Has Anyone Done Europe?

[jaker_cc]

My wife is dead set on doing Europe in a couple of years.

We are planning about 10 days over there and we are torn between backpacking, or taking the train to wherever we go. I'm not liking the idea of driving on the wrong side of the road. I also don't really want to walk all over Gods green earth trying to get to a new place. So probably leaning towards the train.

What are some can't miss places that we should see, we like off the beaten path places. Spain, Greece, Paris? I don't know anything about any place over there.

Any info you can give me to help point us in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

[White Falcon]

A lot will change it that time frame!!

[salth2o]

I've been to Holland, Belgium, and France.

I am a huge WWII junkie and would recommend Normandy Beach, Auschwitz, etc.

Brussels and Bruges, Belgium are cool old cities with lots of history and some nice breweries. Paris is just a huge city, but the landmarks are pretty cool to see.

Italy is high on my list of places to go.

[jaker_cc]

I would like to see some of the WWII stuff. Not a huge history buff but I would like to visit Normandy Beach

[Chad_E]

Wife and I went in 2010. We went to London, Paris, Rome, Vince, Interlaken (Switzerland), near Fussen (small town in southern Germany), and Munich. We LOVED it and can't wait to go back. We backpacked to a point. That is to say, we carried on our backs all of our luggage.

I think I have a write up that I shared with one of my friends that was planning a trip that I'd be willing to share, just shoot me a pm with an email address.

I drove in Italy, Switzerland and Germany with no problems. Remember that only in the UK do they drive on the wrong side of the road (of the countries I mentioned).

[Ag 96]

I've been multiple times. There's so much to see, you could literally spend years there. If you intend to go more than once, my favorite thing to do is pick a major city and see everything there... Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin, etc. Most of those cities have more than enough to keep you busy for ten days. My personal favorites are London and Rome. I could spend at least another two weeks in Rome alone.

If you want to cover ground more quickly, you can also do a Rick Steves or similar tour. They pre-arrange transportation and lodging and have lots of different options. My parents did the UK one (London, England,
Wales, Scotland). Not really my cup of tea, but they liked it.

It is relatively easy to get around via train in most countries, but you'll also burn a lot of time if you try to see too much.

[K. Lane]

I tried my best to do Japan when I was in the Corps, but it was expensive and time consuming

[grizzman]

I want to go to Germany during Oktoberfest sometime. My wife's family is in Munich so there isn't a problem with hotels. Just have to make it over there.

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

We have done Spain and Italy I wasn't to impressed with Spain but we loved Italy we can't wait to go back!

[sethcros]

For ten days, I'd probably pick two cities like London and Paris, or whatever two cities you choose. You don't want to spend all of your time travelling from place to place, and you don't want to just see things to check them off of your list. You will come to regret it, and it will be an exhausting trip if you try and do too much.

[MLank]

I haven't been to Europe, but I've traveled quite a bit backpacking. Just to clarify, I don't mean we had packs and walked from one place to another. It just means we packed in back packs and used as much local transport as possible: planes, trains, taxis, vans, rented a car, buses, rick shaw......etc.

Given that, I had all the time in the world when traveling that way. I wasn't short on time and could afford to be offset a day or what not.

Recently, the wife and I were pondering Italy. We also were going to make use of a 10 day schedule. Through my "research", I broke up Italy into North, Middle, and Southern. With 10 days I was going to pick ONE zone to travel (maybe part of a second zone). My reasoning was I wanted to soak up as much of the small ins and outs of each place we visited and not be rushed.

On another note, there are many different ways to travel for many different types of people. Your first time to Europe.... maybe you go crazy and visit 4 different cities in 4 different countries taking night trains between each one and saving on hostel or hotel fees (i.e. Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich). However, that would most likely leave you dog tired. Another option is pick TWO places relatively close and make the most of your time in each one.

Furthermore, you might take a look at Air BnB for places to stay. It is a great option that gets you out of a run of the mill hotel, usually similar in price if not cheaper, but also gets you closer to the local way of life.

Overall, just know pretty much anywhere you choose in Europe is very doable and try not to overwhelm yourself. Have fun, be respectful, and enjoy it. (Save a ton of $$$$ also).

[MLank]

For ten days, I'd probably pick two cities like London and Paris, or whatever two cities you choose. You don't want to spend all of your time travelling from place to place, and you don't want to just see things to check them off of your list. You will come to regret it, and it will be an exhausting trip if you try and do too much.

This is essentially the short version of what I was trying to get at.

[Mr. Redlabels]

Rome is by far the best place I have been. Been stationed out in Germany for 3 years now and done plenty of traveling. If you have any questions just shoot me a PM.

[sethcros]

Rome is by far the best place I have been. Been stationed out in Germany for 3 years now and done plenty of traveling. If you have any questions just shoot me a PM.

I was too. My favorite place was Paris though. Interestingly I like Rome but didn't love it.

[DJM]

Went to Germany in November of '89 came back in October 0f '92.Saw a lot.Visited most of the countries.It's ok.No desire to go back.I'd rather go to Alaska or Australia.

DJ