When I decided to cap off my 2007 Germany trip with a week in Vienna, I tacked a couple extra days onto the Vienna stay to take advantage of the weekend days. I filled the extra time with a couple of day trips, including one to Budapest, Hungary.

It was a guided bus tour, the worst one I've ever taken. We had a total of only an hour on the ground with guided touring at two stops. We spent a lot more than that at the lunch restaurant, and almost that amount of time sitting on the bus waiting for the same few people to show up(they were a half hour late at one stop). Then our time for personal sightseeing - or shopping, which our guide frequently encouraged - was cut another hour short because our bus driver had to get back to Vienna for another job.

So what I got was a 15-minute stop at Heroes' Square, about 40 minutes in the Castle District, and a little more than an hour to explore the city on my own.

I think I made good use of the time available. Alas, no time for shopping.

Mark Wasson, http://www.markwasson.com > Trips has detailed summaries of my trips

http://www.markwasson.com/u2007g07agermany.htm