Jabird

I will be backpacking in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, staying in hostels, gasthauses and using the train for transportation. What about bringing along my computer laptop? I'm afraid I won't be able to find out train schedules, rooms, etc without it but then worrying about the security of it. Thanks.

Travelnut

If you have a little extra money right now, you could buy a mini-pc, just like a laptop only smaller and lighter. I love the Acer Aspire One we bought just before our last trip.

You can buy a locking cable to secure the pc to a fixed object; the only other risk is losing it while you're in transit.

Avg. price range is $350-400 right now.. Check Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Asus....

yk

I'd be hesitant to leave <u>anything valuable</u> at hostels.

You can always look up and print out train schedules in advance before your trip; or just stop by the train station to check.

Internet cafes are still around... though not as populous as it used to be several years ago.

DalaiLlama

What do you do with a laptop when you head for the communal showers down the hall? You can take your wallet with you, and passport etc. in a waterproof pouch, but a laptop? And when you go out in the evening into town? And during the day when the hostel is locked up and you're roaming? You'd rather not carry it around, but are you sure it's still there in the late afternoon when you get back?

Trains run all the time, there's always another one. Don't be conditioned to think of them as airplanes, requiring all that research and booking long in advance. Local and regional trains can be boarded whenever, long-distance trains in many countries require having a reserved numbered seat, but even that can be done when you swing by the station (usually in a central location) the day before.

S0, no, you don't need it - go footloose and fancy-free or you'll be sorry.

yk

BTW, Jabird, many people (myself included) went backpacking in Europe <u>before</u> there was internet and laptops. And we still managed.

rogeruktm

Many people manage without any electronic gear when they travel. However, if you are the sort that just cannot manage without it, I say take it.

scatcat

My Acer mini laptop fits in my LV handbag. It only weighs two pounds. So, if I feel uncomfortable about leaving it in my room, I just stick it in my handbag.

scatcat

Correction-my laptop is an Asus EEE.

Travelnut

&quot;....What do you do with a laptop when you head for the communal showers down the hall? ...And when you go out in the evening into town? And during the day when the hostel is locked up and you're roaming? ...&quot;

umm, I did mention a locking cable.

DalaiLlama

The locking cable is way too clumsy - just picture yourself in a hostel dorm, fiddling with that, off and on and again and again - off to the toilets, out comes the locking cable, back from the shower, off comes the locking cable - come on, what a production number everytime!?! No way I say.

karameli

You might also consider buying an iPod touch -- you can connect to any free wifi network and surf using Safari. It's not as easy as a laptop, but far more portable. Also has a map application. Plus, it'll give you some entertainment during the train rides

sshephard

I have travlled three or four times with a macbook and I'm not sure I'd want to backpack with a laptop. The weight may not seem like much to begin with but it seems like it gets heavier as the days pass by. Also, I found connectivity to be hit and miss.

I also took my Touch with me this past summer (along with my laptop) and found that wifi is not yet as easy to find in Europe as it is in the US - at least where I went (Dijon, Corsica, Sienna, and several places in Croatia).

lifelist

I haven't backpacked through Europe, but I have done so extensively in South America, Australia, and New Zealand. In general, hostels have large lockers in which to store your stuff in the rooms. All you need is your own padlock. The lockers are large enough to hold the big backpacks people travel with.

So, to answer the question as to what you do with your stuff when you're down the hall - you put it in the locker.

I've traveled with lots of digital camera gear and lenses, along with a laptop, and felt fairly secure leaving my stuff locked up in my dorm room.

Security on the train is a bit more difficult, but manageable if you keep alert.

Though, I would really examine your reasons for taking the laptop. There are internet cafes all around, so you still have access to e-mail and the internet for research and communications. To tell the truth, the only reason I have not to take a laptop along with me all the time is weight and size. I don't worry about security all that much.

Robespierre

If you've got the bread to shell out for an iPod Touch, you could also buy a pocket computer that does about 82 gazillion things the Apple-heads can only dream about.

Failing that, you can use a SmartPhone to surf to various mobile data sites like http://Mobile.bahn.de or http://vrsinfo.de/pda

karameli

Robespierre, I see your point -- the Touch is $199, but you can get an Inspiron Mini 9 (mini laptop) for around $400. However, since the OP is worried about security, the Touch would be the smallest/most portable option. I'm not an &quot;Applehead&quot; (I work on two PCs) but I do use my Touch for travel because it fits in my pocket.

Robespierre

<i>...the Touch would be the smallest/most portable option.</i>

Not hardly. There are dozens of PCs that fit in a pocket and provide full access to travel sites such as the ones I listed above - for a more complete list of them, see flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=450299

<i>I do use my Touch for travel because it fits in my pocket.</i>

Same reason I use my iPAQ and Wing Pocket PCs, and my RAZR and V195s SmartPhones. And by the way - they get their data from the cell system, so I don't have to be near a WiFi network to use them.

suze

Personal choice obviously, but I'd rather make do with using public computers... at the hostel, at internet cafes, etc. rather than having to carry &amp; worry about a laptop.

Some hostels have reservations systems online available so you can book from one place to the next.

You can still find train schedules the old-fashioned way... at the train station!

Robespierre

<i>Author: suze
Date: 11/22/2008, 12:03 pm

You can still find train schedules the old-fashioned way... at the train station!</i>

Sooo twentieth-century! Example: you're visiting the Neanderthal museum, which has its own (unmanned) station, about 15 minutes away. You want to know when the next train to D&uuml;sseldorf stops there, so you can stay at the museum as long as possible and not waste time standing on the train platform.

You whip out your SmartPhone or Pocket PC and access the http://mobile.bahn.de site. In seconds, you find that the next train is in 42 minutes. I've done this in dozens of places all over Europe.

Paris M&eacute;tro: http://www.ratp.info/ma_ratp_dans_la_poche/index.php

Transport for London: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravel...ap/default.asp

VRS K&ouml;ln/Bonn: http://www.vrsinfo.de/1_2.php