every year, but I really can’t wait for this trip! All of the cities and countries on this trip are totally new to both of us, so I’m looking forward to us exploring them together.
Since these places are new to both of us though, I’d love to hear from you! If you’ve been to any of these cities before, what do you recommend seeing and doing? What hidden gems do we need to see? What great restaurants should we visit? What are the tourist traps to avoid? Have you been on any great day trips from any of these cities? Post a comment below and let me know!
That One Guy Who Travels 
Out of those 5 destinations, I’ve only been to Munich, and only for 2 days, but I loved it. I hope you guys have fun in Europe. So exciting! Happy travels!
Two days is more time than I’ve spent there. 🙂 What were the must-see things to do and see in the two days you were there?
Definitely join one of the walking tours! There’s a guided walking tour that starts at the Marienplatz every 11 AM (if I remember correctly). The one I joined was guided by a guy named Jon Wilkes and he was very funny and informative. The tour really gave me a better perspective on Munich. It works on a tip basis so you can give what you can. I would also recommend climbing up the tower of St. Peter’s Church — great view of the city. 🙂
Good info!
Just stumbled upon your blog after doing a search on travel times between Munich and Zurich. We too are recreational travelers. It would be a dream come true to travel and photograph beautiful places, but someone else write. My writing is lacking IMO, but I try!
We too live in the Minneapolis area. Since moving here 6 years ago I have developed a serious case of Wanderlust – must be the weather!
Our trip this August is Munich, Fussen, Zurich, Interlaken up to the Swiss Alps (Berner Oberland) and either fly back home from Zurich or Amsterdam. The mountain remoteness has made it a bit more time consuming. Last year we had 16 days and all major hubs, this year is 12 days and more remote areas, so very interested in travel times to and from.
Sounds like you and your SO have a great itinerary. And we LOVE the UK too! Just took a trip there this past March and had the best time.
Christine
How cool! Your itinerary sounds awesome, too. I can imagine how the mountain aspect makes travel kore difficult, but it will be totally worth it!
Christine, the Interlaken area and the mountain towns up into the Alps is gorgeous place to visit. The trains aren’t super-fast, but they do run on time and there’s so much to see out the window. The train trip up to Jungfraujoch, to a station above the glacier, is a unique and amazing experience — a bit pricey, but worth it I think (esp. when you think that they did have to tunnel an incline railroad through a mountain!).
Thanks for the info Andy! We finally finalized our itinerary. I am happy to say we figured it out! This trip proved to be a bit more detailed vs. our last trip to Europe. The trains (all the different rail lines) proved to be a challenge, but we figured it out! Big smile!
We decided to skip the night in Fussen and just stay in Munich. We decided to fly to Zurich from Munich and just get on the rail there to Murren in the Berner Oberland.
The train from Munich to Murren was 9+ hours with multiple stops and switches with less than 5 minutes between some stops. Too stressful for the leisure travelers that we are! Flying shaves 5 hours of travel and surprisingly some money too.
We are staying 3 nights in Murren, which I’m sure is not nearly enough, but a good sampling, which I’m sure will lead to an appetite for another trip.
We plan to take the train up to Jungfraujoch, and check out the glacier. I’d like to head down to Lauterbrunnen to see Trummelbach Falls.
What airline are you using to fly from Munich to Zurich and what was the price like, if you don’t mind my asking? We were contemplating training between the two, but I’m all for flying if we can get a good deal!
We flying Swiss Air from Munich to Zurich. We bought a round trip vs. a one way since the one way was over $800 euros and or around $300 euros with connections. So, not sure if you are suppose to do what we did, but we booked a round trip and it was about $200 euros with all the taxes. The train was about 4 hours between Munich and Zurich with a couple close transfers. Last trip we booked first class on the train, which is comparable. If we were just going to Zurich, we’d probably would of just opted for the train, but because we are taking it to Murren, we decided to fly.
Flying from Munich to Zurich sounds like a good choice to me. I love the rail service in Western Europe, but only for about three hours. Beyond that — there’s just so much to see and do on the ground that I just want to get to the next destination!
Three nights in Murren should be a very nice stay there,though you might spend half the day just admiring the view. Trummelbach Falls is definitely worth a visit — bring a jacket and something to keep your camera dry. The cable car up to Schilthorn is very cool too, and the walk to Winteregg is a nice, moderate hike (plus you can take the train back the other way). I’m sure you’re time there will be a memorable one!
Thanks for the tips Andy! Our time there can’t come soon enough!
Very fun! I went to both Berlin and Munich when I was 16, but considering that was over 20 years ago (and I was effectively a child instead of an adult), I don’t think I’ll be much help to you re. planning any fun excursions. 🙂 But I imagine you will have a wonderful time all the same. Enjoy!