backpack europe

“I am a 20 year old college student from the university of florida. this summer, i am going to backpack around europe, get a eurrail pass and everything. im just wondering, for those that have maybe done it before, what i should bring, what type of pack i should have. ill be staying in hostels and stuff. i really appreciate any help with gear or suggestions on where to visit. ill be spending about 3 or 4 months there.”

“hi Salty...
(sorry-- gotta do it...)





TRoll!!! :-)


standard greeting for our TT newbies... :-)


I went to Europe with my dad about 13 yrs ago--Hostels are great-- many don't even require the IYH passes....

What cities are you going to? and what type of eurrail pass are you using? We travelled to Paris, Versailles, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Murano, Geneva, Bern....

We did a eurrail pass that was 5 days of travel in 15 days....We mostly visited cities at the time... If you have the kind of Eurrail pass that only allows a certain number of "travel days", then the secret is to leave on an overnight train to the next town, spend a day in that town and then travel out the next night-- that only takes up 1 "travel day" on your pass.... of course, if you are doing unlimited eurrail, you won't have to worry about that.

Some hostels we visited in 1991--CISP in Paris was really nice, as well as the one in Geneva Switzerland and Florence, Italy (that one looked like a converted old mansion on a hill-- gorgeous!) Of course, these may have changed over the years....

Where are you flying in and out? If you have 3-4 months, you should be able to find a lot of great places to visit!”

“No worries about the noob thing.

Alright so here's the deal. I am flying in to london i think, across channel, into paris for a couple days then working way up to begium, netherlands, germany, denmark, norway,sweden, then back down into denmark, then down and finish off the parts of germany i missed, then down to austria, hungary, czech rep maybe, switzerland, do the whole coast of italy, when i hit the heel of the boot, head over to greece, then back and finish the coast of the boot, hit some of the islands like sicily. move up coast of france, monacco, and spain, then portugal and up atlantic coast of france, hit ireland if i have time, then back to london to fly back out. i am going to have the eurrail unlimited pass for 3 months. its about 1000 dollars. not bad. and also the shipping trips to like sweden and ireland and greece are included. i just dont know what to bring and stuff, ya know. but thats my itinerary i believe. should be a good time. ill tell u more if your interested. running wiht the bulls in pamplona thats for sure.”

“Look into Triglav National Park in Slovenia.

That is on my list of things to do while I can still walk.

It is called the Yosemite of Europe.”

“Watch out for landmines”

“No landmines in Slovenia.........too few Serbs to make war there.”

“haha thx guys. yeah ill look into Triglav thank u.”

“but what about what to pack and what packs to use and stuff? cuz all teh packs ive looked at are more for camping i would think.”

“go to

www.rei.com

and take a look. Let us know what you can afford and we can give you suggestions.”

“what should i look under? mens? camping and hiking? luggage and travel?”

“You can find a good used backpack on ebay or other sites. Hell, someone here may be willing to sell you a used one.”

“oh right on. thx for the idea. for some reason i didnt think to use ebay. but what qualities should i be looking for in a bag for the reason i wanna use it. what brand names are good.”

“Sounds like a great itinerary-- You should have an awesome time!

Definitely bring a camera along! :-)

I think the hostels require a "sleep sack" at most-- (take a sheet and fold in half and sew it into a sack.) Bring a lock for the lockers as well.

Word of advice-- try to pack light-- the smaller/lighter the pack the better--you don't want to have to lug a whole bunch of extra things around. :-)”

“thx for the tips”

“what qualities should i be looking for in a bag for the reason i wanna use it. what brand names are good?”

“I have a few packs. 2 of which are Gregory packs. Solid construction!

I also have a Kelty Red Colud. Nice pack, but a little to big for me.”

“oh, and be prepared for different types of weather and climate depending on the countries you visit. Switzerland can be quite chilly in the mountains, while Greece and Italy can be quite warm. We visited in September and it was in the 60s in Switzerland and in the 90s in Italy....”

“are those more for camping, or for like backpacking around, or does it really matter?”

“yeah thats why i need help thinking of a way to put all types of clothes together in a bag, especially for 3 to 4 months of travel.”

“I'd definitely say that layering is the best way...

Also, depending on if you are visiting cities vs. just hiking, you'll want to have at least 1 set of clothing that's a little dressier if you want to treat yourself and go somewhere nicer.

We were visiting art museums and churches in the big cities-- in Europe, they frown upon going into churches or places of worship in shorts or short-sleeved shirts/tank tops...etc... It might be that way in some restaurants and nightclubs as well. But obviously, that will depend upon your budget and where you plan to go.

Definitely invest in "wrinkle-free" clothing... anything to avoid having to iron! :-)”

“They are all for backpacking.

You are going to wear the same clothes for days. I have not been on extended trip like what you are going to on. I would take a couple of changes of clothes (1 duofold tee, 1 duofold long sleeve tee, convertable pants, 1 fleece, couple pair of socks)

Don't skimp on sock and footwear. You are going to be on your feet a lot and you are going to get blisters. You are going to have to go to an outfitter and get a pair of boots fit to you feet. Especially if you have never done this before.

When you going again?”

“cool man. whats the lightest weight material? and what do u mean by layering?”

“and also a water filter is a good thing to have--in case you go somewhere where you can't get potable water from the tap. (probably a good idea anyways.)

When we were there, we ended up buying a lot of bottled water, but that can get pricey. Once I saw a person trying to fill their water bottle from a faucet in the restrooms-- but it was marked "non-potable"... so you have to be careful. (luckily, I stopped her before she started putting the water into her bottle-- she could have gotten very sick from it!) Even brushing your teeth in tap water can cause problems--we always used bottled water for that as well.

I think a filter would probably be cheaper than having to buy bottled water all of the time.”

“wow thx for the tip”

“I would just bring aqua-mira.”

“whats aqua mira?”

“Basically iodine that you put in a liter of water that kills all the funk you don't want to drink.

Have you ever gone backpacking before?”

“I agree with WK--make sure your shoes are comfortable and well-broken in before departing!!!

If you are doing any type of city walking-- many European streets are cobble-stone... and YES you will be walking everywhere! Personally, I would recommend just doing the public transit thing and avoiding having to drive at all if possible-- they are very transit-friendly there!

Make sure that you have some kind of "money belt or way to secure any cash close to your body to deter pick-pockets. That can be quite rampant depending upon where you are going....”

“oh cool. no. does it kill hep. b? cuz thats running rampant right now in southern europe.”

“I have a friend who is Spanish. He carries his wallet in his front pocket, because pickpocketing is so widespread in Europe. So don't assume it won't happen to you.”

“Hey WK--doesn't some of the Aqua Mira also have a tab to kill the taste of the iodine? Is that effective for all "bugs" in the water?”

“You might want to think about trail runners instead of mid-weight hiking boots. Pink reminded that a lot of foot traffic will be over had roads.”

“yeah i wasnt going to drive anywhere. i was going to do the bus thing, and the train thing, and ALOT of walking. and the money belt kinda thing i have been contemplating cuz i heard its horrible over there in some places.”

“I don't use the stuff, so I don't know. Someone else will have to speak of how the stuff tastes and works.”

“Blood-- that's helpful, too. Fanny packs can be an easy target, even when worn on the front. (I think someone posted about it a few days ago)

I've heard people recommend safety pinning their front pockets on the inside as well--to make it even harder for the thieves.”

“i was thinking of like wearing some running shoes or something. someone just suggested some rockports or something like that.”

“good idea with the safety pin pink. i was maybe going to sew an inside pocket into my jeans or something. some thing taht woudl be annoying to get out, but whatever, ill take the time, the pickpockets wont.”

“Yep”

“I've only used the tabs once. After it had "sanitized", we put some gatorade into the water-- so I think it masked the taste. of course, it was the 1st time we used it and we were kind of afraid of any weird tastes and whether it would be 100% effective or not....

Regarding money belts-- I think you can also make a little "pouch" to wear around your neck and inside and under your shirt for things like passports and such. You don't want those to be stolen or you will have a really difficult time! The key is to wear them under the front of your shirt and to make sure that they aren't too bulky or you'll attract attention.

The only problem with the pouches and the money belts is that you generally have to go somewhere like a restroom to access your cash. :-(
last edited: 10/29/04 1:14:09 PM”

“you could probably sew a few snaps inside or add a couple of strips of velcro-- anything that will make it more noticable if someone tries to do a "bump and grab"-- some of the thieves are extremely bold and will have your wallet before you even know it!”

“yeah could i do the velcro thing inside my pants? ive heard about the theives. i saw that docu on that one parisian theif that told all teh secrets of the trade when he was finished. they are really really really good.”

“--my dad had someone walk up to him with a newspaper and try to open his fanny pack! (he had it in front) This was in broad daylight with lots of people around and an alert local yelled out or we would have never known a thing! Luckily, the guy had only just come up to us, so nothing was taken.”

“damn. yeah i heard u dont feel a thing.”

“Think about opening an account in a large european bank, and then get a debit card and a pin number...ask for a second card and keep it in a different place from the first...if it's stolen or lost you have the second, and the ability to go into a branch office if all else fails...”

“Try to plan a trip from one side of a contry to the other, and sleep on the train at night...avoid hostel costs and gets you to your destination at the same time...just zigzag back and forth from east to west and back...”

“Sleeping on the train is a great suggestion--we did that many times. The only thing you may want to watch out for is security-- make sure you keep a close hand/eye on your pack when sleeping on the train--that is, unless you have a private hard or soft sleeper car (but then that costs more...) Hostels are actually very reasonable--but most are "dorm style" where you have roommates-- sometimes you can get private rooms for a reasonable amount as well.

ARe you travelling alone or with a companion? if you have a friend with you, then the cost of a sleeper car on the train might not be too bad.

We used the "lets go" travel books for a lot of tips. I think there's also "lonely planet" and "frommers" which could help you as well. The Budget Frommer's travel magazine is a good resource for travel tips, too.”

“im travelling alone i think. so i can go where i wanna go and when i wanna go. im using frommers right now. not too shabby. alot of good ideas. im going to grab some food. thx for all teh help guys. any more suggestions are more than welcome.”

“Here's a tip on saving costs mealwise...

Go to the local bakeries, fruit/veggie mart and/or cheese and meat shops to save money on eating in a "restaurant". Sometimes there are farmer's markets as well, depending on where you are. You may want to also go to the restaurants at lunchtime and fill up with that being your main meal-- (much cheaper than dinner, usually).

Also, the "prix fixe" (fixed price) menus are usually cheaper than "a la carte" items.

Most hostels will have a "continental breakfast" in the price of your stay (i.e. hot chocolate or coffee, a roll and jam. I think we got a treat in Geneva, Switzerland and we also got a hard boiled egg as well.) it's a good way to avoid having to pay for breakfast... ;-)”

“Dude, you should try to hit up Slovensky Raj (rhymes with Thai) National Park in the Low Tatra Mountains of East-Central Slovakia. It's just north of Hungary and the scenery is amazing around there.

Slovakia's craggy High Tatra Mountains, located on the border with Poland, and just across the valley from the Low Tatras, might also be worth checking out. They're somewhat reminiscent of New Hampshire's White Mountains, but taller and rockier.”

“sounds like a great trip!

I would try to get a quality backpack - yes, one that is made for backpacking, since you said you will be doing a lot of walking. These backpacks are built to be comfortable, even when hauling wayyyyyyy more weight than you "should." Like someone mentioned above, Gregory packs are da bizomb. The packs are a bit spendy, but very good quality. Alternatively, along the econo-line, Kelty is a great bang for the buck.

Aqua mira is a great suggestion for water treatment...it will protect you from all sorts of bad bugs. Only a condom will help you avoid Hep B, but Aqua Mira WILL kill Hep A.

good luck, have fun, be safe!
:)
G”