Vienna is grand and stunning. Every building looks like a museum. Every street is deserving of a photo. Even the windy, damp, gloomy weather to which we arrived couldn't interfere with my excitement. Add to this great food and beers, the best classical music we've ever heard, and friendly people who willingly speak English when your broken German won't suffice, and you've got a city in which we would happily live.
In 2015, we started in Vienna, and then took trains to Bratislava, then Prague, and eventually back to Vienna. The nice thing about Vienna is that it easily lends itself to side trips. In 2016, we returned and visited Budapest, with a night in Bratislava on the way back, of course. This year, we did bookends in Vienna for our trip to the Balkans.
Austrian Airlines was having a sale, which is how we ended up visiting Vienna the first time. I put this airline on par with British Airways and Turkish Airlines. First, the flight was direct from Chicago. Second, they have a bidding program in which you can bid to upgrade to Business Class. We were lucky enough to get it on the way in, but a full flight prevented it on the return. Even in coach, though, the food was actually good, and the games and movies kept us entertained the entire time. They even had Back to the Future in their classic movie section--need I say more?
It definitely helps to know a little German going into it. We learned this the hard way the first time, but we've been prepared since then. Not only will you be treated much more kindly, but you will also be able to find your way around and order in restaurants. English is not as prevalent as it is in other European countries.
Our visit to Trier was a day-trip from Luxembourg. A quick 50-minute train brought us within walking distance of the historic downtown. Everything worth doing in a day-trip can be reached on foot.
Back in 2013, we flew in and out of Düsseldorf on a combination of Air Canada and Lufthansa. Lufthansa was a disappointment. The food was terrible--like inedible--the seats were pretty basic, and the service was just okay.
Within Germany, it's easy to get around by train, and pop across the border to visit neighboring countries. On our trip to Munich, we visited Innsbruck, as well. On our trip to Düsseldorf, we started in Cologne, and from there took a train to Aachen, moved on for a few days in Brussels, and finally Amsterdam before returning to Düsseldorf. They're all close enough that it was easy to do in a week.
Switzerland is a beautiful country with an excellent rail network that allows you to reach remote towns like Gruyères fairly easily. Gruyères was by far the highlight of the trip, and not only due to the cheese (although the raclette is a reason in itself to go!). It's a medieval town in the foothills of the Alps. Most people visit it as a day trip, but in our usual fashion, we chose to stay the night. By late afternoon, we had the town to ourselves. At night, we watched a heavy rainstorm in our cozy wood-paneled hotel room, with the windows open. At the time, we fell so in love with Gruyères that we thought we would have our wedding there. My point is: we highly recommend it.
Given that it's been so long since we took this trip, I'm a little conflicted on giving any recommendations at all. This trip was also before I began taking meticulous notes on what we did. Below are a few places I remember fondly.
Note: We recently spent several hours in Zurich during a long layover. It was only enough time to visit some churches and cafes. I added one recommendation below.