I started to write an epic, then realised no one wanted to read 10 screens of my travel stories
Quick ideas
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- car rental / gas is often quite expensive compared to North America. Don't know how it is in Germany, it can be a pain to move around some cities / some regions with a car. The public transport there is safe and efficient.
- It's pretty easy in Munich just to get on the back door of the bus and not pay. No one seems to care.
- if you're driving, watch out for the queues on the Autobahn around Munich. They're deadly in busy periods. "Stau"
- Underground systems in most places are pretty simple to get around. You don't need to be able to understand the language to understand the map.
- Eurorail pass is very cheap if you buy it in the US. You can also get passes to travel 10 days in a month, or something similar, for less.
- campsites, with showers, swimming pools, restaurants, are everywhere. These are a viable option.
- hostels are cheap. Some have small hotels, or bedrooms for two at a slightly higher rate.
- Europe is much safer than the states, don't worry too much about being a victim of crime. It's unnerving hearing another language spoken around you constantly if you're not used to it -- don't let it get to you.
- you can find internet cafes all over the place. It may be easier to leave the computer at home.
- unless you have a really weird bank card, you should be able to take cash out at most ATMs. This will cost, of course.
- Lonely Planet does something like "Western Europe on a shoestring", if you're looking to be fairly cheap. I have a copy. It needs a DNR.
- It's useful to learn enough of whatever language is used in your area to be able to say "thanks", "please", "goodbye", and perhaps "I'm sorry I don't speak language X, can we speak English?". You may feel stupid doing it, but it helps a lot.
- Remember that depending on the country you're in anywhere from 10 - 99% of the people around you will understand English, even if they're not comfortable or willing to speak it. Please don't get drunk and loudly deride the local culture.
- Take as little luggage as possible, especially if you plan on using public transport much. North Americans seem to be used to 1-2 carry-on bags and two large 20kg checked bags. A lot of europeans seem to get buy for long periods of time on a single carry-on, or one piece of checked luggage.
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Germany - Switzerland - Austria
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Munich - eat everything, drink lots of Weissbeer, go to all of the beer halls twice. Go to Neuschwanstein castle.
Check out the hard liquor at the checkout at all the roadside stops.
Berlin - see remnants of the wall, the site of Checkpoint Charlie, the difference between former east and west Berlin. See the Reichstag, see the Brandenburg gate.
Go tour a holocaust camp while you're there. Any one. I went to Sachsenhausen. Deeply, deeply, disturbing.
Interlaken (Switzerland). Ride the train up to the Jungfraujoch at 3600m (11,000ft). Stop at one of the stations on the inside of the Eiger mountain. Look down the famous North face. Do some outdoors stuff. Climbing, hiking, rafting, etc. Lots to be had.
Bern (Switzerland). Tour the town, it's pretty neat. Avoid the depressing bear pit. Find out where you can ride the river.
Salzburg (Austria) Walk around, it's pretty.
Innsbruck (Austria) Take a cable car up to the ridge-line behind the city, walk around for a few hours.
Vienna.
Other stuff in Europe in no particular order
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Pompei, Pisa, Rome, Dolomites, Venice (Italy)
All the Vatican stuff, even if you're not religious (Vatican)
Nice, Paris, Eiffel Tower, Arc d'triomphe, Louvre, Normandy, Bayeux Tapestry, Wine country (liked Saint Emillion) (France)
Red light district and Coffee shops, Anne Frank's house, Amsterdam (Holland)
Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Nelson's column, trafalger square, all the museums (London), drive down to Cornwall to see some of the prettiest landscape in the world (England).
Vasamuseet, Gamlastan, speed bump signs that say "Farthinder" (Sweden)
I'll say this, though. Most of the really cool experiences I've had have been from walking down a street, and thinking, hmm.... let's check this out. And it's ended up being something that's not prominently featured in one of the guidebooks. Or things that have gone horribly wrong. Like getting a campsite in Pisa 10 meters from a set of train tracks (upside: very cheap wine made it easier to sleep). Or just deciding to check out a random small town.
I would recommend staying as flexible as possible with the planning, and allowing yourself time to take little detours, rather than planning every day to the max to try and see everything. You won't. It's easy to lose a lot of time travelling, even just small distances. Especially if you're lugging around lots of luggage.
