Hi All,
I%26#39;m planning a trip to Austria pre Med cruise which departs/returns Rome. It isn%26#39;t until early September %26#39;09 but I like to get an early start as there is so much to arrange/buy tickets for and like that.
A little background info - DH was born in Austria and has been back once since. He%26#39;s not uncomfortable driving here and of course speaks the language reasonably well. He wants to show me where he was born and Vienna generally but could care less about seeing anymore while I want to SEE the country and all the places I%26#39;ve read/heard of to a reasonable extent while I%26#39;m there. So with that info . . . moving on to some questions:
A) Is it a reasonable idea to drive from Vienna (or someplace in Austria) to Rome? I%26#39;m thinking that if we were to fly into Vienna, rent a car there, drive to Rome (after our sightseeing stuff), see some of Rome, get on then off cruise, drive back to Austria/Vienna and fly out from there? Is that doable without major trauma?
B) While we are in Austria, what to see . . . a good driving route with an end destination on the way down to Rome? Perhaps some kind of circle route where we saw XYZ on the way to Rome and ABC on the way back from Rome?
C) I%26#39;m thinking something like 3 days on the way to Rome (one of which will be spent visiting his %26#39;hometown%26#39; of Weikesdorf (sp?) ) and the same on the way back? Maybe? But I%26#39;m open to any suggestions on route changes or taking the train vs. driving or whatever good and wise advise you may have.
D) Is this a good time to visit weather wise? What concerts might be happening then and where to buy tickets? What great restaurants? Being Viennese born, dessert is always big on his menu! :-))
Any and all thots you can share will be most appreciated. I%26#39;m having trouble finding a good map that can even begin to help me with some kind of routing and even at that, I really don%26#39;t know if my %26#39;plan%26#39; might/would work?
Thanks so much all for your tips and advice.
Holly
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If you don%26#39;t intend to stop anywhere between Vienna and Rome, it doesn%26#39;t make any sense to take the car. I%26#39;d take the train or the plane if staying in Vienna.
Please bear in mind that Rome is only for the very experienced driver, traffic rules and laws are only a recommendation there.
www.aua.com
www.flyniki.at
As you still have much much time, you will definitely get a great price.
www.oebb.at (ÖBB general)
oebb.at/pv/…index.jsp (Night train service)
http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en (schedule)
I personally like GOOGLE EARTH for any preplanning!
September is basically a great month to tour the region as the high temperatures are gone making everything outside more enjoyable.
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Have you checked wether the rental car may be dropped in Rome (oneway rental)? Or do you even intend to keep the car while on the cruise ship?
On the way to Italy I would stop in the lake region of Carinthia and in Tuscany. You could also embed Venice into your itinerary if you desire cities with great history.
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The only towns that I know of with similar names as you mention( Weikesdorf ) are Weikendorf - east of Vienna toward the Slovakian boreder and Weikersdorf - south of Vieenna near to Wiener Neustadt and the Autobahn A-2.
Both are easy to reach from Vienna and probably much less than 1 hour drive.
For your time in Austria , I would recommend a car rental.
Perhaps getting the catr in Vienna and dropping it at a convenient place within Austria. Perhaps Innsbruck or Salzburg.
From Innsbruck or Salzburg- many good train connections to Rome.
You then avoid what will be a very high drop off fee ( picking up auto in one country and returning it in another.
Besides Rome is not a great place to drive - much traffic , narrow streets, very little parking etc. Why have any problems when the train is fast , cheap and effortless. The car in Rome useless.
For train info
www.oebb.at
For your information to assist in planning
Vienna - Salzburg is about 3 hours drive without sightseeing.
Salzburg- Innsbruck about 2 hours.
If you go to Weikendorf , the town near Slovakia, a very nice fully restored castle - the Schlosshof is not far away.
This is fun to tour- a summer home for Royals, beutiful gardens and nice restaurnats too. This can be done after your visit to the hometown if this is the one.
September is usually a good month to visit - weather normally mild and not too much rain- but who knows.
Schools are back open and fewer tourists are around.
Next day - perhaps a drive west into the Salzburg lake region- places like Bad Ischl, St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen, Hallstatt.
Much information on this site regading these places.
one good place to look for many vacation ideas including good hotels
www.landhotels.at
this assocition of hotels insures a good standard for the hotels listed.
next day perhaps the city of Salzburg - drop off car-then onward to Rome.
returnng form Rome - train again into Austria - pick up rental car and then perhaps some days in the more southerly part of Austria - like the state of Styria and other places.
For driving info , maps etc. the Michelin website is really good
for actual maps
www.freytagberndt.at
excelent maps of Austria
for Vienna music
September 2009 not available but you can look at the following
Hope this gives you some more information to start your planning.
concerts
www.musikverein.at
Operetta
www.volksoper.at
Opera
www.staatsoper.at
more info at
www.info.wien.at
click on events
insert visit dates
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Schlosshof website
www.schlosshof.at
also not far away the roman ruins of the town and fortress carnuntum
www.carnuntum.co.at
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Thanks so much all. You%26#39;ve given me a lot to think about and my little head is spinning! :-))
The idea of seeing Tuscany is very appreciated and MOST attractive.
At this point (which is of course waaay in advance of actual departure) I%26#39;m thinking:
Fly to Munich
Train to Vienna + Stay In Vienna
See Vienna %26amp; Weikersdorf (sp?) - the one about 6K from Weiner Neustadt over the next couple of days.
Car rental (likely for day two of above) and drive to Salzburg for one day then on to Innsbruck for one day (these times are rough and I%26#39;d surely like to spend longer) then
Train to Tuscany/Florence and a day there then
Train to Rome ( hear y%26#39;all about driving in Rome and no we won%26#39;t be doing that!)
A day or two in Rome then board cruise.
After cruise fill in what we haven%26#39;t seen and can reasonably do.
I realize every place/city/town/area has a kajillion things to do. We are just going to be able to hit the highlights (or some of them) with the kind of time frame we have. We have precious fur kids so we can%26#39;t really be away for much past three weeks.
Even as I write, I%26#39;m revising! LOL!! I%26#39;m thinking really I/we should spend the majority of pre-cruise in Austria %26amp; after cruise do Rome/Florence/Tuscany. Then we can take the train directly back to Munich.
Time frames are really difficult as while one can book a cruise, you can%26#39;t book airfare this far in advance.
I guess I really need to look at what the *true* highlights in each place are as I surely won%26#39;t be able to see everything.
Thanks again for all your generosity! Of course any additional information will be greatly accepted.
I must have Sacher Torte. Where is the hotel (Sacher?) that was the origination of this yummy cake?
If you had your choice, which airline would you use coming from Canada? I%26#39;m thinking Lufthansa but they don%26#39;t always get great reviews. However, neither does most every other airline that flies from Canada and I%26#39;m surely not an AC fan!
Again, dankechoen (sp?)
Holly
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