Gearing Up
This was the most intense travel planning weekend I’ve has thus far. Things are beginning to gain momentum and fall into place. Progress made since Friday includes:
– I read through all my old Budget Travel and (now defunct) Big World mags. I clipped important tips and articles — the rest got chucked. I still have to read through my Transitions Abroad backlog, but I will hold on to them, as I know they will still be useful to me a year or two from now.
– I joined WWOOF Italy and will probably get an independent membership too, but I’ll wait a bit longer to decide about that.
– I spent a ton of time reading up on the budget airlines in Europe. This is a huge change from when I planned my last trip to Europe ten years ago…this was not a booming industry back then and there is lots to learn. I have to study up on the latest rail options too, so I can begin to decide which of these transport modes (or what combo of both, plus bus) will be used along the way.
– I mapped out a first draft of a 6-month (!!) itinerary for backpacking through Europe, split evenly between eastern and western European countries. I studied up on which countries use the Euro and which are part of the Schengen treaty — this has been a particularly challenging task, as I was not aware of the 15 Schengen countries until a few weeks ago, and it def put a slight wrinkle in my original plan…but I will make it work!
– I reviewed this preliminary itinerary with my friend CJ, who will probably join me for 3 months of the trip. I welcome this traveling buddy (a good friend who has never been to Europe and does not want to do it solo) but it does present some additional planning that needs to be sorted out soon. We should have our timelines worked out by the beginning of November, so I can actively work on booking my flight and first hostel. She will most likely join me in Spain after I have a few weeks on my own first. Looks like departure for me will be late Jan or first week of Feb at the latest. More on that in the coming weeks…
– CJ and I went backpack browsing this afternoon, to REI and EMS (why do all the gear stores have acronym names?) We both have our eye on this Venus pack for women but I’m going to visit Campmor in a few weeks and see if I can find something cheaper. I bought a pair of Tevas (similar to this) that were marked down, but I think I might be able to get them cheaper at Campmor, so I’ll investigate that too. Deciding what size bag to take will be one of the tougher decisions I make…I really want as small a pack as possible, but know I don’t want to cut myself too short on storage. We shall see.
A productive planning weekend comes to a close, and I am beat…but getting really excited too. It is happening! I’ll now turn my energies to writing and work (two more weeks at the office) and I’ll begin packing up more boxes of stuff to donate or store elsewhere.
Tags: Baltimore, Europe Trip Prep, Tag Index
Kel
October 23rd, 2005 at 10:44 pm
I have recently started to question the wisdom of backpacks. I’ve always used a backpack when I travel and it tends to make getting from one place to another such a workout (maybe I pack too heavy?) that I almost dread it and find myself paying for taxis and things much more than I should. Given the surge of the little rolling suitcases in the past decade (is this true, or did I just make that up?), I wonder if those might suffice and save you a little back pain? I try to imagine scenarios that really call for having your luggage on your back rather than rolling behind you, and other than having to lift the suitcase up every now and then (e.g., onto a train), I can’t think of anything. But maybe I’m romanticizing the rolling suitcase and it is in fact easier to carry everything on your back? What do you think, have you used both and do you have a preference?
(I don’t have a rolling suitcase, but whenever I get a job, it’s on the top of my list of things to buy because I’m just so sick of carrying giant backpacks!)