Planning

Step One: Time is a Bitch. We get 75 years on this planet if we're lucky. The first two or three, I don't remember, I'll be so torn apart during the last twenty five or so that I'm not going to be able to enjoy life like I can right now, and the time in between is going to be wasted being the system's bitch while I worry about bills, leases, cars, 401K, IRAs, yada yada yada. Thus, now... in my youth, I proudly take a few months to say f**k you to a world that will eventually waste the rest of my life. But when to go? The answer for me worked itself out in choices I made earlier. The coop I took two years ago that pushed back my graduation a semester afforded me eight months this year before I could start grad school, but since I can't afford to spend all that time in Europe, I decided to take May and June off from my current coop for the trip. Step Two: The Essentials. I've had four and half years to think about this trip since I got the idea, and you might think I'd be prepared to the last minute detail... but what kind of recent college graduate would I be if that were true. Nonetheless, no good European backpacker will make it very far (out of the country) without first arranging a few of the essentials:

• Passport
• Debit Card
• Credit Card
• Airline Reservations
• Eurrail Pass
• Time off from whatever it is I do all day

I got my passport last summer (way to think ahead, PJ), and I was fortunate enough to already have some plastic money. Most research I've done suggests also taking traveler's checks, but I like to live dangerously. Besides, aren't those things dinosaurs by now anyway. We'll see how I do without them.

The fine folks at STA Travel were kind enough to find me an open-jawed cheap student airfare (that first takes me through Chicago... :-/) and a Eurrail Pass. I'm not anal enough to quote you my prices on here, though...

Step Three: Extras. I don't know if these extra documents are going to help me at all, but in the course of my planning, I've acquired:

• Hostels International card (www.hiusa.org)
• International Student Identification Card (ISIC) (www.statravel.com)

Supposedly, the former will get me discounts at hostels around the world, and membership came with free travel insurance. The latter will apparently provide discounts at stores and other places, one which is eBags (I didn't get the card until after I got my bag, though).

Step Four: My Shurpa. I would not recommend basing your initial purchasing decisions on the film, Eurotrip. Frommer's Europe is an excellent guide for sites, hotels, and cafe's, but it contains absolutely no hostel information whatsoever (not even Europe on $85 a Day). Consequently, at the suggestion of a couple of forum posts on the subject, I bought europe on a shoestring from Lonely Planet. Not only does it contain hostel information but there is a language guide in the back, suggested itineraries, and generally budget minded writing.

Step Five: Where to go. Well I can get to and get around in most of Europe now. So where do I want to go... I'm not entirely sure. In fact the mystery and adventure of not knowing where I'm going to end up is really exciting right now. ...Ok, that's not entirely true. I am partly an engineer after all. I have a vague itinerary planned to ensure I can get to all the places I want to see, but I have no reservations about deviating from it... at all. For now, though, this is the plan:

1. London
2. Dublin
3. Bath/Stonehenge
4. Paris
5. Bordeaux (one of many wine countries)
6. Madrid
7. Barcelona
8. Cannes/Nice/St. Topez (Can anyone out there get me in to see Star Wars at the Cannes Film Festival?)
9. Pisa
10. Rome
11. Florence
12. Venice
13. Zermat, Switzerland
14. Geneva
15. Zurich
16. Salzburg, Austria (or somewhere in that country)
17. Prague
18. Munich
19. Berlin
20. Amsterdam

Step Six. Where to Stay and How to get Around. As you no doubt have guessed from the HI card I obtained, I plan to spend my nights in youth hostels around Europe. I've read somewhere that there are five big hostels in Europe that everyone should visit, but the only one I can remember is Globetrotter's in Dublin. Hopefully, though, I'll be able to save a little money by sleeping on a night trains traveling between destinations too.

The rail system in Europe seems to be the easiest way to get around, and given the amount of travelling I'm going to be doing, the Eurrail Pass just makes sense.

Step Seven. As the movie says... Let the crazy European sex odyssey begin...