bill

I'm not quite in the age group you mentioned, but assuming things haven't changed too much, I would highly recommend Amsterdam and Copenhagen. I travelled throughout Western Europe the summer between my junior and senior years in college and had the most fun in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, followed by Paris and London. I'm very envious (both of their trip and their age)!

Bob Brown

Hi Rex, I don't quite fit your age category, but I think I know of what I speak. As a former college professor who has advised many, many students on trips to Europe, I tried to lay out several options for them and then let them make their own decisions. If they have any moxie at all, they will make their own choices anyhow, whether they have the green light or not!! My biggest contribution was to try and steer them around the pitfalls and help with budget estimations.<BR><BR>Let me suggest that you give your best advice but don't keep trying control the whole affair. Give them suggestions but not dictums or commands. Afterall, what was good for you and is still good for you is not always what a 22 year old wants. <BR><BR>I am not so old either that I don't still remember my Odyssey around Europe when I was 22. I had my 23rd birthday on the Flying Scot to Edinburgh.<BR>After some 10 weeks total of going all over, except to Iron Curtain countries, Rome and Vienna, I thought I knew the ropes. (You know how it was at 23, you are king of the hill.) <BR>Since that first excursion, I have corrected the Vienna omission, and am not yet convinced that Rome is my cup of tea.<BR><BR>I do feel that had I been better prepared for my wanderings that I would have gotten more done. On the other hand, I fended for myself, often traveling alone, over 7 nations, and had to live with the results of my decisions.<BR><BR>The biggest error was arriving in Paris unaware of what I wanted to do. The second biggest error was not seeing enough of Switzerland. But that latter ommission is nearing correction -- fourth trip coming up. <BR><BR>As a 23 year old, my fondest memories were of Copenhagen, Munich, London, Venice, southern England (Kent and Devonshire), and Scotland. My poorest memories are of Paris. (getting sick did not help)<BR><BR>But again, my approach over the years with many graduating seniors who were off on the junket of a lifetime was to give them mainly the benefit of my experiences. I learned long ago from experience that there is only so much influence that you can have on new college graduates. They may listen respectfully, but they are, afterall, wanting to test their wings, stand on their own two feet, and experience life without the constraints of term papers, final examinations, and professorial admonitions, of which they by that stage of life have had a belly full.<BR>Advise them well; but let them go, let them have fun, and let them discover their own identity. You cannot shelter them forever because they will rebel if you do.<BR><BR>My parents tried to do that to me, like forbidding me to go to Berlin. Ha.<BR>I went anyhow. They were 4,000 miles away and could not do diddly about it.<BR><BR>When I got home, the attempts at control persisted. To break away, I went 3 years without visiting the home where I grew up. I had to break the controlling bonds. Apply the tourniquet too tightly for too long, and you will cause irreperable damage!! As a physican, you know that. The strangulation principle applies to human relations as well. <BR>Believe me, as the father of my own, I had to let go, and today, my son is a friend on whom I can count for assistance in time of need. Help out but don't control!! You will win more in the end if you do.<BR>

ali

When I went on that trip I mentioned, we planned it out by laying out on the table a big map of Europe and sketching out our route based on what appealed to us. It made a huge difference being able to see the distances between places so that we could more or less calculate travel times because often you get carried away by all the places you want to go without any idea of how to get to them. Then, with the help of a good guidebook, we filled in any wanderings in between. It always help to have a sort of fluid itinerary, though. We only had hotel reservations in Paris, and had no problems finding nice pensions and small hotels for great prices on arrival. The trip definitely ranks as one of the top ever that I've taken.

Rex

I am really grateful for all these ideas and perspectives. I have sent our daughter the URL for this thread so she can follow along - - and who knows - - maybe even respond herself.<BR>

Lindsey

For those concerned that my dad is being over protective or controlling, I figured I would take him up on the suggestion of responding to this thread myself. I am Rex's daughter, and I wil say that I asked for his advice fully aware of the research it would lead to. I thank both him and all of you who have responded for your thought on this potential trip. <BR><BR>Having already been to London, Paris, Florence, Rome, and Venice myself, I thought London + Paris + a new destination would satisfy my boyfriend's desire to see some classic European sites while allowing for some new adventures on my part. The point in talking to my dad (and him asking this group) was to decide on one other good place, since time and money only reasonably allow one other destination. With so many wonderful places to visit, all your commentary on Amsterdam, Brussels, etc. have been enlightening, and I encourage any other discussion. Thanks.

Elizabeth

Dept of pedantic corrections--in Amsterdam a "brown cafe" isn't a marijuana-selling place. A place where you can buy marijuana is called a "coffeeshop." A place to have coffee is called a "cafe." A "brown cafe" is a Dutch version of a pub. <BR><BR> And I may have made an incorrect inference from someone else's post.

Rex

Thanks, Lindsey.<BR>