It had been several years since our last trip to Germany, and, at almost five, LS was getting old enough to sit (somewhat) on a longer flight, so we decided 2023 was a good year to head back overseas to visit family. We always like to plan a little extra around these trips to see other things around Europe, so we chose Austria, as (if you remember) our day trip to Salzburg had gotten blocked by a shutdown at the train station on our last trip. Here was our planned itinerary:

Day 0 – Saturday, April 29 – travel

Day 1 – Sunday, April 30 – stay in Mannheim

• Arrive in Frankfurt
• Take train to Mannheim (30 mins)
• Check into Hilton Garden Inn Mannheim

Days 2-5, Monday, May 1 – Thursday, May 4 – stay in Mannheim

• Things to Do:
  • Spend time with family
  • Heidelburg (train 15 mins) – Funicular, castle, adventure trail, and Marchenparadies
  • Luisenpark

Day 6 – Friday, May 5 – stay in Salzburg

• Take train to Munich (3.5 hours)
• Eat at Augustiner-Keller
• Take train to Salzburg (2 hours)
• Check into Imlauer Hotel Pitter Salzburg

Day 7 – Saturday, May 6 – stay in Salzburg

• Things to Do:
  • Breakfast at Cafe Bazar
  • Hohensalzburg Fortress
  • 4:00pm: Marionette Theatre performance of “The Little Prince”

Day 8 – Sunday, May 7 – stay in Salzburg

• Things to Do:
  • 9:30am: Fraulein Maria’s “Sound of Music” bicycle tour (3.5 hours)
  • Toy museum and/or Natural History Museum
  • Dinner at Augustiner Brau

Day 9 – Monday, May 8 – stay in Vienna

• Take train to Vienna (2.5 hours)
• Check into Le Meridien Wien

Day 10 – Tuesday, May 9 – stay in Vienna

• Things to Do:
  • Schonbrunn Palace
    • Children’s Museum
    • Maze
    • Zoo
    • Gloriette

Day 11 – Wednesday, May 10 – stay in Vienna

• Things to Do:
  • St. Stephen’s Cathedral
  • Butterfly House
  • House of Music

Day 12 – Thursday, May 11 – stay in Vienna

• Things to Do:
  • ZOOM Kindermuseum
  • Giant Ferris Wheel
  • Prater Park

Day 13 – Friday, May 12 – travel

• Train to airport