[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Backpacking through Europe (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 1/14/2012 6:02:29 PM EDT
Anybody done this? Was it fun? How long were you able to do it on the cheap? 
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I did it the summer of my first year in college. Train pass, hostels, booze, food for an average of about $30 a day total. 1 month = UK - France - Monaco - Italy - France - Belgium - Holland - Denmark - Germany (East and West) - Czechoslovakia - Bulgaria - Austria - Switzerland - Italy - Greece - Italy - France - UK. Best time of my life. Hint - Research the co-ed hostels, nothing better than getting assigned a room with you and 5 hot teenage Swedish chicks
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| After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. |
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Quoted: After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. Sounds like you have fun friends or coworkers. |
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I did it the summer of my first year in college. Train pass, hostels, booze, food for an average of about $30 a day total. 1 month = UK - France - Monaco - Italy - France - Belgium - Holland - Denmark - Germany (East and West) - Czechoslovakia - Bulgaria - Austria - Switzerland - Italy - Greece - Italy - France - UK. Best time of my life. Hint - Research the co-ed hostels, nothing better than getting assigned a room with you and 5 hot teenage Swedish chicks When was that. Looking at prices today (I'll be doing this shortly) that only covers the Hostel. |
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. They have much better food, and their airports are about 100x more efficient and customer friendly than ours, too
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I spent 23 days back in 1999. Holland, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
You can go really cheap if you are willing to put up with some discomfort. I picked night trains between destinations and slept on the train rather than finding a room, slept in public parks, and stayed places where the entertainment was watching the hookers fist fight below my room window. It was a great experience, wandering around with no real plan, no responsibilities and carrying everything on my back. I also made me really appreciate America. |
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I did this several times with my friends.
I grew up in Berlin and we just purchased a EURO Rail Pass. With this pass you can travel any where you want to in then entire EURO Rail System. Lot's of Fun and certainly pretty adventures. I did this the last time back in the early 1990's. We either stayed in Youth Hostiles, cheap and I mean real cheap Hotels / Motels or just in a tent. One time we took out Bicycles with us and used that to get around. You need time to do this you can not just do this for one week this is not worth it at all. You have to do this at least for 4 or more weeks. |
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. I've been to Europe, they can keep it. There is a reason our ancestors fled! |
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Quoted: Quoted: I did it the summer of my first year in college. Train pass, hostels, booze, food for an average of about $30 a day total. 1 month = UK - France - Monaco - Italy - France - Belgium - Holland - Denmark - Germany (East and West) - Czechoslovakia - Bulgaria - Austria - Switzerland - Italy - Greece - Italy - France - UK. Best time of my life. Hint - Research the co-ed hostels, nothing better than getting assigned a room with you and 5 hot teenage Swedish chicks When was that. Looking at prices today (I'll be doing this shortly) that only covers the Hostel. Weill it was about 20 years ago But you can still do it cheap - 1) Sleep cheap - take overnight trains, no need to pay for a hostel. 2) Eat cheap - pizza, bread sticks, spit roasted chichen and bread, soca. 3) Drink cheap - local wine, poured from the barrel into whatever you have (2 liter coke bottle worked great) |
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Quoted: Anybody done this? Was it fun? How long were you able to do it on the cheap? Yeah, the most expensive part were the plane tickets. I forget how much they were, about $1200 total. I had to fly to Seattle, then to Amsterdam. Once in Europe, it was really cheap. This was in 2000. I slept in hostels and ate from street vendors or grocery stores, except for one night when I went to a restaurant and bar with my then GF in Florence. It was tons of fun. I was 26 at the time. |
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Quoted: Quoted: After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. I've been to Europe, they can keep it. There is a reason our ancestors fled! Even if two places are identical most people will convince themselves that the place in which they are from is better.  |
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. 
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. http://www.ar15.com/media/viewFile.html?i=36472 Perfect application
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Quoted:
After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. 
Fucking awesome. Best COA EVER! |
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Back in 2003 I went backpacking around Europe. I managed to hit most of the major countries in northern and southern Europe, minus Ireland (gotta go sometime) and Spain. I loved Austria and Italy. Greece? Meh,.... The Czech Republic was pretty sweet, cheap, and the women were astounding!!!
I highly recommend the adventure. Very few people actually do it, and you'll meet some interesting people. Most had no problem with Americans. Aussie chics loved the Boston accent (don't know why). I had the misfortune to come back to the states, get hired by a UK company, and get sent right back over.....
Semper Fi |
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Hostels,overnight trains and couch surfing help take the biggest cost of visiting Europe down to a smaller scale. Depending upon where you are staying,you can find hotels and bed and breakfasts pretty cheap and every once in a while it's nice to have quiet and a clean bed - and someone making you breakfast ( they've also never minded giving me a bunch of cold cuts,cheese and rolls for later as well). Eat like the locals - it's hardly as if everyone in Europe is spending what the average tourist is laying out for food per day.
I LOVE Eastern Europe - best people in the world if you ask me. I'd rather be in Poland,Czech or the Baltics than in France or Italy but I have never felt like an unwanted guest anywhere in Europe. |
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. I've been to Europe, they can keep it. There is a reason our ancestors fled! 
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| One of my friends did it last summer, not exactly what I would call cheap though, she walked most of the time or took a train, couch surfed, or stayed in hostiles. It still cost her around 6 grand, and right now Europe would be low on my places to visit. I would hate to get stuck some where because of riots or government failing. |
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Quoted: One of my friends did it last summer, not exactly what I would call cheap though, she walked most of the time or took a train, couch surfed, or stayed in hostiles. It still cost her around 6 grand, and right now Europe would be low on my places to visit. I would hate to get stuck some where because of riots or government failing. Riots and failing government should make for an Arfcom dream vacation. |
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Good friend of mine is a Maj. in the IRR. He went to A-Stan, saved every penny of his deployment and then went to Europe for several months to wander-lived out of his pack. He had a blast. Met women, stayed with them for weeks at a time (and saved a shit-ton of money doing so), moved on to the next location. Quite an adventure. He was even stalked by a gal married to a Lt Col. in the USAF. THAT was a story.
It takes a certain type of personality to get away with it, though. He has charm, a sense of humor, and a bald head. His briefs leave you rolling on the floor. He probably briefed women at the local clubs and restaurants and was invited into their lives for more of it. |
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One of my friends did it last summer, not exactly what I would call cheap though, she walked most of the time or took a train, couch surfed, or stayed in hostiles. It still cost her around 6 grand, and right now Europe would be low on my places to visit. I would hate to get stuck some where because of riots or government failing. Riots and failing government should make for an Arfcom dream vacation. All arfcom dream riots occur while said arfcommer is at home with his SHTF stash. The thought of them happening while away from those security blankets is a worst nightmare scenario. |
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I took a backpacking trip with a college buddy back in the Summer of 2000. We only spent about 10 days, unfortunately. Military flight to England, took a train to London, spent the day. Then the train through the Chunnel to Paris (my first eye-opening experience when suddenly all the people around you are speaking a foreign language). Trains again to Bern, Switzerland, Rome, Germany, then back on the rotator home. Overall an amazing experience, took a lot of photos. I just hit up an ATM whenever I needed cash- I was young and stupid and wasn't watching money at all. If I remember right, the damage from those 10 days was about $1400. We stayed in a few hostels, I didn't care for it- I would avoid them if I had to do it again.
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Define "backpacking".
The first time I did the normal "backpacking" thing: clothes in a backpack; trains; hitchhiing; staying in hostels. Lots of fun, and surprised my firend and I weren't banned for life. The last couple of times I was there solo, and slept on glaciers, in boulder fields, open meadows and train stations. Stayed long enough to get interrogated for visa violations....and never spent so much as one night in a hotel. I should add that I cheated a bit: my mom lived there, so I'd spend a week at her place, three weeks on the road; repeat. Last couple of trips were a bit more objective oriented, but still lots of fun, even if by myself. Easier to do when you are younger, and have nothing. |
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. I've been to Europe, they can keep it. There is a reason our ancestors fled!
Typical. |
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I went for 30 days in 2003 or '04. It was awesome. Hostels are awesome and help you meet people. Go cheap as possible you won't be spending much time there but the shower and laundry facility are a great perk. Get stuff at the grocery store or farmers markets to eat. Also booze is way cheaper in the store. I had the Euro Rail pass and it allowed me to use all the trains on the continent. It was pricey but in the end saved a bunch of money. Especially if you are going without a plan. When I got bored with somewhere I would just go to the train station and look for a train that was going somewhere interesting. I did also have a list of places to hit up. Keep an open mind and you will have fun. I had a travel guide that had a bunch of great tips. Like the fact that there is a place to store bags during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona and which parks you can sleep in during that time too. Plus helpful phrases and such. 30 days was not enough in my opinion. I still had a bunch of money in the bank and almost didn't come back but I had a job to get to.
England - London France - Paris (just passed thru) Spain - Pamplona, Zaragoza, Barcelona Italy - Florence (favorite place), Rome, Florence (again), Venice Germany - Munich (favorite place) France - Paris Ireland - Dublin (awesome bars), Galway England - London http://www.hostelworld.com/ great site to find and book hostels. Internet cafe's are all over and useful for this. |
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After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. I've been to Europe, they can keep it. There is a reason our ancestors fled! Yeah! Don't you know it's full of faggots and socialists and muslims and scary stuff over there. You'll catch the homogay or be beheaded or something. 
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Quoted:
After you do it, make sure you come back to the States with your nose in the air and become the most pretentious asshole ever. Tell everyone you meet how much better Europe is compared to the US. Mention they are more tolerant, have universal healthcare, etc. Liberal white people will love you for it. I wish I had those 2 letters that were floating around the net 10 or more years ago...the first "written" by the girl, europeans are much more civilized blah blah blah and the second "written" by the euro male to his friend in the states about how easy American girls are...
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