Where I'm Going

Basically, my entire plan since leaving Maastricht, was to return to Maastricht.

I had to wait till I had graduated from my undergraduate studies of course.  And, since transatlantic tickets are so expensive, I decided to make a big tour out of it.

I am backpacking my way across Europe for 77 days.  I start on March 14th and I don't return until May 30th.  I will be not be stayin in hostels as is traditional for backpackers.  Instead, I will be using Couchsurfing.com as a way to connect with people living in each city that are willing to let me crash at their place for a few nights (see the Couchsurfing Concept).  I plan to live very simply.  Just a few outfits, no hair products, towels the size of napkins, etc.

I take only a few flights where they are necessary, along with two ferries. The rest of the time I am traveling by train, as I have bought a 2 month unlimited Eurail pass that can take me just bout everywhere I need to go (the UK and Turkey are not part of Eurail, so my time frame works out perfectly).  All in all, based on my present itinerary, I will see 31 cities in 18 countries.

The entire adventure isn't  just to see as many places as I can, it's also about meeting people and making a personal connection to each city I visit. Here is what I have planned presently...

Arrive in London 8:30 local time March 15

March 16: Ferry to Dublin Port via Holyhead

March 21: Flight to Edinburgh via Ryan Air

March 23: Flight to Oslo via Ryan Air

March 26: Train Oslo to Gothenburg

March 28: Train Gothenburg to Copenhagen

March 31: (long) train to Warsaw

April 3: Train Warsaw to Krakow

April 5: Train Krakow to Vienna

April 8: Train Vienna to Bratislava

This is assuming that trains will run on Easter Sunday...

April 10: Train Bratislava to Budapest

April 12: Train Budapest to Venice

April 14: Train Venice to Verona to Geneva

April 17: Train Geneva to Berne

April 19: Train Berne to Zurich

Apil 21: Train Zurich to Munich

April 23: Train Munich to Nuremburg

April 24: Train Nuremburg to Prague

April 27: Train Prague to Berlin

April 29: Train Berlin to Maastricht!!

May 2: Possible day trip to Rotterdam.

Somewhere in here possibly Barcelona and/or Marseille

May 13: Ferry from Ancona, Italy to Patras, Greece

May 14-23: Patras, Athens, Delphi, Thebes, Epidaurus, Argos, Mycenae, Thessaloniki, Alexandroupolis.

Order of cities yet to be set.  The decision to ferry rather than fly changed everything I had originally planned.

May 24: Train to Istanbul

Possible trip to Izmir

May 28: Train Istanbul to Plovdiv

May 29: Flight to London via RyanAir

May 30: Flight to Columbus via Toronto
Arrive 10:00pm local time.