Backpacking Europe

Independently backpacking Europe from July 13 to July 7 with two other friends. Most likely starting out in London, with money, and a Eurail pass. T
Then from London-Paris via chunnel, then using Eurail, move from Paris to Brussels, Brussels to Antwerp, then into the Netherlands, obviously Amsterdam. Then train to northern germany, Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin.
When we stop in places, we plan to use Hostels or tents that we carry, and in transit we use the sleeping cars as mobile hotels, to sleep in.
From Berlin, we want to move to Poznan in Poland, from Poznan to Warsaw, and we arent sure to take the upward route to Gdansk, and then move through Scandinavia, or the Southern route, which will bring use through Czech Republic, Austria, and through switzerland, and back to France.

I need suggestions for equipment, and ideas from people who've done it. Suggestions?

[bjcsc]

"Independently backpacking Europe from July 13 to July 7 with two other friends."

2 questions:
1) Are you walking backwards?
2) What exactly does "independently backpacking...with two other friends" mean?

[kerry]

I camped the UK summer 2002 and France this summer. We found it was cheaper to buy a used motorhome and tour with it rather than a Eurail pass. We bought a used Mercedes motorhome, used it for two years and sold it for more than we paid for it.
But, transportation aside, the camping in Europe is great. There are many campsites in or near to cities and the facilities are usually excellent. There is a campsite in Versaille that is excellent and just a few hundred yards from the train station that only takes 20minutes in to the center of Paris. You'll see lots of tenters and a huge array of different kinds of tents, much more variety than in the US. Given the fact that there is generally more rain in Europe, I'd look for a tent that I could take down while the fly was still up so the main body of the tent would remain dry.

The Lonely Planet guides are good for campers. They are aimed at backpackers and pick he sites readily accessible from public transportation.

[jjrodger]

You might have more fun if you miss out on the big name destinations and go to more low key areas. You seem to be skipping Great Britain altogether. Some friends of mine had an idyllic time backpacking in Dordogne-Languedoc-Roussilon parts of France. You will find grandeur in the south west of France, but also a lack of tourists and a simple way of life. In rural Britain, especially Wales, northern England and Scotland you will find easygoing, simple and friendly people who speak your language and will make you welcome.

[kerry]

I've got to second JJ's suggestion. I spent most of last summer in Brittany. Hardly saw any other tourists, let alone US tourists. The beaches were spectacular and the coastal paths breathtaking. The only drawback is that sometimes it is difficult to get to the out of the way places on public transportation. That's why I elected to go with a motorhome.
If you do decide to spend more time in the UK and not leave for the continent from London, there is a ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff which puts you in the west of France. It gives you a chance to see Brittany and work your way back east. Whatever you do, don't miss Mont St. Michel. It will be crowded with tourists but well worth it. There is a very nice campsite in the town about a half mile directly south of the Mt.

[need2speed]

Great idea to plan your train travel for overnight....the coach does double-duty as your hotel room.

Buy food from the grocery stores and make your own meals....the restaurants will bankrupt you soon! Take instant coffee/tea with you and arrange mail shipments of luxury foods from home.

You will get stuff stolen....don't take anything you can't afford to lose. Make sure your group has more than one camera. Don't fall for anyone who says they are an official anything without checking ID carefully.

Don't break any laws and think being a tourist will get you off. Bribery/blackmail in eastern europe will bankrupt you faster than the restaurants.

You'll need a visa to go into Czech Republic, even if just passing through on the train.

Good luck, have fun!

[Trelinski]

Kyle, if I understood your plan correctly, you cant decide between Scandinavia, and Central Europe (except for some of Poland). Well I personally cant see a European backpacking trip without including the Czech rep (Prague, but also some awesome small towns), South Poland (Krakow as well as some other places), Hungary and Austria.

An alternative to your route could be, after getting to Germany, go south through Austria, then east through the Czech rep. The country is pretty small, so you'll have no problem seeing everything. Then go north through Poland hitting Krakow, Warsaw and Gdansk (There isnt much to do in Poznan anyway). From Gdansk you can get a ferry to Sweden or Denmark and check out Scandinavia.

Some other notes: The Eurail pass does not function east of Germany, this might change in May (Poland, Czech rep entering EU) but I'm not sure. And because of the same reason, you might not need a visa to go to Czech rep, but once again, I'm not sure.

I did a condensed version of your trip over 3 months this summer. But I stayed in the region of central Europe. Basically the eastern half of Germany, Poland, Czech rep, Slovakia. I skipped Hungary and Austria as I ran out of time.

We've decided to kill the Poland idea all together, although the three of us are Polacks..

Something along the lines of London-Paris-Brugges-Amsterdam-Bremen-Berlin-Munich--St Johann (Tirol)-Venice-Lucerne-Interlaken-Bern-Paris-To London

Using a busabout pass, and Hostels, and with thirty days, we can spend approximately two days in each place, but may pass through some places (Tirol) for instance, and stay in others for more time (Berline, Interlaken, Amsterdam)

And no puff puff in Amsterdam!

And June 13 to July 13...woops

[need2speed]

Originally posted by narwhal
....15 years ago, i Hosteled and used a eurorail pass. The last two times I have been to Europe since 1997, I have found the pass more expensive than buying individual tickets from country to country. The only way it is cheaper is if you are trying to cram in many countries in a short period of time. In Amsterdam and Brussels, for example, you can by stripkarts (sp?) for @ $10 to get you around for a week in those cities via electric train.

Another great point....a eurorail pass WILL be more expensive than single trip tickets!

[william rogers]

Would wear a sign reading I am from Canada........
William Rogers....

[Vronsky]

I wouldn't stay in Amsterdam for more than 1-2 nights to see the main museums and the canals. The rest is cheap rubbish. If you want to see Europe, this should be part of your itenary:
- London
- Paris/Versailles
- Barcelona
- Venice
- Florence/Siena
- Rome
- Vienna/Salzburg
- Prague
- Interlaken/Alps

Consider buying a car to do this 'Grand Tour', and sell it afterwards.

Cheers!

[Eberhard Weilke]

...if your still thinking about:
"Berlin-Munich--St Johann (Tirol)-Venice-Lucerne-Interlaken"-route, let me know. You are certainly invited to drop by my place.

When it is three of you, certainly a car might be a good idea.

Let me know, we certainly can arange something. Getting a decent car, getting insurance (much easier for a local) etc.

You still have my E-Mail address?

Kind regards
Eberhard
(who might be able to help you out with a 280 SE four-speed stick caledoniagreen with MB-tex creme)

Hey, I am only 18, so I don't know about the whole care issue. However, I do know that driving a 280SE 4 speed would be fun. I really wanted to go to Stuttgart anyhow to see the Mercedes museum, and this definitely isn't off the beaten path. We have a month to basically make a circle around Europe. Thank you very much for the offer, and I will talk to my two other companions about the car deal. As it looks, we'll be using a Busabout pass.

[Eberhard Weilke]

If you have a valid drivers licence, it is no problem at all. I would put the car on insurance under my name, even if you have an accident that wouldn't infringe with the insurance rates of my other cars. Insurance goes by the car and the contract, no matter what kind of driver you are. I can even put no specific driver on the contract, so the insurance doesn't care who is actually driving the car. (I get a discount of around 15% if I restrict it to myself)

Insurance is on a "per day" calculation, so even a 280 SE doesn't cost a lot for six weeks. Same thing with tax. A rough estimate the car would cost you about 150 - 200 $ for that time.

Getting and selling the car I can help you to pretty much get even. Allow another 200-400 bucks for repairs prior to the trip.

Gas is a little pricy here, estimate about 12 - 14 Euros fuel costs for 100 km.

Tell me what you want to see and I would be happy to give you some advice what to do.

Kind regards
Eberhard

[kerry]

Eberhard:
I was looking into purchasing a motorhome in Germany about two years ago. (I ended up buying in the UK). One problem I kept running into was that it was difficult if not impossible for a foreigner to legally register a car in Germany apart from a temporary permit to export. Do you know if there is any way around this? In an ideal world, I would like to keep a motorhome in Europe so I can pop over periodically and explore the continent.

I concluded that for a person like myself, the best place to register a motorhome was in Ireland because there is no yearly safety inspection so the vehicle does not need to return to its home country once a year to comply with registration requirements. But again, the problem seems to be foreigners registering vehicles there.

By the way, I never got back to you about your kind offer to purchase a water pump for me because I figured out that a water pump for a 115 model 300d will fit my 409d.

Kerry