we may all be talking to ourselves since matt hasn't been back to either thread.

Matt?

wow.....this is harsh...i dont know what to say....


i thought i said the time we would be there....

June 2 to August 6. 2008

I also said that I would have a place to stay in London, Amsterdam, Hildesheim Germany, Copenhagen DK, & Bern Switz.

maybe i just should not go....I understand that i have to cut it down, but how? maybe i should skip GB, Italy, and Sweden? dont care much about GB anyways...and YES i have researched these places....i have been in contact with Rick Steves for a couple of years....getting tips and such...i just wanted to take a supertrip....well i guess it cannot be done....

IT IS $4000 a piece!!!! so a total of $8000.

Matt

You must understand that for many on this forum travel is not just something to do...it's a religion. Many here will give you great advice while others will give you crap like...

"It sounds like they will be doing doing research for the "Dumb and Dumber" sequel"

Just ignore the useless posts like that and glean from the good ones.

Depending on how energetic you are the trip you outlined above may be doable...but that doesn't mean it will be much fun. In the past I went on rather hectic trips (trips that were scorned by some on this forum) and had a blast. But after two of those types of trips I'm ready to slow down and spend more time in one spot. It all depends on how you like to travel. Persoanlly for me I'd cut back as many have stated above.

As mentioned above you need to put together a spreadsheet of every day on the trip and really lay it all out. In each box put down the true travel times (see http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fa...ules/index.htm and http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichel...MaHomePage.htm to truly understand your travel times) and really think if that's the pace you want to travel. And from what some have said parts of your itinerary are impossible...not just hectic.

Have fun planning your trip and as mentioned break your questions down into smaller posts so that things that are important to you won't get lost in all the other questions. For me the planning phase is half the fun! :)

Matt-

Don't worry - you can do it.

Do you already have your flight? If not, I suggest skipping Ireland this time because much of the beauty of Ireland is in the countryside, you will need to drive, and it adds expense. Dublin is also an expensive city to get into and out of.

I know everyone has suggested that you look at some guide books, and you say you have. One thing to take note of is that even though you appear to be young and energetic, moving like you are suggesting on almost a daily basis for 2 months can tire anyone out. My first Europe trip was when I was about 25 - we moved nearly every day for 2 weeks. It was AWESOME, but I came home tired. And that was just 2 weeks. You have 8 weeks. Plus you need to consider the length of time it takes to get from one place to the next. . .

If I were you, this is how I would pare it down - I am basing this on not only what you have said but what I have enjoyed in my travels:

Fly into London as you may get a cheaper flight.

London - 5 nights - you can do a day-trip to Stonehenge if you really want to. Loads of day trips if you run out of things to do (which I can't imagine).

Eurostar to Paris for 4 nights (keep in mind the day you Eurostar it will take 2.5 hours on the train, plus check in, plus getting to St. Pancras, plus getting to your hotel in Paris. So you are looking at about 5 hours of transport time probably.

Now, since you say history is your favorite subject in school, I will highly recommend taking a d-day tour as perhaps a day-trip from Paris or you could train to Bayeux in Northern France and spend a night (or I would spend 2 nights actually) to do it.

I have been to Brussels a couple of times and it is not my favorite place so personally I would skip it. I really like Bruges, and I would spend 2 nights there because it is going to take the better part of a day to get there.

Amsterdam deserves 4 nights as well.

Then you move to N Germany for a week with your family. You are now at 24 days.

I would skip Scandanavia - it is expensive and out of the way. Plus you HAVE to skip something and personally I would rather skip Scandanavia than Italy!

Next stop would be Rothenburg although you will probably have to blow a night or 2 getting there.

Spend 2 nights in Rothenburg - go straight to Munich.

3 nights in Munich. Make sure you go to Dachau which will take you the better part of a day on public transport.

2 at Fussen - Neuschwenstein

2 - Salzburg

2 - Vienna

1 - Innsbruck

5-6 nights in Switzerland including Luzern and visiting your friend - you can visit the Berner Oberland from Bern but you will be better off if you stay in somewhere like Lauterbrunnen.

1 - Milan

3 - Venice/Verona

3 - Florence - do a walking tour of Tuscany day trip and skip siena

5 - Rome

Fly home from Rome.

There you have it - 56 nights in Europe based on some of my favorites places to travel.

I might drop the + day in milan. There is a lot to do and you will end up using it as a station.