Anna and I are going to Europe! For 2.5 weeks! In November!…
Yes, we’re really, really jumping the gun and planning way too far in advance. But what the heck there is not much else to do during downtime at work. At this point we’re planning on visiting these places:
- London
- Paris
- Cinque Terre
- Rome
- Venice
- Munich
- Berlin
- Amsterdam
We’ve already bought some pretty cheap airplane tickets. We’re planning on taking trains from place to place, and using as many sleeping cars as possible to save time and money.
Doing this in 2.5 weeks is a little ridiculous, so we are considering dropping Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, or some combination thereof. We’ve never been to Rome but there are definitely enough churches to see along the way, I’ve been to Venice but hear that it’s murky and ugly in November, and I’ve also been to Amsterdam and while it’s beautiful, I’m not really sure what there is to do for 2 days unless you plan on taking mushrooms.
I’ve been nerding out in planning this thing. We’re using Google Wave to collaborate on all the aspects of the trip – airfare, trainfare, lodging, things to see, dates and locations, etc. etc. The events we’re proposing so far are on a Google Calendar, which I am sending through Yahoo! Pipes, entering into Google Maps, and back into an iframe in Google Wave so we can see a map of places we plan to go to. I’ve already put a Google Spreadsheet together of possible times, durations and fares for train travel from place to place.
The only real downside to planning so far in advance is that we have so long to wait and obsess over it. I’m hoping that when the time comes we aren’t too jaded or disappointed, but it’s not a genuine concern. In the meantime we can learn more about the places, cultures, and languages, so when we’re there we don’t just hang around the biggest tourist attractions we can find.
This also means that there’s time for you out there in blogland to give us suggestions on what to see and what to skip. C’MON, DO IT.
Rome (and Paris) is one of my favourite European cities, as the whole place is soaked in history, and has so much to see. Worth rethinking not going to see it, but I’ve never been to Munich or Berlin.
I’ve now been to London thrice. If you are there for long enough (one and a half to two weeks) you can pretty much cover all of the touristy stuff in one go. Each time I’ve been, a long enough time had passed between the last visit, that we had opted to do them again. I’ve only been to a few other British cities, but it looks like you’re only doing London, which is cool because London is rad. I haven’t been to any of the other cities on your list there, so I can’t give you anything useful. Hope it’s a rad trip.
Well we’ll only be in London for about two days! What do you suggest?
Planning trips is exciting! Europe is exciting! I am also going to go there, except in August, so that’s quite a bit sooner. I hope all the prep time allows you to find the best possible things evar to see and do!
I went to London with my mom once and saw the Queen musical, “We Will Rock You!” Not that it’s likely still playing. We did other stuff in London, too, like get lost on the subway at 1am. If you get tired of old castles and stuff, you could go to some contemporary theater/musical entertainment. I *think* there are ways to get cheap tickets, like checking things at the last minute. I am not actually a connoisseur of European travel, so that’s all I got.
Are you planning to bring a laptop?
Yeah, we’ll probably bring at least one laptop.
That’s an enormous number of places! You may want to cut some.
If you do, cut Munich. It is kind of boring. But if you do go, and you like science, GO TO THE DEUTCHESMUSEUM! It is the best science museum ever!
Berlin is wonderful; hang out with East Berlin hippies.
London is wonderful.
If you come to Paris later in November my mom will be here and we will be making very much big Thanksgivings and it would be beyond awesome to make this Super American Fun. But this will possibly be in the countryside, but y’all would also be welcome out there (2 hours from Paris on the TGV through beautiful countryside into the region with one of the highest concentrations of medieval castles, staying in a house [Alexis’s family’s] from the 17th century). I’d be willing to keep it in Paris for you, though, m’darlings.
Basically what I’m saying is that what you should see in Paris is America.
Also out of the cities you’re considering dropping I beg you not to drop Amsterdam. I’ve heard that Rome and Venice are kind of stressy because of the level of touristy stuff, while Amsterdam is actually the most beautiful city Alexis and I have ever seen. Also pot. But also good food and museums (but get one of them city passes because if you don’t the museums are SUPER expensive). Also everyone is super freaking nice and the whole city is like a circus of stunt bike-riding.
Amsterdam is now trailing behind Venice and Munich as places to drop. I haven’t been to the museums there, but I have kind of explored the rest of the central city. Renting a bike and seeing more of the sights wouldn’t hurt, though.
You are already pencilled in as something we are going to do in Paris! We are coming to do you!
As for Thanksgiving, that does sound nice, but we plan on being in Paris around the 4th and 5th… so that’s basically nowhere near Thanksgiving. We won’t even be in Europe for Thanksgiving. Thanks you much for the invite, though.
We will see you regardless. And much like last time, we need some suggestions on what to do. I liked the catacombs so much that I’m gonna drag Anna along, though.
That is so cool! I’m jealous 🙂 Jon and I plan to do something similar someday. Just remember, all the planning is not always to your advantage. Try to go with the flow and spend some time actually enjoying where you are rather than worrying about where to go next.
This coming from a chronic over-stressor, mind you. But sometimes when you do get away from the choice overload of the Internet, things become easier. My sister and I did Mexico and Guatemala with nothing but a Lonely Planet book and random points of internet access at Cafes. That worked out great for us, in terms of the trip. Otherwise, I did suffer from a bit of Internet withdrawal.
However you decide to do it, have a great time! And please make note of some of the best places you see so that you can share them with hopeful future travelers 🙂
I’d drop Rome and Venice, but keep the rest. They are the most out of the way, and Italy deserves a trip of its own. It would help to know what kind of stuff you guys are looking to do. 2.5 weeks is a long time, and you guys are planning on a lot of travel – you might burn out. Make sure that there’s some sort of relaxation period at the end of the trip (4-5 days+), so it really feels like a vacation rather than a city-hop.