Traveling Europe 2011

T-3 Months,

Well, this Europe trip with my friends (Alex and Thomas) has been in the works for a long time. For the past 3 years we have gotten pretty far into planning but never were able to put it all together due to conflicts. This year is different; time off has already been approved. Buying Airline tickets and working in activities into the trip plan is all that's left.  The current route has been agreed upon. Although, it could be changed a bit on the fly considering we will basically be backpacking around.

For a bit of background, this will be my second trip to Europe. I spent almost two months mostly in France in 2007 with a study abroad group. Luckily I did stay after the program was over to have 10 extra days of backpacking. It was basically a sprint starting in Rome and ending in Paris. I recreated a different trip plan to document all the places I was able to travel to. It was an amazing time and recreating that experience is part of the reason I have organized this trip. 

My friend Alex has never been to Europe before. In fact, other than a few trips to Canada and a Caribbean cruise, this will be his first major adventure outside the US.

My friend Thomas has probably done the most traveling of the three of us, but this was all with his family when he was a child. Also he hasn't really seen that much of Europe so this will be all new for him as well.

Unfortunately my friends and I all live in different places, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue considering our initial destination is Dublin. I picked this spot because it will be very easy for us to adapt and get ready for the rest of our journey. Furthermore, I am an avid fan of Guinness; Alex is a connoisseur of all that is whiskey, bourbon, scotch, so Jameson should hit the spot as well. Also, there are some significant historical sites nearby that we are interested in visiting. After a few nights in Dublin, we plan on taking a ferry to Liverpool, possibly staying the night there to explore, then training it to London. London we will pretty much hit all the major tourist spots and sample the numerous English pubs. Once we get our fill with London, Amsterdam is next on the agenda. This will be the only place on this trip I have already visited (albeit for only ~8 hours). I loved it for the short time I was there, and my friends are all greatly interested in experiencing everything this city has to offer... Berlin is next on the list. Alex really wants to visit this city, and it fits well with our trip plan. I'm interested in seeing all the history dealing with the WW's and their aftermath as well. After, Prague will be our next stop. I have been very interested in visiting this city for awhile now, mostly from hearing about other people’s travel experiences. There is old history here that will be very exciting to explore, as well as experiencing such a different culture. A few days spent here should open our eyes nicely for our last stop and city of return, Budapest. The reasons for visiting Budapest are basically the same as Prague. Also, it is regarded an exotic destination here in the US so it will be an awesome ending for the trip. Possible day trips could include visiting surrounding sites near Dublin, stopping in Austria or Slovakia on the way to Budapest, or randomly deciding we find a different city more interesting and going there instead.

Anyway, hopefully plane tickets will be acquired within a week. This should be an excellent adventure,

Will