go backpacking through Europe

I have been wanting to go backpacking through Europe since I was in High School. A couple of my friends and I made a promise that we would do it after we graduated college and got our lives together. I am now thinking that i might just want to go by myself. I think it would be a fantastic way to meet new people and learn as much as i can about myself before i settle down. Im going to graduate college in 3 months and I am hoping to at least start planning for this trip!!

After I spend some time in Nevada with my dad and I have my citizenship, I’m going to buy a plane ticket to Europe! =)

I want to go backpacking through Europe. My sister lives in Belgium right now and I want to go and visit her before she comes back to the US in 2 years.

Aaaah, to spend the summer sleeping in cheap crowded rooms and park benches, rationing food, jumping on trains, and taking as many pictures as one can… It might be unconfortable, but it sure sounds like a pretty big adventure, huh? :D

After working/studying in London for a semester, I spent about three weeks traveling around Europe. I started out in Belgium and went through France, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary. It was AMAZING! I used the EURail pass and there’s nothing better than train travel if you have the money. Make friends with the hostel owners… sometimes they’ll give you a free night. And if you have a plan, don’t be afraid to throw it out the window! Some of my best and most memorable experienes happened because of a “mistake” or “problem.” My favorite example: I missed a train that threw off my plans for the next week. But thanks to that, I ended up in Rome just in time for Easter so I could watch the pope’s mass from the Piazza de Saint Pietro. Absolutely phenomenal.

I didn’t have any money or anything to do, so I hitch-hiked around Europe for 2 and a half weeks this summer. I started in England. I visited Brussels, Luxembourg (where I got lost in the woods), Hettenleidelheim, Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Venice, Amsterdam and Gent. Oh and Maidstone. Hitch-hiking was a real experience and kept the cost down. I slept in my sleeping bag on benches in service stations or in small towns. In the bigger places I got hostels. In total the trip cost me less than £150 (just over 200 Euros). Real way to see Europe on a shoestring budget but it was an amazing experience.

I went last year for the 2.5 months between graduating from college and starting my job. I went by myself and had the most amazing experience of my life. Just go! You won’t regret it! If you stay in hostels it will be a lot more affordable than you’d expect. I’d suggest buying Lonely Planet’s Europe on a Shoestring.

I think it would be a great adventure for me, just living out of m back pack, meeting new people.