My friend and I are going to Europe in June for 20 days. Our dads will be with us for the first 8 days and we will probably go to Innsbruck, Bolzano, and the Dolomites. From there, we will go with the dads back to Frankfurt, where they will fly back home and we will stay. We don't have any set plan from there, but my friend and I were thinking Berlin, then Copenhagen, then Hamburg for a day, then Amsterdam. Does that sound like a good itinerary for two 18 year old guys? What things should we do in those cities? Berlin, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam all look like a lot of fun, and we were thinking of staying in Hamburg for a day because it is directly on the way from Copenhagen to Amsterdam.

I seem to recall that you have a rail pass - so the train journeys between these cities will be:

Berlin to C: ranges form 7.5 to 9 hours with a minimum of 1 change- so basically one whole day
Copenhagen to Hamburg: starts at 5 hours - so 6.5 to 7 hours out of this day
Hamburg to Amsterdam: 5 to 6 hours on the train - all with at least one change (transfer time of about 15 minutes which is generous for europe)

I think you have been advised multiple times to research in some guide books and web sites, esp those aimed at students. Have you done so yet? Only you can decide what YOUR must sees are!

The train ride from Copenhagen to Hamburg is 4:45, so will have basically one afternoon and one evening.

Hamburg is a large city with many sights and attractions, so it is hard for us to pick one that may meet your interests.

You can take the public boat for a ride over the river Elbe. You can walk through a modern or a more traditional neighbourhood. You can go into one of several dozen clubs. You can go and do the Dungeon experience.

You may start here:

http://english.hamburg.de/

Trendy neighbourhoods are:

- Sankt Georg - many bars and restaurants.
- Sankt Pauli - also, and with the Reeperbahn a famous red light district which is easily walkable.
- Sternschanze - where the students meet.

We do have first class Eurail passes. We were thinking we could take an overnight train from Berlin to Copenhagen or just leave in the morning and get there by the afternoon.

It does look like a plan.

However you wanted to do some hiking - I don't see it possible in Amsterdam nor Berlin - Copenhagen ?

have a lot of fun !

However you wanted to do some hiking - I don't see it possible in Amsterdam nor Berlin - Copenhagen ?>

That's what I said at first but thinking it over, on the other thread I gave some really 'cool' hikes near each of those cities.

Hiking? - Have I missed something!

On your other thread I recently wrote - in case you are not checking that thread no more:

<If you reorganize your itinerary into landing in Copenhagen you could then take the night train via boat to Berlin and a night train to Amsterdam (well changing in the morning at Duisburg) - and Amsterdam to Freiburg - saving valuable travel time for your limited time and saving on the cost of an accommodation to boot and IME folks your age may find it a real adventure. At your age I hopped night trains like that and loved it.

All those I think are spiffy German run CityNightLiner (CNL) trains - book early and get ridiculously cheap fares - cheapest accommodation is a reclining chair but a couchette is better for sleeping - get a berth of your own and blanket, pillow, etc

So you could skip Hamburg and be in Amsterdam from Copenhagen the next morning and then go to Freiburg as originally planned as that is classical hiking environs in the Black Forest and it is closer to Frankfurt than Amsterdam though not by much.

For lots of info on night trains - with a railpass that covers the basic rail fare but you must pay extra for sleeping accommodations ranging from a few euros for a reclining chair to about $25 p.p. for a berth in a couchette - but still a great bargain figuring daytime travel time saved and the cost of a hotel - check the sites I mentioned on the other thread for lots of night trains: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

Hamburg is a neat city with a vibrant nightlife but the hiking in the Black Forest for a day as originally planned will give you a whole different perspective than you get in large cities - reconsider axing Freiburg - the hikes there you will remember as much as anything in a big city perhaps.

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/pr...t-travel.shtml

Sorry - but there is no overnight train from Berlin to Copenhagen. There is a bus that goes overnight.

And there are several trains that leave in the late afternoon/early evening and arrive next day - but they each seem to have 3 changes during the night and are not sleepers.

You did not ask, but am guessing you will need to arrange lodging for these locations. Our kids (early 20's) just got back and a couple places they stayed and really liked were the Circus Hostel in Berlin and the Generator Hostel in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen has a lot to do and see. Christinia is really interesting, and you do not have to partake, so don't feel like you have to. Canal boat tours are really interesting. The Round Tower is interesting to go up (it is a ramp, not stairs) with good views from the top. The palace, churches, castle....just really a lot of interesting things IMO.

We were planning on staying in youth hostels in all of those cities. Are there any hostels that are in the middle of things in any of those cities that we should consider?

We are also interested in the nightlife in those cities. Berlin and Amsterdam seem to have lots of clubs and things for us to do but I do not know much about the other two. My dad went to Copenhagen last year and said we should definitely go to Tivoli, which looks like a lot of fun.

The "problem" with hostels in Berlin is that during the last 10 years or so their total number grew so big that it's not really possible to have an overview.

The Circus hostel which mms mentioned is a "classic" in a good location and has been around for a decade or longer.

As Berlin is kind of spread out, there are no real "in the middle of things" locations. You have great locations with clubs, bars, restaurants on your doorstep. And other locations with the popular sights, museums, shopping in short walking distance. No one location combines both.

For going out, day or night, from eateries to clubs targeted mostly at young or younger adults like you:
Pull up a map of Berlin on Google maps and look for hostels near the U1 subway line - between Kottbusser Tor and Warschauer Str. stations. This part of the borough of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain is where most of the action is.

The neighborhood of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg has become more gentrified and upscale and is somewhat more popular with a slightly older crowd (30+) but features many popular bars, pubs, music venues.
This area is rougly a corridor in between Hackescher Markt and Eberswalder Str. subway station via Rosenthaler Platz (where the aforementioned Circus hostel is located).

Check Let's Go Europe - a guidebook - for an objective rundown on hostels and night life - IMO the best possible source - written by college students for young folk. Go to a library and copy the relevant sections on the 3-4 cities you are going to.

The Flying Pig - two of them in Amsterdam - always get cool reviews.

and yes Christina in Copenhagen is a place to check out:

https://www.google.com/search?q=chri...HcniAT0QsAQIHg

Like Amsterdam marijuana sold openly on Pusher Street but that is just a little part of this 'free city'. Said to be the 2nd most visited place in Copenhagen after Tivoli - to me an overpriced place mainly for young kids and older adults but something that everyone going to Copenhagen has to see.

airbnbs are nice and cheap but can be isolating - hostels will let you meet lots of folks your age and are probably the cheapest of all accommodations save camping or the Hotel du Park Bench. Again Let's Go Europe is IMO the best critiquer of low-budget accommodations.