http://www.roskilde-…

Well, I’ll just throw out this idea: June 21st is big for music in Europe, as Don’s post suggests.
We were in France for their summer equinox Music Festival, and enjoyed some really fine live concerts.

I would’ve mentioned Glastonbury or Quart, but those aren’t really along the route between Italy and Finland.

Cheers so far, guys… Yes, Glastonbury is obviously out of the question, and unfortunately Quartz and Roskilde both also appear to be in July… []

I was gonna say the montreux jazz festival, which I went to this past summer and was so much fun… but it seems to be in july as well…

if you’re in helsinki near the 20th then there’s a huge festival celebrating the equinonx i think. i hear its just a huge party and everyone enjoys it. might be worth looking into..

Good idea from tbird. I don’t know what they call it in Finland, but over in Sweden it’s called Midsummer, the longest day(light) of the year. They celebrate in Skansen, a park up on a hill in Stockholm, with bonfires, picnics, lots of wine, and dancing around the maypole (yes, I know it’s not May). In Norway, families and friends get together to have bonfires.

Copenhagen has a huge Jazz Festival, too, but it’s in July.

Sounds interesting. A quick search located this page: http://www.skansen.se/pages/?ID=275. Sounds like plenty to see and do []

here im pretty sure this is it:
http://virtual.finla…

my friend is in finland for a year and he always talks about how he cant wait for it to come up. i guess its a huge deal over there and is definately going to kick off our eurotrip in the summer. good luck, hope this helps!

Ok, so I have the Thomas Cook European rail timetable, and I have the Lonely Planet guide to Europe on a shoestring. here’s my rough plan:

I’ll fly to Rome on June 1st. Probably aim to finish up around June 29th/30th.

I’ll draw a line more accurately as I go on, but there are a few places I’d really like to visit:
* Pisa
* Berne
* Munich
* Prague
* Berlin
* Copenhagen
* Stockholm
* Helsinki

I realise this is a bit of a “capital city” tour, and I’m not sure how much I can feasibly deviate from the capital cities. I might have to scratch Helsinki off the list, as it’s that much trickier to get to (Stockholm would still be cool though). I’ll try to do background reading on the music scene of each before I leave, so I have some intended places to visit as well as the usual tourist traps.

Has anybody done anything similar before? Most itineraries I see are based on loops, whereas I’m trying for more of a Northerly line

I’ve never done anything like this, so I don’t really know what I’m doing. How likely am I to be able to walk into a city and find a place to stay? Or should I be hunting for a cybercafe prior to leaving for the next destination, to find more info?

Tips, advice, and ideas are welcome.


Cheers,
-oto.

I think it might be a good idea to go to the Hostels forum (or other hostel sites) and at least get an idea of a couple places to contact once you’re there, and of course have a place lined up to stay your first nights in Rome.
You might indeed have to lose one or two cities, somebody else might be able to take a more critical look at that possibility.
I agree that it would be a shame to knock off Helsinki or Stockholm, I myself hope to someday visit those cities.
I heard about a boat hostel in Stockholm that sounded kind of interesting.

there’s a huge organ in the old church in Haarlem if you happen to pass by Amsterdam and happen to be around the area on the days they give free concerts at the church. you can hear Mozart played on the big mother organ that Mozart himself played on
http://goeurope.about.com/od/haarlem/ss/st_bavo_haarlem.htm

Ace! That’s the sort of random thing I’m looking for.

Is anybody familiar with isic, the international student card? Is it worthwhile?

I got one. I have saved a couple hundred dollars with it in a few months just on bus rides. For the $18 i spent to get it its paid for itself. 20% off hungry jacks also helps and Iv saved a fair bit at Kathmandu which is an Australian outdoors store. I think its well worth it but others dont get the same use out of it. I hope it comes in handy overseas.

Thanks for the tips and the infos so far, folks.

I have booked a flight to Rome on June 2nd, and three nights at a hostel there (no curfew, 24 hr check-in, which is great considering I arrive around 10pm local time). I figure I’ll take it from there. I have my international student’s card on the way.

I’ll have a look around the hostel’s section here before I go. I’ve used hostelworld.com before, and found it to be really useful. Are there any other good pointers?

Cheers,
-oto.

Also check:
http://www.whatsonwhen.com/

Do you interest travel in Tibet, There are more beautiful and peaceful territory. Read at http://travelbackpacker.blogspot.com 

That, sir, is an astounding resource. Thank you!

Perhaps one day I’ll venture all the way out to Tibet. But for my first foray into the world of travelling, I’m sticking firmly to western Europe. Sorry!

One more (last?) question: phone calls. I’d like to be able to phone back home a few times while I’m away, and mobile roaming charges are extortionate! Recent legislation won’t take effect before my journey…

So, how do calling cards work? I’ve looked at a couple of websites, but the concept confuses me. Can somebody explain?

Depends where you are, but in my experience you buy calling cards at newstands/kiosks; it seemed to me that they were similar to calling cards used in North America.