WHAT YOU WILL SEE:

Salzburg, Austria
Art lovers call Salzburg the Golden City of High Baroque; historians refer to it as the Florence of the North, or the German Rome; and music lovers know it as the Festival City -- birthplace of Mozart and home of the world-famous Salzburger Festspiele (Salzburg Festival). The setting could not be more perfect. Salzburg lies on both banks of the Salzach River, at the point where it is pinched between two mountains, the Kapuzinerberg and the Mönchsberg. This former site of the Roman town of Juvavum is set against a pristine mountain backdrop. The Old Town lies on the left bank of the river, where a monastery and bishopric were founded in A.D. 700. From that simple start, Salzburg grew in power and prestige, becoming an archbishopric see in 798. At the height of the prince-archbishop's power, the city was known as the "German Rome." Salzburg is internationally known for its architectural grandeur. The Salzburg Cathedral (Dom) is the first deliberately Italian-style church to be built north of the Alps. Several beautiful castles and palaces dot the city: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Residenz, and Schloss Hellbrunn, 5km (3 miles) south of the city, summer residence of the prince-archbishops. The famous Fischer von Erlack laid out the beautifully baroque Mirabell Gardens. This is also the city of Mozart, who was born here in 1756. You can visit this favorite son's birthplace, the Gerburtshaus, an old burgher's house. While Salzburg is a visual pageant of Baroque motifs, music is the element that shapes the life of the city. It is heard everywhere: in churches, castles, palaces, and, of course, concert halls. Vsitors can explore other fascinating attractions, including the locations featured in The Sound of Music, filmed here in 1964. It's hard to take in the sights without imagining Maria and the von Trapp children trilling "Do-Re-Mi." Whether it's the melodies of Rodgers and Hammerstein or of Mozart filling your head, the city of Salzburg is a symphony of both sounds and sights.

Vienna, Austria
City of music, cafes, waltzes, parks, pastries, and wine -- that's Vienna. Vienna is a true cosmopolitan center, where different tribes and nationalities have for centuries fused their cultural identities to produce the intriguing and often-cynical Viennese. From the time the Romans selected a Celtic settlement on the Danube River as one of their most important central European forts, "Vindobona," the city we now know as Vienna, has played a vital role in European history. The ambience of the city is ornate and frothy: white horses dancing to elegant music; snow dusting the opulent draperies of Empress Maria Theresa's monument; lavish decorations filling the interior courtyards of outwardly severe town houses; a gilded Johann Strauss among a grove of green trees; the voluptuous music of Richard Strauss; the geometric impasto of Klimt's paintings; the stately pavane of a mechanical clock. Magnificent, magnetic, and magical, the city beguiles one and all with Old World charm and courtly grace. It is a place where headwaiters still bow as if saluting a Habsburg prince and Lipizzaner stallions dance intricate minuets to the strains of Mozart -- a city that waltzes. Like a well-bred grande dame, Vienna doesn't hurry, and, as you saunter through its stately streets, marveling at its Baroque palaces, neither should you. Explore churches filled with statues of golden saints and pink-cheeked cherubs, wander through treasure-packed museums, or while away an afternoon in one of those countless meccas of mocha (the inevitable cafés), you will feel lapped in lashings of rich, delicious, whipped cream -- the beloved Schlagobers that garnishes most Viennese pastries.

Budapest, Hungary
One of the great cities of Central Europe, Budapest embodies all the elements of the region's peculiar and rich cultural legacy. Poised between East and West, both geographically and culturally, Budapest stands proudly at the center of the region's cultural rebirth. It's easy for Budapest to play with light in the manner of an elegant lady trying on her jewels, for everything looks good. This is a vibrant city: it throbs with life morning, noon and night; visitors arriving from other countries get the feeling that something interesting is happening round every corner. Budapest's extraordinary atmosphere can be felt everywhere. From old women selling boxes of raspberries in the heart of downtown Pest, cars careening by on all sides, to young boys playing soccer in the green foothills of Buda, where the air is fresh and clean, this city and its people will take you in and hold you tight. Budapest is a remarkable and wholly unpretentious place. Explore it fully. Even more exceptional is the perfect contrast between the right and left banks. Buda is built upon hills, the feet of two of them - Castle Hill and Gellért Hill - almost stand in the water. Facing it is Pest, as flat as a pancake. It's the country's cultural, political, intellectual, and commercial heart -- and it teems with cafés, restaurants, markets, and bars. Hungary is famous for its medicinal spas, and Budapest alone has some 14 historic working baths. The Continent's first underground railway was built here. Hungary's oldest academic library, the University Library, is to be found here. It is the location of Europe's largest synagogue. It is the only capital city in the world where there are more than one hundred hot thermal springs. There are no other cities of comparable size anywhere where visitors can explore dripstone (stalactite) caves in the middle of the residential districts. Budapest offers breathtaking Old World grandeur and thriving cultural life. Situated on both banks of the Danube River, the city unites the colorful hills of Buda and the wide, businesslike boulevards of Pest. Much of the charm of a visit to Budapest lies in unexpected glimpses into shadowy courtyards and in long vistas down sunlit cobbled streets.

ICE (InterCity Express)
The ICE (InterCity Express), a tilting train. The German high speed train ICE guarantees quality with new, high-standardized equipment to provide travelers with a comfortable and pleasant experience. With a maximum speed of nearly 300 km/h, this service is highly efficient.

Types of Train Services
First Class:
- All seats are reclining and have an audio minijack, allowing passengers to plug in headphones and choose from about 7 music/entertainment channels and radio stations. Basic headphones can also be purchased on the trains.
- Newspapers are available. Beverages and snacks can also be purchased from the trolley cart.
- The service crew on the train takes orders for porters in the main cities in Germany.

Second Class:
- All seats are reclining and have an audio minijack, allowing passengers to plug in headphones and choose from about 7 music/entertainment channels and radio stations. Basic headphones can also be purchased on the trains.
- Newspapers are available. Beverages and snacks can also be purchased from the trolley cart.
- The service crew on the train takes orders for porters in the main cities in Germany.

On board services:
Each train has a restaurant car with two sections: the traditional restaurant and self-service bistro. Public phone booths and luggage lockers are also available on board the train. With exception of the first and last cars, the ICE train is a non-smoking area.
The latest ICE generation with tilting technology even offers a magnificent panoramic lounge at each end of the trains for a spectacular view of the landscape. With most ICE trains, there is one carriage (sometimes more) where individual seats are equipped with LCD screens. (The screens are actually built into the backrest of the seat in front.) Usually there are two video channels to choose from, which typically show feature films, like airlines would do. There are no speakers, but the corresponding audio is available via the audio minijack.
At both ends of ICE3 trains there is a passenger compartment (on one side 1st class, on the other side 2nd class) with a view on the tracks, due to transparency of the glass wall separating the compartment from the driver's cabin. In special circumstances the driver can make the wall opaque by the press of a button.

There is also a compartment with a play area for children.

All ICEs have "repeater" carriages, which are equipped with technology to enable mobile phone use (as the windows have a metal coating). Cell phone use is possible in these carts only. These carts are marked with a sticker of a symbolized mobile phone. "Silent" carriages have a sticker with a symbolized whispering sign. In these carriages use of laptops, mobile phones and other "noisy" equipment is prohibited.