Help on deciding Central Europe v Baltics

Good morning. I had been looking at a Baltic states trip but due to some (good) circumstances another possibility opened up.

This is leading to some analysis paralysis though. I am very much a go-go-go type person and will do a 2 hour train, sight see for 12 hours, then head back. I just want to see and experience what I can at the surface level as I don’t have the PTO to do months and 20+ days on this. Sadly.

I was initially planning a 10/11 day trip to the Baltics with it starting in Vilnius and ending in Helsinki. It looks like I am able to add on Krakow, Poland to the trip and extend by 3 days. The above times do not include travel to Europe or back. So at least 10/11/12 days in Europe.

Flying from US out of the Washington DC area.

Would it be best to start Krakow and end in Helsinki or the other way?

The other trip which became available would involved Krakow and then a flight to Vienna. Vienna would serve as a “home base” to take day trips to Brno, Bratislava, Sopron or Gyor. It would involve 3ish days in Krakow and then 7/8 days in Vienna. Would using Vienna as a central point to do these day trips be the best? Or perhaps Bratislava for cheaper hotels?

I do want to go to Poland and see Auschwitz as it is such an important and significant historical site. So I definitely want to keep Poland in the mix.

There is also the opportunity to potentially extend by 3 more days and meet some people in Athens at the end of the trip. I figured Vienna would be easiest for a return to the US or a flight to Athens.

Thank you for the assistance!