Dis Exclusive Once Upon a Fairytale Germany Trip 9/20 - 9/28/2013

[MinnieGarden]

Originally Posted by DisneyKevin

<yay!>

I smell a shopping trip.

You smell more than a shopping trip..... you smell Christy's 40th birthday shopping trip!

[DisneyKevin]

Originally Posted by MinnieGarden

You smell more than a shopping trip..... you smell Christy's 40th birthday shopping trip!

We'll have to have champagne.

We have to stay hydrated and all.

[Flossbolna]

Originally Posted by HollyMac71

Hopefully someone can anwer my question - What makes Lufthansa stand out from the rest?

I enjoy Lufthansa, but I might be a bit biased since I am German. What I like about them is that their planes generally are very new. I love flying their A330 or A340 across the Atlantic as they appear to be roomier in Economy. However, some other European carriers actually give you more leg room than Lufthansa.

One thing where Lufthansa is unique though: They test all their meals (even the economy ones) in a special laboratory which simulates the conditions on a flight (dry air, lower air pressure etc.) as they have found out that these conditions cause that people taste things differently. Supposedly that's also the reason why tomato juice tastes better in the air...

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Originally Posted by MinnieGarden

You smell more than a shopping trip..... you smell Christy's 40th birthday shopping trip!

I'm up for it! I say we bribe the guides to distract Brian and Mike and sneak out the back!!!

Laurie

[corky441]

Hi everyone - wave

Just wanted to let you all know that John and Micki had a death in the family. John's mother, Mary, passed away this past weekend.

The wake will be tomorrow and the funeral will be either Thursday or Friday.

I told Micki we would all be keeping the family in our thoughts and prayers

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[Sarabi's Cubs]

I'm so sorry to hear that. Thanks for letting us know. I will keep them in my prayers.

Laurie

[DisneyKevin]

This trip just got very real.

Airfare is now booked.

We're going to Germany!

[rkdahl]

Yep, we just booked our airfare two days ago so we are all set too. Lots of travel plans before and after the tour for us. It's good to see the plans coming together! Looking forward to some Europe rail travel on this trip too!

One thing I observed in airfares to Europe, one way tickets are as much or more than round trip tickets. We are doing multiple cities in and out if Europe and it was way cheaper doing a multi city booking on one airline rather than 2 one way tickets on that airline or multiple airlines! Stupid airline rules!

Can't wait for Sept!

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[HollyMac71]

DH and I are plotting.

<translation>

Holly is planning. DH is shaking his head.

I know it will be an ADVENTURE whatever we do.

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I get thisclose to booking the airfare and then back off. I'm a little nervous about the idea of traveling somewhere on our own after the ABD is over. I am thinking we will leave for Salzburg the last morning, spend the day and night there, head to Vienna the next morning and run around like crazy people trying to see what we can of Vienna and fly back from there on Monday (since the flights back from Salzburg all seemed to go through Vienna or Frankfurt anyway), but I don't want to get on a train and end up in Siberia. I just need to bite the bullet and book it!

Laurie

[DisneyKevin]

We've decided to arrive a day early and come home at the end of the trip.

We realized after our October Knights and Lights that we got homesick and missed the dogs.

As we are flying through JFK, we might spend a couple nights in NYC before hand. Not sure yet. Booking a flight from Orlando to JFK is easy. We can make that decision closer to travel.

We are flying Delta to Frankfurt and KLM from Munich to NYC (via Amsterdam).

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Originally Posted by DisneyKevin

We've decided to arrive a day early and come home at the end of the trip.

I guess this means that Brian and I will have to reenact Do Re Mi on our own

Laurie

[rkdahl]

Originally Posted by Sarabi's Cubs

I get thisclose to booking the airfare and then back off. I'm a little nervous about the idea of traveling somewhere on our own after the ABD is over. I am thinking we will leave for Salzburg the last morning, spend the day and night there, head to Vienna the next morning and run around like crazy people trying to see what we can of Vienna and fly back from there on Monday (since the flights back from Salzburg all seemed to go through Vienna or Frankfurt anyway), but I don't want to get on a train and end up in Siberia. I just need to bite the bullet and book it!

Laurie

Go for it Laurie! If you have ever taken a subway anywhere, it's similar to the train system in Europe to me. Find where you want to go, see which train to get on going that way and away you go. We have found train travel their to be very easy. And your idea of Vienna is great! They have an excellent bus, trolley and subway system that can get you anywhere in town. Vienna is one of our favorite cities in the World. You can walk around for hours inside the RingStrasse and shop, eat, and just gaze at the architecture and history. We have taken a subway from a downtown hotel there to the train station. Then we took a train from their to Venice overnight. It was fun!

One suggestion, pack as light as possible. Once we laughed hysterically watching a couple trying to maneuver 6 bags and several carry on bags on and off the trains. I asked them how long they were traveling, 9 days! We had 2 bags and a carry on each for 6 weeks! And we never did laundry! Ha, just kidding.

We are taking a train from London to Paris on this trip. spending a few days there then taking a train to Heidelberg for the ABD trip. after that we are taking a train to Zurich and visiting family then flying home from there. Try and allow several days in Venice and Salzburg if you can! I think you will really enjoy the sights, food and the people! It is way easier than you might imagine to get around without a car.

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[DisneyKevin]

While I cant comment on Vienna.....I can tell you that no one ever has enough time in Venice.

Ask any of the folks that went on last year's Italy Adventure.

Venice is wonderous and as one of our great photographers (Heather) has noted, it might be the most photogenic city in the world.

[Flossbolna]

I once posted a picture guide on how to travel on a German ICE train (Intercity Express, i.e. high speed train) for a DISer who was travelling to Nuremberg. I thought it might be useful for some of you here as well:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...postcount=1139

If you take a regional train and don't have a reserved seat (reserving seat is never a requirement, but recommended for long distance trains) you don't have to worry about coach numbers etc.