Rick Steves' Best of Berlin, Prague & Vienna (BPV) in 12 Days Tour (0)

Dave and I have been doing DIY travel for years. We have never been on a group tour before. So you may wonder why I took a Rick Steves tour this year. Well for one, I have been using Rick Steves' guidebooks for years, always liked his travel philosophies, and wondered what it is like to be on a Rick Steves tour. For two, I got some free time this summer, so I went to www.ricksteves.com/tours, looked for what was still available for next month departure and booked one. That is how I ended up with this tour. And I absolutely loved it!

The tour was not perfect, nothing ever is. I wish there was more flexibility in the arrangement sometimes. But for a group tour, it is really good. Both the overall tour guide and the local guides at Berlin, Prague and Vienna are wonderful. The tour has quality group time and some amount of free time. That is why even though the majority of the group is senior citizens, some are in their 70s, I never felt I was slowed down by them. In fact, I was surprised that all of them could keep up with the guides. No one ever complained. And everyone was pretty much on time for every buddy check (*) which is hugely important for a great group tour experience.

The BPV tour itinerary from www.ricksteves.com/tours/eastern-europe/berlin-prague-vienna:

Day 1: Welcome to Berlin
We'll have a "Welcome to Berlin" meeting at 5 p.m. at our hotel. On our way to dinner together, we'll get oriented to Berlin and learn to use the city's public transportation system. Sleep in Berlin (3 nights). No bus. Walking: light.

Day 2: Berlin's Historic Heart
We'll begin our day with a walking tour through the historic heart of Berlin. At the Brandenburg Gate, we'll hear how locals felt on the day in 1989 when the Berlin Wall suddenly became irrelevant. We'll continue our walk past thought-provoking memorials tracing this city's most tumultuous century, from WWI to today. Then we'll enjoy a tasty Turkish lunch together, Berlin’s most popular ethnic cuisine. After a full day of sightseeing, you'll be set free to take-in the city's vibrant culinary scene, or simply relax at a neighborhood beer garden. No bus. Walking: strenuous.

Day 3: Today's East Berlin
This morning we'll hop on a tram to Hackescher Markt and explore ever-changing East Berlin. We'll start with a once-destroyed Jewish neighborhood now renewed with a flourish, visiting the workshop of heroic Otto Weidt. We’ll also get acquainted with some of Berlin's finest finger foods. We'll continue our walk to the city’s Museum Island, a Cold War metro “Ghost Station,” and the National Memorial to the Berlin Wall before setting you free for the afternoon. Tonight we’ll be Berliners, gathering at a nearby park for fun and a cultural Q&A with a local. No bus. Walking: strenuous.

Day 4: Resurrected Dresden
Today we'll board our bus and head south to delightfully Baroque Dresden. We'll start our visit with a walking tour of the reborn-from-the-ashes city, including the city's greatest symbol of pride: the inspiring Frauenkirche, destroyed during WWII and rebuilt since the 1990s with donations from around the world. From there you'll be free to contemplate the priceless pieces in the Zwinger Museums' Old Masters Gallery, Royal Palace, or Green Vault. Sleep in Dresden (1 night). Bus: 3 hrs. Walking: light.

Day 5: Terezín and Prague
We'll continue south to the Czech Republic today, stopping in the fortified town of Terezín, which was converted into a concentration camp in 1941. Today it's the Terezín Memorial, and we'll go inside to learn its story. Just down the road, we'll find a completely contrasting experience in Nelahozeves, birthplace of Czech composer Antonín Dvo?ák, where we'll stop for lunch and a tour of the Renaissance castle perched high above the Vltava River. Later this afternoon we'll arrive at our hotel in Prague's Baroque Old Town. After settling in, we'll take an orientation walk through the Old Town, including the wonderfully pedestrian Charles Bridge, and enjoy dinner together. Sleep in Prague (3 nights). Bus: 5 hrs. Walking: moderate.

Day 6: The People's Prague
We'll enjoy a full morning of sightseeing with our local guide, beginning with a walking tour of the Old Town Square. After learning about the Velvet Revolution, the people's march that toppled the Communist regime in 1989, our morning will end in the proudly preserved Josefov neighborhood, with its Old Cemetery and historic synagogues. You'll be free to explore more of the Josefov neighborhood (with your Jewish Museum in Prague pass) before rejoining the group for a guided tour of the classy concert halls and salons of Prague's Municipal House and a visit to the Mucha Museum. Tonight you'll be free to make your own discoveries in Prague. No bus. Walking: strenuous.

Day 7: Royal Prague
This morning we'll hop on a local tram to take us across the Vltava River and up the hill to the most massive castle complex in continental Europe: Prague Castle. We'll tour the impressive St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, and the Golden Lane. Is Prague really home to the best beers in Europe? We'll find out by sampling one during lunch together at the Strahov Monastery brewery, followed by free time for more sightseeing on your own. This evening will be a great time to catch a classical concert in one of Prague's many venues. No bus. Walking: strenuous.

Day 8: Delightful ?eský Krumlov
Today we'll hop on our bus and head for the centuries-old town of ?eský Krumlov. Our first stop is the castle fortress and one of Europe's best-preserved, and still-functioning, 18th-century Baroque theaters. Later this afternoon you'll have time to explore this photogenic old town of quaint shops and cobbled lanes — maybe even join your guide and fellow tour members on an afternoon rafting expedition – before dinner together. Sleep in ?eský Krumlov (1 night). Bus: 3 hrs. Walking: moderate.

Day 9: Melk and Vienna
After an early morning drive to the Danube Valley, we'll tour the artistic treasures and Baroque wonders of Melk Abbey and cruise Austria's prettiest stretch of the Danube: the Wachau Valley. Then we'll set course for the one-time capital of a powerful empire — and our tour's grand finale — Vienna. Tonight, we'll enjoy an orientation walk, followed by dinner together. Sleep in Vienna (3 nights). Boat: 2 hrs. Bus: 5 hrs. Walking: moderate.

Day 10: Historic Vienna
Let's begin with a walking tour of Vienna's historic core, starting with St. Stephen's Cathedral. After a lunch break at the lively Naschmarkt produce market, we'll ride a tram out to the elegant Belvedere Palace for a tour, including a roomful of Gustav Klimt's wildly gilded — he called them erotic — paintings. (Ponder The Kiss and decide for yourself.) Your afternoon is free to explore a world-class museum or two, or slow down to enjoy sipping a coffee in the city where Europe's café scene was born. No bus. Walking: moderate.

Day 11: Habsburg Vienna
This morning we'll stroll through Vienna's most sophisticated sights: the elegant Opera House (when available), royal Hofburg Imperial Apartments and jewel-filled Hofburg Treasury. The rest of your day is free to explore more of Vienna's highlights, and maybe stop to savor every chocoholic's dream: Viennese Sacher-Torte. Tonight we'll meet for our last dinner together at a traditional Viennese heuriger, where we'll share travel memories and toast new friends. Prost! No bus. Walking: moderate.

Day 12: Tour Over After Breakfast
Breakfast is provided, but there are no group activities today. It's a breeze to reach Vienna's airport by shuttle, bus or taxi. You'll have easy connections to home, back to Prague, or on to Budapest and other points in Europe. Auf Wiedersehen!

Itinerary specifics subject to change.

We didn't follow this exactly. Our tour guide said, based on feedback, the tour does change a little every year. And I added one night in Berlin before the tour started, and one night in Vienna after the tour ended for my own sightseeing. I wish I had stayed in Vienna one more night later. Vienna has so much to see.

(To be continued)

* So what is a buddy check? To be able to quickly count if everyone is there, each tour member has to find a buddy in the beginning of the trip, and that buddy can't be their travel companion, it has to be someone they don't know prior to the trip. And whenever the tour guide says: "let's do a buddy check". You need to find your buddy. If your buddy is missing you have to speak up so the tour guide knows.