The Adventures of Andrew Maurer

Last night I went ahead and finally purchased my plane ticket to Europe this summer. I’ve been planning the trip for ages now having bought a lonely planet guide – Europe on a Shoestring, spent hours looking at maps, searching for hostels and points of interest, looking for relatives to stay with throughout Europe, and buying the digital SLR. I depart June 30th for Gatwick Airport in London and return August 19th. A friend of mine will be travelling with me until August 3rd, when he returns to Vancouver and I visit my relatives in England. After flying in to Gatwick we will be spending a night with a family friend a few minutes from the airport, and will be taking a train to Dover the next day and then the ferry over to Calais in France. From France we will activate Eurail passes which will give us a month of travel throughout almost the entirety of Europe. I’m budgeting $4500 for the whole trip: $1000 for airfare, $800 for the Eurail pass, 50 Euros a day (~$2500) with an extra $200 for spending. The 50 Euros a day will be broken into: 20 for board, 20 for food, and 10 for other.

As far as the technicalities go, there is still much planning to do. I was originally thinking of having quite a large backpack with an adequate wardrobe and everything I’d need plus more. However, after talking to various people I’m thinking of packing lighter – maybe one pair of shorts, a pair of pants, couple of shirts, a pair of sandals, pair of runners, a sweater, a light rain-jacket, and a few other odds and ends. This would make travelling from train to train much easier, it would be far less effort walking to and from each destination, but the drawback is just as clear – having less clothes, not a full sleeping bag, etc.

All in all, I’m incredibly anxious to leave and although it’s only two months away, it feels like forever. As for now, I’m finished school, but still writing exams until May 15^th. After that, I’ll have plenty of time to continue my preparations. I’m excited.