Well, let me start off by saying...I'm seeking out the infinite wisdom of tww!

I just graduated in December, and have a job lined up in NYC starting in July. That leaves me a good couple of months to bum around and travel. I've always wanted to take an extended trip throughout Europe (never been) and have put together some very rough plans for my trip. BUT...as I'm sure many of you have been throughout Europe, I was hoping you could point me towards any difficulties you may have had (or heard about), any really cool places you have been to, how easy the Eurail pass was to use (and how much I should get)...basically, any and all details are welcome!

The plan is to backpack, take my time and actually get to experience Europe without trying to tackle every city and every tourist site during my trip.

Further details (may be useful for you to help me):
-planning on leaving in late February
-purposely planning to do the trip solo
-flying into London (cheapest flight ~ $550)...I think this will help 'break my cherry' as far culture shock goes
-rough plan is to travel along the southern coast (Spain, Italy, Greece, etc) as weather is cooler; working my way inland as it becomes warmer
-wanting to stay roughly 3 months
-traveling on a Canadian citizenship

So again, where do you come into play? Help me in any way possible.

I'll get the ball rolling...
-weather concerns?
-how much clothing should I take?
-did you find it hard to locate hostels?
-is the language barrier very difficult to overcome?
-how much does an average day cost?
-whats the best way to travel within a country?
-What are some cool/fun/interesting places you've been (that may or may not be in travel guides)
-and anything else is always appreciated!

Thanks much for your help!
-Jon

1/11/2007 5:57:31 PM

there are websites dedicated this - you will find better answers there

1/11/2007 5:59:32 PM

With what he just said...

1/11/2007 6:05:26 PM

thanks charlesHF...you ass.

I've checked out a lot of the websites available for this, and they are useful, but I was wanting to hear of some personal experiences you may have had.

So please don't lock this!

Thanks,
Jon

1/11/2007 6:34:20 PM

as far as traveling i would suggest buying a Eurail pass, it will seem to be expensive, but its a must if you are planing on visiting alot of countries and places.

http://www.eurail.com

mind you though, that if you are planning on spending most your time in countries like spain, italy and greece where trains are cheaper, and buses are also available at an even cheaper rate, then you are better off buying point-to-point tickets there, you also would get a discount on those for being under 26.

On the other hand if you want to spend most of your time in france, england and germany, you will pay up the ass for trains and shit so you are better off getting the pass.

I have a Let's Go Western Europe book that is very helpful if you wonna buy it from me it also shows you train routes and the cost of point-to-point trips between major cities

[Edited on January 11, 2007 at 7:09 PM. Reason : .]

1/11/2007 7:00:59 PM

Rail travel throughout England can be more expensive side (and the exchange rate doesn't help much either...). The Eurail pass doesn't cover anything within or on the way out of England, so you'll probably have to take the Eurostar to Paris. Travel within England or anywhere else in Great Britain (which I would highly recommend) is through National Rail. It might be worthwhile to check out air travel to cover certain distances, as this can be a cheap way to move around.

From my experience, the language barrier is very minimal. If you're in larger cities throughout Europe, there are plenty of people who will be able to speak English. It's always a good idea to ask a person if they speak English in that country's language. Most guidebooks will have phrases in the back, at least try them out.

As for getting around, a lot of train stations that serve different countries will have signs in those languages. English is a more or less standard for travel, so there's not much to worry about there. Signs will most likely have some English or at least helpful images that'll point you in the right direction.

Some websites for getting around:
http://www.eurostar.com
http://nationalrail.co.uk
http://www.easyjet.com
http://www.ryanair.com

1/11/2007 7:22:18 PM

^good sites

Ill add in http://www.hostelworld.com

If you arent trying to have anything set in stone as far as plans go, pick a place you want to start out at. Almost all hostels have internet that you can use so just pick a place you want to go, book a hostel and off ya go. simple as that. Since you arent traveling during the summer you shouldnt have too much trouble booking hostels on short notice.

my only advice is if you are going alone, go out as much as possible. You will meet so many different and eclectic people that will make your trip that much more fun.

1/11/2007 7:33:49 PM

Thank you very much to all of you! This is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for!

I've checked a little into Ryan Air. They have ridiculously cheap prices on flights out of Britain. Anyone had experiences or any insights about them?

Also, I forgot to mention this earlier, but I was hoping to not have too much of a plan for this trip with regards to planning the sights I'll see, places I'll stay, and countries I'm going to travel to. I guess my mentality is I'll just go with the flow...if I meet up with a group of people, I'll travel with them for a while...if I find something really interesting, I'll hang around a town a little longer! Has anyone done something like this? Its intimidating since I'm usually pretty anal about planning, but like others have told me, part of the excitement of the trip is exploring and discovering! Any tips from anyone who has done this (or anything similar), please let me know how it went for you.

Finally, any ideas on how safe it is to hitchhike? What about a cell phone - should I try to get one over there for emergencies?

Thanks once again.

1/11/2007 9:12:08 PM

Hey guys

There's a website dedicated to everything, including the "LET ME BLOG MY BORING ASS FEELINGS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I DONT HAVE ANY FRIENDS" posts that half of you make.

Seriously, stop with some of those retarded comments made at the beginning of this thread.

1/11/2007 9:26:50 PM

I live in Sweden and fly Ryan Air fairly regularly out of stockholm. It is a great airline if you are on a budget and somewhat flexible. Yes, their fares are really as cheap as you see them but it is wise to purchase them a bit in advance in order to get the ridiculous fares. They really are a no frills airline and they will advertise and promote in flight sales until you are sick but it is a great way to fly for cheap. Also realize that they typically fly from smaller airports that are usually quite a distance from the city they claim to be in (ie: Frankfurt Hahn is roughly 1.5 hrs by bus from Frankfurt). In addition to Ryan Air and Easy Jet, you may also want to look into German Wings and Wizz Air.

The safety of hitchhiking really depends on where you are. In some countries it is very common and safe and in others it is unheard of. I have a slovakian classmate who hitchhikes everywhere he goes and swears by it. The cell phone thing is really up to you and you have a few options as to how you can go about it. You can buy (or bring an unlocked gsm phone from home) a phone when you get to europe and pay for a prepaid sim card, however it wont be really cost effective if you are travelling between many countries. If you use cingular you can enable international calling (assuming you have a tri or quad band phone) if you are going to use the phone strictly for emergencies since it will likely cost a fortune to place a call.

I know that a lot of people on TWW have been everywhere in Europe and can provide a wealth of knowledge. It may be a bit eaier on them (me) if you gave us a list of countries that you may be interested in visiting (in addition to the few already mentioned) and maybe some types of things that interest you or you would be interested in seeing.

[Edited on January 11, 2007 at 9:32 PM. Reason : 0]

1/11/2007 9:30:27 PM

there is simply too much advice anyone can give on here.. find someone local and talk in person, someone who has done this.

i did this 2 years ago... and i will tell you we could make an entire afternoon of things to do and see and how you should go about doing things. things i did wrong and things i did right... but in person you will get this accomplished, there is just too much. FRIENDS are the best bet.

1/11/2007 9:32:40 PM

Hey, it sounded like he was going to lock it. No need to call me an ass.

1/11/2007 10:32:52 PM

My only advice is to travel light. Pack what you think you need and then throw out 80% of it.

1/11/2007 11:16:29 PM

Excluding the airfare to get to Europe, it is safe to budget around $100 per day per person. This factors in transportation, food, lodging, miscellaneous expenses.

1/11/2007 11:46:22 PM

Quote :

"I've checked a little into Ryan Air. They have ridiculously cheap prices on flights out of Britain. Anyone had experiences or any insights about them?"

Out of Britain it can be tricky (well, depending on where you are). I looked into taking a cheap flight from London into Germany, at it turned out being 6:30 am out of Stansted (sp?). That airport is a 45 minute train out from London, throw in international flight concerns and your basically up in the middle of the night to make that flight.

I took the Eurostar from London to Brussels ($75 if you have a valid railpass, but book it in advance). Very relaxing, customs was a breeze, and throw in all the airline crap and it probably works out to be a very similar travel time.

1/11/2007 11:54:28 PM

Take me to dinner and I'll tell you how I did it

1/12/2007 1:09:44 AM

When crossing the Atlantic, one can do no better than:



If you plan on going to Ireland, I can give you a ton of advice. If you aren't already planning on going, you should. I studied abroad there and I'm itching to go back.

[Edited on January 12, 2007 at 1:52 AM. Reason : .]

1/12/2007 1:52:06 AM

Iceland Air is also a very cheap way to get across the pond

1/12/2007 5:13:29 AM

I'm in Germany right now...it's in the 40s and rainy, so as far as weather concerns, bring a flipping umbrella. As for where you should go, I would def say Berlin (I was there 3 weeks ago...loooved it). I enjoyed Vienna as well. (I live in Bamberg, about 45 minutes north of Nürnberg). The Deutsche Bahn (train system) is relatively inexpensive provided that you buy tickets a few days in advance.

If you have any other questions just let me know!

1/12/2007 9:10:16 AM

I'd highly reccomend Budapest, or anywere in Hungary. I did study abroad there for a semester and the country is beautiful. I did try hitchiking, but we attempted it in a group of three, so no luck. Although, we asked around with locals and our teachers first, and they said it was perfectly safe to do throughout almost all of eastern europe. I also bought a cheap bike while I was there and biked across the country, another thing I would recommend if you have time and about 45$ for a nice bike at a flea market. I packed a tent on my back and just camped out whereever i found some woods. It might sound dangerous, but the people there are really very friendly, and we never had any problems except in one little town.

As far as everywhere else, yes, if you are going to be traveling eastern europe, the eurorail pass is a must. There isn't a problem with the language barrier in big cities, but if you start to get rural, it becomes a little more difficult. Most people are patient with you though. Have fun!

1/12/2007 9:43:14 AM

I'm probably gonna go to Prague tomorrow or next weekend.

1/12/2007 10:00:52 AM

^I'm thinking of flying down to prague for a weekend soon. Oddly enough, I have never been. Ill probably end up going to poland to visit friends first though.

1/12/2007 10:02:36 AM

come tomorrow with me! or next weekend!

1/12/2007 10:03:38 AM

i wish, the next two weeks for me are going to be absolute hell. It has been nonstop schoolwork since I got back here and it caps of with the defense of my thesis proposal on the 22nd

1/12/2007 10:19:32 AM

this website has the best hostel reivews:
http://www.hostelz.com/

also theres http://www.hostelbookers.com



theres a bunch of threads here on travelling thru europe, i just cant find any atm

1/12/2007 10:23:52 AM

my boyfriend & i backpacked europe together for a month dec 26-jan 27

1. we did England last & were really glad we did because after 3 weeks of people not speaking a lot of english and being somewhat confused it was nice to be in a country that spoke english as the main language. you may consider reversing your plan, or going back to England at the end of the trip. we flew into Paris and it wasn't that bad. a few people speak english and if you ask in french if they speak english and say thank you in french most people are reasonably nice.

2. YES the Eurail pass is worth it. it saved our ass about 100 times, especially in Italy where trains are unreliable and entire trains just emptied for no reason. we'd be sitting there ready to go and suddenly everyone would get up and leave and move to another train... wtf? so with the eurail pass you're free to hop on most trains without a reservation. you can also get a discount on the high speed (eurostar) train from paris to london.

3. Weather Concerns: yes it's cold as shit during the time of year you're going. make sure you have a good coat & boots. tennis shoes are fine for day time stuff but when it's raining and freezing you dont want your feet to get wet. also bring an umbrella and a cover for your pack unless you dig wet clothes.

4. How Much Clothing to Bring: i had 2 pairs of jeans, 2-3 long sleeved shirts, sweat pants, enough socks for a new pair every other day, enough underwear for a new pair everyday & a jacket that had a zip out lighter jacket, gloves, hat, pillow case

5. Finding Hostels: its not hard. we booked our first city's hostel before we left the US then just booked everything else along the way from internet cafes. we used http://www.studentuniverse.com you dont' have to be a student and the rates are pretty good.

6. Language Barrier: not as difficut as you would think, but since you're traveling alone you'll probably get lonely quick without someone who speaks english to talk to all the time like we had. but in the hostels you'll stay in most people speak english so no big deal. also there are universal signs for food, bathroom, telephone etc so you'll figure it out. if you go to France be careful because they don't pronounce all the letters in a word and you might miss your train stop, lol

7. Daily Budget: depends on what you want to do. i have a daily budget written out in the journal i took with me. i think we budgeted about 50 euros a day on avg but sometimes it was more and sometimes it was less. that budget includes hostel, food, tours & souvineres (sp?)

8. Best Way to Travel Within a Country: in my experience, the eurail & then once you get to the city you either walk or take the metro

1/12/2007 11:32:56 AM

Extra stuff (taken straight out of my journal)

1. take money out of atms (usually called bancomats) and avoid the exchange desk if you can because they have higher fees

2. buy a phone card to call home-- calling collect gets really expensive for the parents!

3. always write down the hostels name, address & phone number and carry it with you. if you're lost simply pointing at an address is more likely to get results than trying to pronounce stuff to someone who might not understand english too well. the phone number is also important-- we ended up getting a stranger on the train to call our hostel for us to tell them we were running late because they had a cut off time for check out

4. try to find a market to buy water at. the prices are WAY lower than street vendor prices.

5. bring a small bag packed with snacks before you leave the US. this comes in handy when you're on a long train ride or its late at night and you need a snack. it saves a lot of money and once the bag is empty you can use it to bring back stuff you bought!

6. bring a set of plastic utensils, or bring 1 spoon-- that can be used for most things

7. bring a reliable travel clock & make sure it doesn't tick too loud! (ours broke which was actually good bc it ticked so loud we couldn't sleep sometimes!)

8. ear plugs are nice for everything from a ticking clock or loud train to loud hostel while you're trying to sleep

9. you don't need a map of every country you go to, we got maps for free in every city we went to, usually from the hostel.

10. wine is cheap! most places will open it for you if you want to consume it right away but if you're planning on drinking it later you might need to bring a bottle opener

11. keep track of expenses so you stay within budget

12. bring a thermometer so if you feel sick you can assess the need for a doctor. if you dont have a fever you probably don't need medical attention. this really came in handy when my boyfriend had a temp of 103.5 and i had to take him to the ER in Paris...

13. bring a journal, pen & glue stick so you can document your adventure & stick ticket stubs and stuff like that in the journal without losing them

14. towel...it's your call. we had to share a small towel in rome and a few days i even resorted to drying off with a bedsheet, most places provide towels though

15. bring basic first aid items, tylenol, bendryl, tissues, pepto & anything else you might need. this stuff doesn't take up much room and if you need it you'll be glad you dont have to go track it down in the country you're in

16. bring some things you wouldn't mind tossing on the way such as socks, underwear, undershirts that way toward the end of the trip you can lighten your load

17. locks for lockers in hostels. we used those small luggage locks and it worked fine. some hostels provide locks for you.

18. most people dont hate Americans

19. as far as the eurail, usually you can hop on and when they come around to check tickets you show them your pass. sometimes seats on a train are reserved so be prepared to get up and move if someone has the seat you're in reserved

20. you'll need reservations for overnight trains & the extra 20 euros for the couchette is totally worth it!! as far as reservations, if you're going between countries you'll need to go to the international ticket counter to make these reservations

1/12/2007 11:48:00 AM

21. depending on which country you fly into, you might not need to get your passport stamped. we wasted 2 hours in Paris trying to figure out where we were supposed to get stamped so we could leave. turns out we didn't need a stamp and we could just walk out

22. the highspeed train between Paris & London is totally worth the extra 75 euros.

23. be prepared to pay to use public bathrooms .40-.70

24. the train schedule that comes with your eurail pass isn't gospel. make sure to check local train schedules once you get to the country you're in

25. it's always a good idea to eat a good meal before getting on a train. it's not always clear just how long the ride will last & the food on board isn't always the most appealing & its of course marked up. also you don't know when your next meal will be if you consider delays, finding your hostel & what not. what was supposed to be a 4 hour train ride on one train in italy turned out to be a 10 hour trip and it took 5 different trains, be prepared for shit like that!

26. you need to have a lot of patience. a good deal of your time will be spent waiting around. i can't even begin to count the hours we spent waiting in train stations & on trains. you cant always sleep so bring something to entertain yourself like a book

27. we saw a lot of people who had both a full backpack and a full smaller backpack (daypack) we had a small messenger bag that we put our snacks in and used that as a daypack when we needed one. the people with both packs full looked miserable. it's also difficult to move around in trains (especially city trains) when you've got all this crap you're carrying

28. don't be an idiot. only keep a days worth of cash handy in a zippered pocket and always be aware that someone could get in there and unzip it without you noticing. we kept our passport, important documents & eurail pass in a security pouch under our clothes. digital camera was kept in a front zippered pocket.

29. don't put anything in your outer pockets that you're not willing to lose, furthermore don't bring anything on this trip that you're not willing to lose

30. the toilet paper isn't as bad as we had read about. its no charmin but it does the job

1/12/2007 11:58:49 AM

31. just because a hostel says there is a tv in the room doesn't mean it will work. also remember it will usually be in the local language. so you'll probably only be interested in the commercials and sports

32. bread & water aren't free in restaurants, just because someone is set on your table doesn't mean it's included. always ask how much something is before you eat it

33. tipping is different too. sometimes its included in the bill. usually we just rounded up to the nearest euro and left that on the table

34. dont expect any sort of customer service. most of the time when we had questions in train stations and needed an answer we had to ask 2-3 people before getting the info we needed. we were much more successful when we asked a random person rather than standing in line to talk to someone 'official'

35. when you're waiting in line, esp in Italy, throw personal space out the window. if you're not breathing on the back of the person in front of yous neck, people will cut and not even care

36. don't be afraid to take a day or 2 off every now and than. traveling is very tiring and sometimes just sleeping in and doing nothing all day can refresh you for the next leg of the trip

37. i don't recommend staying in a place for one night. it's just not worth it, you can't really see everything and the backpack can be a huge pain in the ass. sometimes you just need to be freed from it for a day or 2!

38. 5 days is more than enough for most cities you have a lot of interest in

39. i brought a pillowcase from home because it was a nice touch of home

40. in London, check out the Oyster Pass if you plan on using the tube. the Oyster is cheaper than paying individual fairs-- even for 1 day. you are also entitled to some discounts with it

41. looking back we both agree that we could have packed smaller backpacks. i used everything i brought and could handle my pack just fine but a smaller bag would have served virtually the same purpose and would have allowed for more "in between" sight seeing. several times we forwent a few extras due to our packs (ex: going to the top of the arc de triumph in Paris)

42. i ended up buying a small cheap backpack in London right before we left to put gifts & small things for the plane in. you could always roll up a backpack in your pack and use it for stuff like this

43. rolling suitcase, or backpack? we saw people with both. in the end we think the pack is better because the streets in europe can be wacky sometimes and a rolling back would be a pain in the ass. also, when you need to run up or down a flight of stairs, a backpack is awesome. a pack also leaves both of your hands open

44. looking back, an overnight flight wasn't as good of an idea as we thought. we slept terribly on the plane and arrived tired and groggy. we ended up going to our hostel and sleeping for a few hours anyway. on the way back we had a daytime flight and the whole experience was much better

* side note: depending on when you're in Paris, look into ice skating on the Eiffel Tower. it's only offered a few weeks during the winter & it's a lot of fun and a really unique experience. it's free too! you just pay the regular fee to go up the tower and its included.

* go to Stonehenge. it's a little out of the way but worth it

* go spend 2 days or so at the Amalfi Coast in Italy. most beautiful place i've ever seen


have fun!! it was the best trip ever

[Edited on January 12, 2007 at 12:18 PM. Reason : dsfsdnf]

1/12/2007 12:14:32 PM

Thanks again for all of the advice. This is the stuff that you really can't always get from looking over the numerous websites out there!

SkiSalomon - I'm really very open to checking out any country as long as I don't significantly jeopardize my well being and safety! From what I can gather, the majority of the western European countries are all safe and I've been told that you can safely (and cheaply) travel as far east as Czech and Poland. This may break my wallet by having such an open mentality as to where I want to go and not a defined plan of travel...but I think you guys can give the best suggestions for points of attraction that will help me to plan out a more definitive route.
Just a few of the things I'd like to do/see: experiencing the unique cultures that each city/town has to offer, check out historic sites (castles, cathedrals, and any other forms of architecture), do some wine tasting, plow through a couple museums, travel within a country to some "off beat" locations and smaller towns, see some beautiful beaches, drink good beer, etc! I'm sure that doesn't narrow anything down, BUT what I'm saying is, if its something you have done and thought "wow, I need to remember this to tell the next person traveling", then I WANT to hear about it!!
Seems a cell phone may not be necessary as pointed out by someone else but a calling card would be a more feasible option, but thanks for your suggestions and recommendation!

ddlakhan - I totally understand what you are saying! I've asked quite a few of my friends who have made a trip over to Europe, and each has pointed me towards a full list of activities that could take up my entire trip! I like this though since it might give me the "ULTIMATE" backpacking trip with all of your best secret spots put together. How about...what was the one thing about your trip that you remember above all else...and how could I come close to replicating the experience =)

jdlongNCSU - Thank you! I'm not too familiar and will definitely take your advice into consideration before booking my $1 flight with RyanAir and realizing all the extra work that needs to be done.

McDanger - how good is your advice?! haha

PinkandBlack - Ireland sounds like fun. I think I'll check it out. Just a quick question...what time of the year did you study there? Do you think (weather and comfort wise), that it'd be better if I went there earlier in my trip (around late February) or later in my trip (closer to May). Any special parades, festivities, parties, etc that I need to check out!? I may just have to PM you tap into a little of your wisdom!

ControlFreak - 40 and rainy does not sound like my idea of fun! haha...but thats good...b/c I can schedule to see Berlin later on (when it will hopefully be nice and sunny!). Are you living in Germany, studying abroad?!

1985 - Hungary is definitely on my list...even if I only make it to Budapest (just because of all the crazy stories I've heard from friends)! I'm not sure I'll be roughing it as much as you did with the camping, but the bike idea sure does sound good. I'm sure its pretty easy to get rid of after you are ready to leave too?
I wonder if I'll have any chances to hitchhiking since I'm alone?! We'll see...

synapse - Thanks for the sites...I'm bookmarking all of them with del.icio.us and will reference them later!

NCSUWolfy - wow!! Thats all I can say. And oh, THANKS!! I picked up so many useful tidbits (bring medicine, ear plugs, journal, writing down the hostel names) that I'm sure will both save my ass financially, physically, and emotionally! THANK YOU =) It seems like you had an unbelievable trip...I'm hoping to be able to do/see some of the things you went through.
To be honest, I'm sort of terrified about going by myself for all obvious reasons, but at the same time, I think a trip like this will challenge me and allow me to learn who I am and what I can do on my own (not to mention in a foreign country where I will probably have to resort of crude gestures and pointing as a main form of communication)!
Do you remember what Eurail pass did you got, and any recommendations for someone who is traveling around three months? Global pass for 2 months is 945...I'm wondering if I will actually be "traveling" this much, or if something like a 15 days (in 2 months) is enough. I'm assuming I'll also be using some other forms of transportation once I get into a country and relying on the Eurail as a main source between countries (unless of course I go to Italy and also realize the craziness that you experienced).
In regards to landing in London first, my idea is it will help ease into the whole adventure while being able to maintain the communication barrier. Also, the flight in was the cheapest I could find! haha...gotta be frugal =)

Additional questions:
- there seems to be quite a few different student cards available that offer some sort of discount. Did anyone get one? Did it come in handy, or should I just avoid them?
- I have a Nikon Coolpix digital camera that uses the small battery packs that requires the plug as the other way to re-charge it. Do you foresee this being a problem with all the countries potentially having different power sources? Would it be easier if I took my sister's older camera that uses AA batteries?

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the help! Keep any bits of advice you have coming!

1/12/2007 4:30:23 PM

Another thing I'd recommend: you might get to a city with addresses of places you want to visit, be it a cool restaurant/bar/nightclub you heard about, or a museum, or a store, museum, whatever. The address isn't good enough -- before you start planning your stay in a city be sure to mark these places on your map. You don't want to realize at the end of a long day that the nice tavern you want dinner at is 20 or 30 minutes away on foot. Having a spatial sense of what you want to hit will help plan your trip better.

1/12/2007 5:16:57 PM

Quote :

"McDanger - how good is your advice?! haha"

we went to europe together


the pass we had allowed unlimited travel for 21 days and it worked out fine for our 1 month

bring outlet adapters so you can charge your camera-- you can find them at walmart or target for pretty reasonable prices

[Edited on January 12, 2007 at 6:13 PM. Reason : kjfsdhf]

1/12/2007 6:09:23 PM

Quote :

"ControlFreak - 40 and rainy does not sound like my idea of fun! haha...but thats good...b/c I can schedule to see Berlin later on (when it will hopefully be nice and sunny!). Are you living in Germany, studying abroad?! "

I have an internship actually, and I've lived here since October (by myself aaahhh lol). But I speak German fluently, so it's no biggie. And yeah, Berlin is sweet. 10 or 15 euros on a sightseeing bus (the hop on hop off ones) is what I did. Go at your own pace and the buses run all day. (Bamberg, where I live, is small enough that you can walk around, lol)

1/15/2007 7:52:39 AM

Also, I feel the need to confirm a few things:

Quote :

"15. bring basic first aid items, tylenol, bendryl, tissues, pepto & anything else you might need. this stuff doesn't take up much room and if you need it you'll be glad you dont have to go track it down in the country you're in "

yes. believe me, it's the biggest pain in the ass trying to explain what pepto-bismal is (für Bauchschmerz! BAUCHSCHMERZ! and Benadryl...don't get me started)

Quote :

"18. most people dont hate Americans"

true. unless they're French.

Quote :

"19. as far as the eurail, usually you can hop on and when they come around to check tickets you show them your pass. sometimes seats on a train are reserved so be prepared to get up and move if someone has the seat you're in reserved"

also true. I don't get "settled in" to my seat until we've been moving for a while.

Quote :

"25. it's always a good idea to eat a good meal before getting on a train. it's not always clear just how long the ride will last & the food on board isn't always the most appealing & its of course marked up."

yes. train food is effing expensive.

Quote :

"30. the toilet paper isn't as bad as we had read about. its no charmin but it does the job"

agreed. I've gotten used to it over the past 3 and a half months.

Quote :

"32. bread & water aren't free in restaurants, just because someone is set on your table doesn't mean it's included. always ask how much something is before you eat it"

water is actually pretty expensive...and in Germany you'll need to ask for "stilles Mineralwasser" because otherwise you get fizzy water

Quote :

"35. when you're waiting in line, esp in Italy, throw personal space out the window. if you're not breathing on the back of the person in front of yous neck, people will cut and not even care"

oh God yes...I hate this....lol

and yeah, I backpacked through Austria last month with like 2 shirts and one pair of jeans...I didn't bother bringing pajamas (but for God's sake make sure you bring a warm scarf and warm gloves. holy crap)

1/15/2007 8:07:42 AM

Quote :

"Seems a cell phone may not be necessary as pointed out by someone else but a calling card would be a more feasible option, but thanks for your suggestions and recommendation! "

If your service is Cingular or T-Mobile and you have a tri-band or quad-band phone you should reconsider. Your phone will work there and it could come in handy in an emergency. It is one of the more stressful things in life trying to figure out how to use a pay phone in a foreign language country for the first time in the middle of an emergency. I recommend turning it on only once to test its use once you arrive, from there it gets expensive.

Quote :

"Do you foresee this being a problem with all the countries potentially having different power sources?"

You can get a good power adapter from Brookstone. I bought mine there in '98 and I still get good use from it. I usually use it for laptop, camcorder, camera, & cell phone. I understand that you probably won't be brining most of these items on your trip, so you can decide whether it's worth it.

If you bring any of these items, check the details on the AC power supply. If it says "Input 100-240V, ~50/60Hz, 0.1A" or measurements close to that, you can leave the step down transformer at home and just bring the plug adapters.

Quote :

""35. when you're waiting in line, esp in Italy, throw personal space out the window. if you're not breathing on the back of the person in front of yous neck, people will cut and not even care""

This is a difficult one to accept but it is so true -- we are so conditioned with our own culture that you can't help it, it will piss you off because it always seems to happen when you don't expect it.

Just to reiterate: when it comes to ANYTHING that involves waiting in line (even a short line), people will do anything to get ahead. I get burned on the line thing every time I go, Last year's example: I stopped at a roadside restaurant and a woman with her children were coming in from behind me. Seeing that she had her hands full, I held the door for her.

She took that opportunity to rush her kids inside and get ahead of me in line.

Along similar lines, If you're in a crowded place and someone needs to get by you, you will be pushed aside (especially in a bar, so don't let this get you into a fight) don't expect anyone to say anything to you beforehand.

The thing to understand is that you can forget about any manners among strangers as you have come to expect them. It's not rude there, just different norms to foreign culture. Most things about the different cultures will leave you pleasantly surprised, but you won't like everything. The more you find out about the unsavory things before you go, the less they'll bother you once you arrive.

1/15/2007 10:26:43 AM

^seriously. I was at Burger King the other night (lol) and there wasn't even a line at the counter. just a mob of people. the lady working the counter was the one deciding the next person to help. I was like UM EXCUSE ME. omg it pisses me off so bad.

1/15/2007 10:38:32 AM

just don't watch the movie hostel before going

1/15/2007 11:37:51 AM

^^ In Scandinavia, people queue at stores. They take a ticket as they come in, and wait until their number comes in. It's quite calm. If someone doesn't want to wait they leave and come back later.

1/15/2007 11:44:17 AM

hostels where like 50$ a night when i was there. and thats in the tiny towns, not the big cities

1/15/2007 11:54:51 AM

^^ In my experience, that only happens at places that don't really have many people waiting in line or at banks. It never ceases to amaze me how librarians at the public library will not talk to you until you have a queue ticket despite all five librarians having no one to work with.

1/15/2007 1:35:37 PM

you should try out Mt Hood

1/15/2007 2:28:16 PM

also,

- in Spain & Portugal the buses are far better than trains.
- the lets go and Rick Steves books are pretty good
- don't take a ton of clothing, but take a large enough bag to fit souveniers in on the way out
- in France and Spain they pretty much refuse to speak any english - other countries will work with you a little bit
- you will find other Canadians and Aussies everywhere

1/15/2007 3:04:38 PM

weird side story

when we arrived in Paris we were waiting in line to get tickets for the metro and the line curved around snake fashion like at amusement parks. when we got to a certain fold in the line we came upon a group that had on NC State apparel! we said hi and told them we were alums and the guy behind us spoke up and said he was from Durham NC

it gets crazier... about a week later we were waiting in line for the vatican and the same group of NC State people we saw in Paris passed by us! it was crazy because it was so random and we just waved and went on our way

its more stressful than you'd imagine being in another country and its very comforting to happen upond other Americans, esp other Americans who went to the same college as you!

1/15/2007 3:34:33 PM

i normally hate chiming in on these things, but I've spent several years backpacking in different places (around 2 in Europe) and here's what I have to offer.

Unless you are diehard about seeing lots of tourist sites, visit as many small towns as possible. Big cities are big cities and don't offer a lot of opportunities for personal connections and getting to know a culture.

Long distance travel: def. take the cheap airlines like Ryan air and Easy Jet. Plan ahead on those flights and you can get them dirt cheap.

Shorter distances: Don't be afraid to hitch hike (particulalry in France, Spain, Portugal, and most of western Europe). and certainly feel free to walk from one town to the next.

Lastly: (for the most part) Fuck Frommers, Rick Steves, Let's go, and all of the other bullshit backpackers' guides. Don't over plan crap and just do whatever you like on the whim. You will have a far better time that way, meet many more people (not just a bunch of other backpackers), and come back with a lot better stories.

1/15/2007 4:49:32 PM

To get the frenchies to speak english, you should attempt to speak a little french first. Then when they become offended at your awful french, they will be forced to speak english.

1/15/2007 8:18:15 PM

^ funny but actually true

1/15/2007 8:29:28 PM

Quote :

"it gets crazier... about a week later we were waiting in line for the vatican and the same group of NC State people we saw in Paris passed by us! it was crazy because it was so random and we just waved and went on our way"

i went to italy with a group of friends during high school (school sponsored trip tho), and we randomly met this group of kids at a bar that went to a high school with the exact same name as ours, but in Florida, which might not seem odd but it was a catholic school with a name that was not very common i.e. st. johns or st. anthony's...

1/15/2007 8:44:10 PM

every person you see with a canadian flag on their backpack, walk up to them and say fuck you, im american.

1/16/2007 12:00:07 AM

the first time I was in Nürnberg back in November, I was looking at postcards when I heard some Americans looking at them on the other side of the postcard display thing. I said hi and we were talking, and then this guy came up and said in a southern accent "Where'd ya find that un at?" pointing to the card in my hand. I was like "holy crap are you from north carolina?" turns out he was from High Point. I was so excited.

Most Germans can speak at least a little bit of english, unless they're really old. This is especially true in big cities. The city I live in is 70,000 people, so english is not quite as common (I speak German, so it doesn't matter to me haha). But the Germans don't get offended if you don't speak the language, usually they'll point you towards someone who CAN speak it.

When I backpacked through Austria, I did pretty much zero planning. I found a hotel near the train station (which is called a Bahnhof btw), got a city map at the hotel counter, and went on my way. once you figure out where you are on the map it's alllll easy to figure out from there.

1/17/2007 5:00:22 AM

bttt

1/25/2008 9:08:35 AM