Hello All,
    I'm headed across the pond this spring, and plan to travel about while I have both the time and money to do so. I'm just going to assume that as a young US Citizen, these will never coincide for me again.

The plan thus far is to fly into Naples, visit Pompeii, then do a Reverse-Hannibal through Rome, Assisi, Florence, someplace on the Adriatic, Lucca, hike part of the Via Francigena, hop over the Alps (hiking there if weather allows), go to Paris, Verdun, Mons, Frankfurt, Calais, take the Ferry to Dover, then up to London for a few days for the Museums. After that, it's up to New castle upon Tyne, hike Hadrian's Wall, take the ferry to Belfast, visit Dublin, ramble about Ireland, then fly home when the money runs out.

I'll be staying in Hostels and other cheap accommodation, spending most of my time in Museums (Worked in them for 15 years, I'm not missing this chance to see some of the best), and admiring the countryside. Ancient ruins, all that.

Any recommendations, cautions, or advise? This will be my first trip to Europe, and my first long Solo Trip. Also, first time in Hostels and such. My french is terrible, my English is distinctly New-England, and I'm woring to brush up my French and start on Italian.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, yeah: I'm also going to buy a bit of string as soon as I land, and make a sling. Then I plan to put a rock into the other side of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, Adriatic, English Channel, Irish Sea, and North Sea. Since I keep track, it's the one chance I'll likely get to do so.

Sounds like you have an idea on what you want to do. Personally I think staying off the track and away from overly touristy areas can save a lot of money. The price can double from one store to another in certain areas. Pack as light as you can , bulky bags and hostels don't always mix , be prepared to have a few of your sleeps interrupted by other tourists as well if your in dorms.
Go to more of Germany , there nice people and there's lots to see, Stuttgart is a less desired city with some great attractions and not the tourist Hussel and bussel, the Netherlands and Czech were also great .
Not for everyone but bring a bike, I did 4 months with a bike traveling Europe , got around a lot faster in city's and saw lots of things I wouldn't if I was on foot or relying on busses and trains .
Be prepared to open the wallet holidays are for spending

That sounds like a pretty solid plan but ya know... Finland isn't THAT far north... :D

I was in Europe for a year and a half. Agree with Mersa. Stutgaart was good. Loved the people there and Netherlands. Austria too. To be young again! Keep us up to date on your adventures :)

Well, I'm not leaving until April, but I can make a thread here to keep people up to date if they're willing to tolerate it.

Finland would be great, Kick. I'm an Amature Forester and such, so Scandinavia's history of woodland management and wood heating is fascinating, just like Finland's history more generally. Only restriction is time and money, so if I have either left over, I'm going to Sweden or Finland, and Crete if I can pull it off. If you know a place in Finland that would be cheap to get to and stay, I'd love to hear of it and add it to the list!

Stuttgart is now on the list.

ALSO: I'm always up for slinging. If anyone is along these ramblings and out and about with some string and rocks, or has a favorite slinging spot near these sites, let me know, please!

Oh, and as another side note: I have a long-Standing rule that if there's more people than Trees, I don't go there. I'm violating this rule a lot for this trip... It's going to be interesting.   But, as Mersa said... it'll keep me off the beaten track and hopefully keep the average cost down to compensate for when I am in the major cities.

woodssj wrote on Dec 5^th, 2018 at 9:22pm:

If you know a place in Finland that would be cheap to get to and stay, I'd love to hear of it and add it to the list!

Finland... Cheap... Ummmm...

In Italy, they have sogiorno. Basically it's like a siesta. At noon, everything shuts down for a couple of hours, so don't expect too much then.
Do not keep your wallet and passport in your pack. They should be on you at all times. I had a friend who fell asleep on a train, and thieves took his pack.
  Also have the contact info for the embassies handy.

I can tell you a lot about Ireland.PM me

halfway between london (shithole) and newcastle is the midlands :-)
Best part of the country, and coincidentally where I live lol

We have a youth hostel about a mile and a half away and a couple of decent b&bs a little closer.

Would be a shame to not visit warwick castle, and damn right criminal not to let me cook you a bbq :-)

Well, the hospitality of this forum is splendid. I'll be in touch with everyone soon, I promise.

In return, once I have my farm project in Vermont up and running, you can all come crash my place for a slinging extravaganza one summer. Probably won't be next year, but eventually.

Again, thank you.

Most of the hostels I've been to do not cook you breakfast. They have supplies there for you to do it yourself, or you bring your own food. I've never had a problem with them, even with a dozen people in the room.
I would also try to plan a specific route, and then have reservations at the hostels. It might be the only way for you to get into them.
Hostelworld.com

well if you get anywhere near Celle in germany (weirdly I lived near there as a kid) I'm sure Silvio (jaegoor) will put you up for a day or two. :-)

That said germany is a huge country. But bear it in mind.

Not sure what part of finland timpa lives in, but drop him a pm.
I'd love for someone on the forum to meet him in the flesh - as it were :-)

I believe he was further up North than Helsinki. Some day I'll go hunt him down like Bigfoot in the Finnish forest :D

It sounds wonderful.  Travel while you're young and you can.  Trust me, once you get tied down you're tied down.

I'll have to drop Jeagoor a PM, at least for some advice on what to see while I'm in Germany.

Again, thank you all. I'll drop some pictures that apply while I'm "Over There" as they say.

If you want to try to see museums in Paris, you should schedule a few days there also :)
and if you plan top go to the Louvre museum, chek for the "Lions' door", la porte des lions, waaaay less time wasted queuing when it's open : https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k5598024-Porte_des_Lions_entrance_to_Louvre-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

Merci Beacoup!

Don't visit Amsterdam...it's depressing

it's a capital city - they're all depressing to one extent or another.
Amsterdam has it's attractions :whistle:

Curious Aardvark wrote on Dec 15^th, 2018 at 7:35am:

it's a capital city - they're all depressing to one extent or another. Amsterdam has it's attractions :whistle:

:thumb:

Hi woodssj,

So sad you are not coming to Spain. If you change your mind and want to visit northern Spain I would be pleased to host you for some days in León and we could go slinging in the mountains (nice pebbles here, lol).

Anyway, if you are open to real experience I recommend you to hitchhike around Europe. I’ve done it twice, from León to Budapest (10 days) and León-Berlin (around 6 days), it’s not for everyone (neither for every age), but the experience is amazing (and you travel for free).

Well, my plans aren't set in stone yet, so I'll have to look at a map and maybe alter my route. I'll keep you informed.

Also, I've hitchhiked before in Oklahoma and Arkansas. If you ever get the chance to do so, DON'T. It wasn't that great. Vermont wasn't bad though, nor was Tennessee while hiking a bit of the Appalachian Trail... I'll gladly give hitchhiking in Europe a try, but I'll work on my language skills first.

West Virginia/ Maryland part of the AT is wonderful. You go right through Harper's Ferry. Where in Vermont were you? I was there this summer.

I was on the LT North of Stowe.