First off… keep in mind that while travelling is fun, it can also be kind of hard… and six months is a long time. Before going, ask yourself these questions:
 
1) Do you have enough money to be in Europe for 6 months? I barely have enough for 6 months in the US myself, so Eurotrips are like little splurges on the side []
 
2) Do you have/will you be getting the necessary visas? You need one no matter what for Russia… though I assume if you’re studying there it can be done thru your school. For the rest of Europe, you don’t need a visa if you’re there under 3 months… from the looks of it, you’ll be there a bit beyond that. You can just get one that will cover all the Schengen countries, but you’ll still need one if you’ll be there for more than 3 months in like a 6 month period. (There’s always people asking if you can just leave for a day, then come back and start over. Answer is sadly, nope, you can’t.)
 
3) I’ll reiterate the money thing. Six months is FOREVER. [] Keep in mind that one Euro does not equal one dollar (US or CDN.) You will often find yourself saying things like, “well, that bratwurst is only five bucks“ when in reality you’ll be spending more like 7 or 8. Multiply that by 180 days and you can rack up quite a bill. Not trying to discourage you at all, just saying that over such a long period you’d have to keep meticulous track of this kind of stuff, which is not everyone’s idea of “vacation”.

Thanks for the reply. My thoughts and answers.
 
First off, I (barring something weird) can support myself for the 6 month journey. I’ve drawn up a budget (likely on the high side), and the funds will cover that budget. I also have means of securing some money/income along the way (nothing illegal, just to clarify that).
 
Next up, I figured the 90 day rule was for consecutive days, now I see that it’s not. Doh. Anyway, I’ve been reworking the plans, and trying to figure out what to chop off the route. Hard decisions.
 
Also, not mentioned previously, but I do plan on returning to Russia after my tour of Europe to take the Trans-Siberian and then fly home from the end of the route in Beijing (that’s actually the Trans-Mongolian). The budget covers this and spending money along the way.
 
I’m a pretty, uh, cheap person. Restaurants annoy me, so I’d be mostly buying my own groceries. Which I think will be half the fun. Trying to figure out the word for chicken or salmon in different languages (I’ve got English, French and Russian…), and just seeing what kinds of food are being sold.
 
I realize that six months is a long time (really long time), but I believe that I can support myself and will find something new everyday.
 
I’ve been doing my calculations/budget with a Euro to CDN exchange of about 1.75 (overshooting the current rate by 25 cents I believe).
 
So the next question is: I’ve got 90 days in Europe, how should I spend them? Given what I posted above and in my first post.
 
Oh, and visas will be taken care of, the student visa will be done in conjunction with the school. And the tourist visa (round 2 of Russia) will be done through the hostel or hotel in Moscow. Alternatively, I may opt to volunteer for a while in Yaroslavl, so that would also take care of it.

Well, the same thing we say to everyone…. basically, what do you want to see? There are obviously the big cities like London, Rome, Paris, Berlin… any of these would be well worth a week by themselves if one had the time. I’ve never been there longer than a month and a half, but I like to not do the same “kind” of thing twice in a row… i.e. after Berlin (really historic, but fairly modern city) I went to Dresden which is basically a rebuilt ancient city. After Munich, which is sort of a mix of Berlin and Dresden, I went to Bolzano, Italy (in the Alps) for a change of pace. After that it was Salzburg (nice Baroque city) followed by Hallstatt (beautiful village in the middle of freakin’ nowhere.)
 
Like I said, any really big cities are jam packed with museums and generally enough stuff to keep you busy for quite a while. I was in Berlin for 3 days, and only made it to like 3 or 4 museums haha… If I had a week… wow…
 
But really, maybe the best thing you can do is get yourself a couple of guidebooks. the “Let’s Go!” series is pretty good… Just something you can sort of leaf through and see what hits you that you really would like to see/do. Everybody’s different, ya know?
 
Anyway, yeah I hear ya about the grocery shopping thing, I do the same thing. There will still be some times though that you meet people and wanna go out to dinner occasionally, stuff like that. You just have to be sure to allow for it. Hopefully you don’t think I’m trying to insult you or anything, I just remember how I felt before I took my first trip and it sounded a lot like what you’re saying []… if you can do it though, more power to ya!

Wow!  Well if you’ve got the resources (money and visas, basically), that sounds like one hell of a trip haha.  I know exactly what you’re saying about the “means of travel” so to speak…you’re fine being on a budget, like traveling for extended periods, are rather outdoorsy, etc.
 
You certainly aren’t spreading yourself thin…that’s more than enough time to experience a whole lot of Europe.  Maybe you don’t need quite 2 weeks in Benelux…at least the Lux part.  Haven’t heard much of Luxembourg…rather sleepy and monetary-minded? 
 
For castles you couldn’t beat the Romantic Road in Germany (Fussen to Wurzburg).  Ludwig set up a boatload of castles along the way (including Neuschwanstein), so a few days on that route would yield some good stuff.  Maybe add those Luxembourg days to Germany? 
 
Funiculars are all over the place…probably couldn’t beat Switzerland for the cable cars.  When I was little I rode one up into a glacier and hiked through ice caves, so you could hit two in one!  Haha
 
That’s a lot of time in Scandinavia; I’m jealous [:@] I’m skipping all of that on my trip this summer and saving it for it’s own separate trip…but that sounds fantastic!  How far north you lookin to go?
 
If you want to hike a mountain, why not wait til later in the fall when they get some good snow, hike up Mt. Blanc, and ski down??  Tallest peak in Europe and 9000 vertical in one fell swoop…ahhh!  It’s a goal of mine—you can take a guided hike/descent.  Then there’s always the Jungfrau, Matterhorn, Jugspitze…lots of big peaks to choose from.
 
Ice caves in Austria too, near Salzburg.
 
Sounds like you’ve got quite a trip ahead of you…what are some other things you’re looking to do?

Here’s what I thought: Belgium and the Netherlands really intrigue me, and the pictures I’ve seen only add to that. As for Luxembourg, it was a side trip while I was in Belgium and the Netherlands. A day or two max.
 
I plan on visiting some museums, but that’s not really my style. I prefer to do things, rather than sit and stare at stuff. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy them, they just won’t be the focus of my trip.
 
Scandinavia: Go far north. I was hoping to hop on the ship from Trondheim up to Hammerfest, provided it isn’t ridiculously expensive. Also, hop the rail at Narvik, then head over to Sweden. Or something like that. In Finland, go see Santa Claus, show him that I’ve been a good girl this year. Haha!
 
I have planned/budgeted for 65 euros a day. I’ll be staying in hostels, with the occasional “splurge” on a single room in a hostel, or maybe even a hotel in a less expensive country. I have another fund set aside for the extras, like scenic train routes, random fun things.
 
I am not a drinker, so that won’t be a large expense. I can’t stand beer (I know gasp!), or wine for that matter. If I drink, it’s vodka…straight. I guess that’s possibly why I’m drawn to Russia?
 
What else do I plan on doing…Hmm. The Eiffel tower, if only to climb the sucker and say I have. I’d like to go fishing somewhere, provided there aren’t too many hoops to jump through. I’m not a beach person, but I don’t mind the water, so maybe rafting or canyoning? Never tried those, so why not try them in Europe?
I enjoy biking and in-line skating, so possibly do that. And, when it’s hockey season, attend a few games somewhere.
 

Fishing is kinda impossible to do legally At least that I’ve found. The only place I can remember that I’ve been that you’re allowed to fish is in front of the palace in Stockholm… but you’d still need a fishing pole, which would kinda be a bitch to carry around if you weren’t using it all the time.
 
Regancannon is onto something with the castles… I think Ludwig actually only built the one, but who’s counting []. The Romantic road is largely… well… what it sounds like. Really nice small towns in Germany with halftimbered houses and the whole bit. There’s actually not a lot of castles along the road, it’s mostly towns and cathedrals. But if you want castles, you could ride the Rhein from Mainz to Köln… I did this last year and it was great. The weather was horrible at the time, but that’s something you can’t really plan for. But yeah like… every couple of miles it seems there’s another castle up on the hills on either side of the river. Some are more “historic” than others… usually the crumbly ruined ones are more “authentic” than the disneyland looking ones hehehe… but yeah. Rick Steves does an amazing job of guiding you through this trip in his Germany/Austria guide. There’s also a couple of castles that are worth your time to get off the boat and explore too…. since you have 3 months and all [] Oh, and the boat trip is totally covered by your Eurail pass (which I assume you’d be getting).

Haha was it really only the one?  I thought he had a couple across Bavaria…I know Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau for sure…and had this hunch about Linderhof and some others…
 
I’m gonna have to look into this!!  Haha
 
I’ve also got this hunch that 65 Euros is plenty for your daily expenses, especially if that’s not even including “extras” along the way.  One could reasonably get by on 40 without straining, so you gotta be more than set.
 
The rafting and canoeing you can do all over…just take your pick of rivers really!  I know Interlaken’s a popular spot for the adventure stuff (hang gliding, skydiving, rafting, horseback riding, etc.) but it’s probably pretty pricey too.  I’ve looked into northwestern Slovenia (Lake Bled area) and they’ve got lots of the same stuff at a fraction of the price.

 
He was born in Hohenschwangau and built Neuschwanstein basically to one-up his dad. Basically a neurotic wacko too… many stories say he was assassinated for his craziness… Neuschwanstein wasn’t even done on the inside when he died.

Btw, Neuschwanstein is cool and all,  but this place here is a real castle:
 
[image]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Burg_Eltz_1.jpg[/image]
 
It’s called “Burg Eltz” and is in the middle of the freakin woods off of the Mosel river in extreme western Germany. You basically take that boat I was talking about up to Koblenz, and take a little train from the station to a miniscule town called “Moselkern”…. and wander through the woods for about an hour until you find it. What I meant about Neuschwanstein is, it was built as a fairytale castle looooong after the “castle period” was over. I think it’s actually younger than the Eiffel Tower, haha. Burg Eltz was a real castle that withstood seiges in the 1400s and shit []
 

Haha yeah, I guess his one big contribution is the however many millions his namesake has brought to Germany through tourism!  However, I looked in a bit and he did build Linderhof, which was the only one finished in his lifetime, Neuschwanstein of course, and Herrenchiemsee, east of Rossenheim.  That one wasn’t completed either.  So we were both right!  Lol I didn’t know Hohenschwangau was daddy’s.  At any rate, not all of the castles tied to his name are on the Romantic Road anyway, but they’re pretty clustered in Bavaria.  Nymphenburg looks amazing too!  That’d be a pretty easy daytrip from Munich.
 
And I love Burg Eltz!  That’s so cool…it looks like they just kept constructing on it, and all the newer periods of architechture are on the outside and near the top, then those mossy layers must be about ancient.  Very nice.  Is it a little out of the way I’m guessing then?

Well nothing’s really “out of the way” in Germany [] I’m pretty sure it was only like 45 mins from Koblenz… but like I said once you get to Moselkern you’re kinda on your own for an hour at least. You gotta wander through the woods looking for signs for it, which are kinda cryptic, hehehe

Haha but therein lies the charm!

You see the point []
 
 
At least there’s a trail though:
 
[image]http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v194/59/34/20924590/n20924590_35205074_2462.jpg[/image]
This is where it gets kinda wide
 
 
[image]http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v194/59/34/20924590/n20924590_35205072_1847.jpg[/image]
This is where it gets more wide []
 
 
[image]http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v194/59/34/20924590/n20924590_35205073_2147.jpg[/image]
 
And this is where I pretend to be lost hehehe
 
 

Btw, since I’m in a picture posting mood, here’s some of Moselkern.
 
[image]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v194/59/34/20924590/n20924590_35205075_2778.jpg[/image]
 
[image]http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v194/59/34/20924590/n20924590_35205076_3111.jpg[/image]
 
[image]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v194/59/34/20924590/n20924590_35205079_4075.jpg[/image]
 
It’s a nice little town, but I can’t recall seeing anybody when I was there… I mean, it looked like it could’ve been a bigtime tourist hangout, but there weren’t even any locals in the streets at 2:30 PM…

Haha before I scrolled all the way I was about to ask, “Bit of a slow day, huh?”
That’s weird though, I’d figure it would be swarmed.  You were there in October though?  I’d imagine that explains some of it.  Looks awesome though.

Nah, it was August 10th, not October 8th []

That castle is amazing! I want to see Neuschwanstein just because it looks so cool. Not for any historical value, just eye-candy.
Other castles on the list: Chateau de Chillon, the one in Slovenia that’s in the mountain, castles in cities, and whatever other ones catch my eye.
 
Of course, I can plan this all I want here, but it will all probably change when I get there.
 
Other notes: Definitely planning on a Eurail pass, just not sure which one(s) yet. I bought two guidebooks, and one seems fairly useless, at least in terms of hostels and food, but good for the sights, maps and costs. I’ve taken out most of the library guidebooks, and those seem pretty good. A lot of things are piquing my interest, so that’s making it really hard to cut the trip down to size.
 
Eastern Europe seems so neat and mostly untouched, whereas most of Western Europe is busier, more expensive and much more touristy. Decisions, decisions. I know Scandinavia is more expensive, but it’s also been a childhood fascination, so I can’t really just drop it, but I could probably do some cuts to that leg of the trip. Same goes for Benelux.
 
Other things I’m tossing around: volunteering while there. I’m looking up some options, seeing what I can do, where and for how much. I might save the bigger “jobs” for another time though. Maybe pick up one placement on the trip, otherwise find what I like best and do that in a future trip.
 
sigh So much to do, so much I want to do, and so little time and money.

Just one thing to keep in mind: the west is more expensive and more “touristy”, but I guess you sorta “get what you pay for”…. the further east you go the less likely anyone is to understand you, and it’s not as “comfy.” Most of us grow up with like a passing familiarity with French, German, Italian…. but once you get off the train in Budapest and see all the signs in a googly moogly language, it’s quite an assault on the senses hahaha []