Preparations
Trip Start
Jul 09, 2008
1
44
Trip End
Aug 22, 2008
Edmonton,
Alberta,
Canada
Saturday, March 1, 2008
I've been spending the last couple months trying to get things lined up. I've been combing over places like Lonely Planet (most especially, the Thorn Tree forums) and Couchsurfing, asking advice and trying to learn form people who've done this sort of thing before
My soon-to-be trusty backpack!
.Part of me is really quite nervous. I've never done something of this magnitude before. Sure, I've gone to Toronto or Los Angeles on my own, but to cross an ocean and be gone for over a month is, well, a bit daunting. A large reason I'm spending so much time on these sites is because part of me is nervous as all hell. Thankfully the majority of Justen is excited. I'm finally going to see a dream come true. Getting to experience different cultures and go to countries that are steeped in such history is going to be a welcome shock to my system, not to mention a little bit of clubbing and boys with cute accents! It's kind of like the Mini-Wheats trip; I get my cultural, historical wheat side and my fun-filled, partying icing side!
As of right now, I have a fairly solid itinerary, but after Brussels, I'm keeping my options more open and may make a few changes as I travel.
Edmonton-Dublin (Plane) Jul 9-10
Dublin (w/ jet lag recovery) Jul 11-14
Dublin-London (Train) Jul 15
London Jul 16-19
London-Paris (Train) Jul 20
Paris Jul 21-24
Paris-Stockholm (Plane) Jul 25
Stockholm Jul 26-30
Stockholm-Amsterdam (Plane) Jul 31
Amsterdam Aug 1-4
Amsterdam-Brussels (Train) Aug 5
Brussels Aug 6-9
Brussels-Lyon (Train) Aug 10
Lyon Aug 11-12
Lyon-Nice (Train) Aug 13
Nice Aug 14-15
Nice-Rome (Overnight Train) Aug 16-17
Rome Aug 18-21
Rome-Edmonton (Plane) Aug 22
Total: 44 days
So much crap! Useful crap, though.
!So, that's the current plan. Finding a balance between seeing enough and spending enough time in each destination was difficult. I'm leaving out places like Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, but there's only so much that I can do in one span of time. If all goes well, I'll do another trip (and therefore have another blog) and catch some of those other places.
So, you may be wondering why I'm updating things so early. Well, basically, I'm excited. Right now I have my backpack and a bunch of equipment purchased, as well as my plane tickets and a few hostel reservations. I've got a guidebook and a phrasebook. (The phrasebook isn't pictured, because I forgot to take a picture of it. It's the Lonely Planet Western Europe one.) I've signed up to take a couple workshops with Hostelling International on "Hostelling in Europe" (March 6) and "Backpacking for Beginners" (April 3), so I plan to post after each of them, talking about insights and other fun things I may have learnt, and I may just update randomly when the swell of excitement rushes over me. Once the trip starts, however, I really plan to update this blog often so I can keep in touch with everyone back in Canada and let them know what's going on. Especially my parents, because I'm sure they'll be reading this and be worried sick about me ever step of the way. [waves to Mom & Dad]
I still have a lot to do. There are clothes to buy and lists to make and jigs to jig, but this is really happening and I can't imagine what I'll be feeling 4 months from now when I'm preparing to board my first trans-Atlantic flight. See you all next post!
