thanks, and yeah, I've actually changed my mind and am starting and finishing in the UK. Family stuff..

Six months ago, I went to Europe for the first time. I went with my girlfriend and her parents. Her father was stationed at CFB Lahr in Germany for roughly 15 years.

For our trip we flew into Paris, picked up our new vehicle. Through a buy-sell program. We spent a couple of days in Paris, on to Normandy, to the Alsace region, then to Garmish, Munich, and finally a few days in Southern France before flying out of Lyon.

Paris was just something that had to be visited, given its history and culture, but I'm not sure that I would ever go back.

Out of all the places that I went, I want to go back and spent more time in the Alsace region and Southern Germany. Both of these areas were alive with history and were just so cool given the people, food, and beer. Plus we also hit Oktoberfest.

If you like amusment parks, you have got to go to Europa-park near Lahr. We went for the day and I was completely blown away by the size and diversity of the park.

For electronics, I dragged along my Pismo, digital camera (Canon S30) with two spare batteries, and a borrowed mapping GPS. The GPS came in so handy because the memory of our guide has faded since he lived in Germany. On the first day in Paris we went through all three batteries in the camera, I was glade that I had the powerbook to drop the pictures into. After two weeks we had taken over 900 photos.

Some of the better pictures can be seen at http://octo.dyndns.org

Eurail pass, best bargain in travel. Consider getting sleeper trains, saves on hotel costs and gets you where you're going without wasting travel time.

Join the Youth Hostel Association, some of the hostels are incredible, old castles etc. Cheap and you'll meet way more people staying in them than if you stay in hotels/motels. Same goes for camping, but you'll have to lug a heavier pack with you.

A lightweight sleeping bag is vital, even on the trains, some can be cold.

If you're heading for Amsterdam for the obvious reasons, get off the train at Central Station, walk out the front, go past the trams, keep walking straight ahead and turn left across the first bridge. On the corner is the Grasshopper, top floor's a restaurant, first floor's a bar, basement's a 'coffee shop'. Stop for refreshments and the city is yours to explore. Try the childrens museum which is full of hands on stuff and great when you're 'herbally amused'.

Have a great trip, you're going to love it.

J.

If you come the the UK, don't limit yourself to London. It's a sh*thole, and unrepresentative of the rest of the country. Head west, down to Devon and Cornwall, then north throught Wales to Cumbria. Head up to Scotland if you have the time, then on the way back stop off at York (this is compulsory). Don't bother with Stonehenge. Fit in places like Wells and Chester if you can.

This is true.

But definitely steer clear of Glasgow! Yuck.

I'll add some,


like others have said, buy a eurail pass before you get there and roughly plan out your route. Also like others have said, sleep on the trains at night - saves $


- Most important thing! put a canadian flag on your pack - its like a chick magnet...
plus people won't think you are american (hey, it happens )

Agreed - come to Edinburgh!

\
wouldn't want that!

Dude... That's like saying "don't bother with the pyramids, just drive on past them".

Granted it's nowt special to us locals but this might be the guy's only/last visit here. It's like what, less than a hour out of his way if he's heading from Devon to Wales?

Sadly, the most offensive travelers I encountered during my month-long sojourn in mainland Europe were Americans. Loud, obnoxious, drunken hooligans. One drunk bastard even found himself with a broken jaw after he slumbered into the wrong bed -- my bed -- and wouldn't leave.

Canadians were a distant second. But I will never forget one Canadian about my age whom I befriended on a train ride to Spain from France. Easily the coolest, kindest gentleman I have had the opportunity to call a friend.

Yes, do yourself a favor and get your butt on that backpacking in Europe. The end result will almost always be positive.

By the way, what do people think about a late 20s/early 30s person backpacking? Kinda over the hill by then?

It sounds like you have planned your route already, but I'll say it anyway;
Come visit Denmark! In the summer it's great, beaches, partys, culture, nature, history.

When travelling, try to stop at one or more music festivals. There are a lot of them in the summer, and it's one big party with great music!

About the flag on your backpak, defenetly do that. It may sound mean, but often people got this idea of the behaviur of american turists...

Oh, learn to say yes, no, thank you in the countrys language - that always scores some cheap point with the locals.

But other than that, just have fun and meet new people!

DOnt know much about the backpacking myself. Im a student living in Paris and I havent done much exploring of europe besides whats nearby. In any event, Im really very poor especially now that I have basically Blasted through my reserves. im relying on parents until my internship starts.

I think I will be working here for a few years after I graduate, so i plan on doing some more extensive traveling then. for now, i will be visiting england where i have some (english) friends, and maybe a little bit in italy to see where my grandparents came from. that would be fun. I like the erasable ink idea...