raleighsheffield:
Map of Europe
raleighsheffield:
I've been wanting to go to Europe for a long time and maybe now IS the time. Ok, let's start with the geography of the continent. Where are the major cities, how far apart, which ones seem interesting, etc. So begins cramming for Europe 101 in 2016
raleighsheffield:
Ok, first order more travel books than you can possibly read. Rick Steves was my mentor. Skimming most of the publications I got an idea of what there is to see in the major cities and how many days, or hours, I might want to spend there
raleighsheffield:
I knew I wanted to travel by train within Europe and came across this unbelievable site. "The man in seat 61". It is so complete it told me everything I needed to know about rail travel in Europe. That's when I knew, "I can do this!"
raleighsheffield:
Seat 61 told me how to check train schedules and the best is the German Rail site which provides complete schedules between all points in Europe. Just look at this sample inquiry. With this I was now able to start putting together an itinerary
raleighsheffield:
Here is the detail on my inquiry showing train times, transfer locations, times between transfers, etc. This by the way was one of my actual trips in Germany. Lots of trains that day
raleighsheffield:
And in case you want more detail about the train you will be on, here is its entire schedule and any special information such as if it has a restaurant car, space for bicycles or requires reservations. Simple as pie! Man I'm ready to go!
raleighsheffield:
Well I'm not quite ready. Need to find hotels close to the rail stations so I can lug my backpack no more than 3 blocks. I used Booking.com which was user friendly and provided map locations and rates for hotels near the stations. So easy
raleighsheffield:
You might think this is getting complicated and I'll need another backpack to carry just the paperwork. Nope, a good friend suggested TripIt. This program grabs all hotel, air, rail and tour confirmations and puts them in date order on my iPhone
raleighsheffield:
Made a reservation for the Prado Museum in Madrid. TripIt saw the confirmation and properly placed it in my itinerary including time of tour
raleighsheffield:
Here is what a rail booking from Rome to Florence looks like. Note it tells me car #, seat # and total travel time. No paper for me. Just don't lose the phone dummy!
raleighsheffield:
So after all the planning, buying a Eurailpass for $1000 for 35 days of unlimited travel and making reservations at so so many hotels, here is where this grand adventure will take me! First stop- Madrid. Let's go!
raleighsheffield:
Leaving in style