Europe!

[flylock shox]

What's your attitude to hostels Fobulous - are you in the right age bracket to find them enjoyable?

I ask because you and your wife could usually share a private room at about half the cost of hotels, and have all the benefits of meeting other travelers, hearing their advice, and getting recommendations from knowledgeable hostel staff.

I've been in Europe for the last 2 months in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and now the Czech Republic. Tomorrow I head for Hungary before moving on to Austria. My experience so far suggests that it is possible to take in a lot in a very short period of time in Europe, particularly if you're not big on museums, and particularly if you're able bodied and keep on the move. I managed to circumnavigate all of the old city in Dresden in a 4 hour break (on foot) while waiting for a connecting train to Prague. By bike, it's possible to get around even a larger city like Prague in a single day.

You may also want to check out UNESCO to see what world heritage sites are on your route. It would be a shame to miss them.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by troutman

You can find a Macdonalds in all of those cities.

But, sadly, Amsterdam is the only city where you'll find a Sbarro.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by gargamel

But, sadly, Amsterdam is the only city where you'll find a Sbarro.

^^^ ...and you won't find a Papa Johns in any of them.



YYC -> Amsterdamn

My memories of Amsterdam are from many years ago so things have likely changed but there were some sketchy areas on either side of the red light district. Like in any city there were areas to avoid at night...one of those was the main square down from the train station. It might all be different now so I'll defer to those who were there in the current century.

Ams -> Paris, France

I could go on and on about Paris. I've been at least a half dozen times, love the city. Feel free to PM if you have questions and if I can't answer Mrs. Furnace who is from Paris can answer.

Paris -> Nice, France

If you really want to do the French Riviera, then I'd suggest trying for Antibes. It's right next door to Nice but is slightly less expensive.

Nice -> Rome, Italy

Going there the beginning of September so I'll have some current intel for you. Basically though just get 4x4 to send you his 10 paragraph long description of what to see. It's awesome and freaking hilarious. The PM he sent me is hall of fame worthy.

Rome -> Venice, Italy

As others have said fitting in Florence or Siena would be great. Again, I'll have more to say of those after our trip.

My memory of Venice was waking up to the sounds of air raid sirens and lots of splashing. We were there in October and the tides were high so the place flooded. We just went and bought rubber boots and wandered around the streets in those for the day. It was tiring, but very memorable.

Venice -> Vienna, Austria

Never been but everyone likes it. I've been to Salzburg which was pretty.

Vienna -> Munich, Germany

Again, not been. Closest was Hiedelberg.

General tips for Europe/travel:
- As others have said you can get by most places with English and part of the fun is trying to communicate.

- Expect to wash your clothes. You don't go 3 weeks at home without washing so you can't do that on the road either. By planning for these you'll immediately take less crap. Bring some laundry soap and more importantly a large rubber stopper for the sink so you can wash your clothes in your room. Often hotel/hostel sinks don't have stoppers.

- You (and your wife) can easily go 3 weeks with just a carry on bag each. I've done it without any problems on more than one occasion, my wife too. A tip is to take everything you think you need, pack it up, and then go downtown on the bus with it and walk around for an hour with it and then go back home. If you didn't find it a pain in the ass then you might be ok. Remember in cities like Paris the metro system is huge so you end up carrying bags up and down stairs and through long walkways to get from train to train plus you'll need to walk a bit to get to where you are staying. Having less crap to schlep around makes for the between accommodations that much better. Rolling bags are great for nice even pavement but not so great for stairs and cobblestones. www.onebag.com is a great source of information. Also Rick Steves has lots to say on the matter (and has great travel bags) http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlight.htm.

[Fobulous]

Furnace Face... just got your pm! Thanks to both you and 4x4! The summary he wrote was great and actually mentioned a lot of places you can't seem to find on the net...

Thanks again!

[SeeBass]

I would recommend flying "open jaws" and not go back to The Dam.

Fly into Heathrow and fly out of Rome or Athens.

[Cyclops]

My advice would be to stay in Venice for 1 night max as you can walk the city in a day without a problem and see everything it has to offer, it's quite expensive as well. Then with the extra time go to Croatia.....short train ride and probably the nicest place in Europe in my opinion.

[SebC]

The rail pass is great... depending on your schedule, you might get a fair bit of mileage out of your travel days as well. Assuming you like thinks hectic, as I do. IMO if your travel time is under ~4 hours, you've got a lot of time to do things on a travel day.

If I were you, I'd try to get to Paris as soon as you land. You can spend time in Amsterdam at the end (and it's a great place to end your trip, as it's rather unique).

Paris... a must see city IMO, if a bit touristy.

Nice... never been.

Nice->Rome... that's skipping a lot. I would add Cinque Terre (takes a full day to see all five villages, but no more than that - book 2 nights in La Spezia), Florence (for me, not too interested in the renaissence art museums there but it's a gorgeous city - especially if you walk around at night, day and a half is good for me), and if you're on the rail pass you can make a half-day trip to Pisa as well, or stop there between La Spezia and Florence.

You might also want to consider adding the Naples area... stay in one place (I stayed a Fabric in Portici... nice hostel) and hit up the likes of Pompeii, Hercolaneum, Capri, Sorrento, Vesuvius and the Amalfi coast (if you get sick on buses, take the boat - if you get sick on boats, take the bus, if you get sick on both, skip it as Cinque Terre is similar and you'll enjoy Cinque Terre more.)

To manage your travel times, you can skip cities on the way up and down... e.g. Nice -> La Spezia -> Florence via Pisa -> Naples -> Rome -> Venice.

Vienna... I'd skip it.

Munich... wasn't on my radar, kind of a last minute thing. Man, I regret that. Anyways, if you have the rail pass, Neuschwanstein is a day trip and you can get there free. Can't really help more than that.

Munich -> Amsterdam ... this is a long trip, might want to break it up with a stop in Koln... the cathedral is right by the station. If you're into Koln late though, might as well continue to Amsterdam.

Anyways those are just my thoughts, but this will be your Bible, it's the Eurail timetable:

http://www.eurail.com/downloads/eura...ins-europe.pdf

The map is a bit less important, but it can help you figure out efficient routing.

http://www.eurail.com/downloads/eura...l-map-2010.pdf

The travel time map is helpful for preliminary planning, but be aware that you can't just add them up... that's why the timetable is your best bet.

http://www.eurail.com/images/eurail/...times-2010.png