Switzerland + Southern Germany
I read some of the Switzerland section of "the book". It seemed expensive, but I think we are going to have to be prepared to spend a little money no matter what...when I was in Paris, I was kind of obsessive about money, and I shouldn't have been...I would have enjoyed myself a LOT more if I hadn't.
They don't use the Euro in Switzerland, but use instead the Swiss Franc. It's an odd thing that. But the scenery sounds nice.
Also, in south Germany is the castle created by Mad King Ludwig, the giant castle that Disney used as a model for the one at Disney World. Might be a fun thing to swing by.
Freeform European Vacation
Something you said made a lot of sense to me.
If we just picked a location to start and end from, the rest of our vacation could be wide open. If we just found the best price from here to someplace in Europe, we could work out the details along the way.
It's kind of appealing, although getting a place to stay sometimes requires advanced reservations (but not all of the time).
Geneva
I thought...well...if we start off in Switzerland, I should learn a bit about it.
They have free bicycle rentals for getting around in Geneva!
They also have daily planes to certain places; I'm not sure if Berlin is one of them. Geneva ->by plane or train -> Berlin/Ziemendorf -> by plane or train Nice/Monaco.
Geneva is one of the more expensive places though; maybe one or two days. They are on Lake Geneva...in early October it might be nice.
Also, Nice/Monaco? Right on the Meditterrean Sea. The guidebook has nice things to say about it.
