It is time to head to Europe!

Well, many many many months of planning, feeling like a nerd watching Rick Steves European travel videos (twice), lots of planning online and I can now say that I'm ready to head over to Europe with nothing but the stuff I have on my back. I guess that one can never really be fully ready, but it is certainly time!

I've seen a 23% increase in web traffic over the last week. For those that are just arriving, I've never been out of the United States and am going solo. I got the kick to do this last summer and this was one of the things that I would not be denied of in 2009. I planned on going with people initially but things came up and I thought about it and why should I not go solo? Some people thought I would back out then. I'm certainly not shy and I don't mind meeting new people. I just have to be a bit more cautious. Honestly, I think I actually enjoy being out of my shell just a bit. We always seem to say "next year" or "maybe later" but then life hits you and you can't.

I fly out tomorrow evening. One of my co-workers is taking me to the airport after I get out of work. I've been packing for what feels like an eternity and everything fits in a 30L backpack. For those that care, a 30L backpack is enough space for about two days worth of backwoods camping. Since I won't be needing a sleeping bag, I can fit about 4-5 days worth of stuff back there. All of the pack dimensions are legitimate carry on size.

For those that have visited since I started this blog, thanks for helping the cause. I've now disabled the advertising I had up. You all got me just enough to purchase all of my overnight reservations and airfare from Brussels to Prague. $312.76 USD. :)

It's on!

What I am taking:
8" netbook, iPod/iPhone (international plan w/Skype subscription also), in ear headphones (I had to give in...I wish I could take my Sennheisers), lightweight jacket shell, north face khaki pants/detach shorts, 6 moisture wicking shirts, 5 pair underwear, 4 pair socks, 1 pair flip flop sandals, 1 pair jeans, 1 cargo shorts, passport, eurail pass and reservations, digital camera, high def camcorder and all the needed power conversion tools. The netbook power adapter is nice because the charger has a built in transformer for 110-240V. (Everything can suck the juice out of the netbook via USB if I get in a bind.) I'm wearing the north face pants, shoes, a shirt and the shell over on the plane.

My Hostel: Paris, France

Paris is my last stop before I head home. I will be staying in the Vintage Hostel.


I'll have one full day and a night in Paris. I literally get off the train from Barcelona and either hit the hostel to check in or drop my backpack off at a locker at the train station and start checking Paris out. Because I had to take an extra day to catch the night train out of Switzerland to Barcelona, I had to remove a day from Paris. I sure did not want to give up a day in Switzerland, and Barcelona was just too far of a trek to not spend two days in.

I have to catch the Sunday morning Eurostar train through the chunnel (under the English Channel) to London the next morning so I don't really plan to stay out really late.

I think if I hit the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, I'll get my share of Paris.

iPhone / Twitter application for travelers.

Just a quick post, but one of my co-workers mentioned this iPhone application to me today. It is called TwitterLoc.

From the site:

A nice freebee, based on the same map code as all the streetmaps on this site, except the map is fetched live over the internet, no part of the map is self-contained. This application allows you to send messages to Twitter.com containing your location information, like this:

Also, if you are doing any traveling and want to download full maps of where you are going without wasting the precious mobile data plan, I'd recommend checking out his city maps. They load much faster and you don't have to pull from Google Maps all the time. You can also pinpoint where you are on the map and get nearest points of interest.

Hopefully this will keep everyone back home at ease. All they need is this site URL. :)

My Hostel: Barcelona, Spain

I will be staying at the Sant Jordi Alberg in Barcelona. Barcelona is a city that I have to travel by night to get to and from. I'll be arriving from Interlaken, Switzerland. Technically it is Bern, Switzerland. I am going to travel up to Bern during the morning and check it out and then board the night train. The night trains from Bern to Barcelona are available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only.


I plan to visit La Rambla, hit up the beach and also check out the Barcelona nightlife. Sant Jordi Alberg does regular club/bar crawls.

Barcelona is quite the trek. I sure hope it's worth it!

My Hostels: Prague, Czech Republic

I have booked a room at the Czech Inn. I'll be there June 10th and 11th. I'll arrive in Prague on the 10th at 10:30pm. I decided to fly to Prague from Brussels. The train ride would be so long otherwise. Once I arrive, I'll have to find the Prague bus stop at the airport. It runs until 12:10am so I'll be able to take public transit to get to this hostel. I plan to head out that evening and do some exploring as well.

From the Czech Inn website:

Czech Inn is the only design hostel in Prague. The stylish cafe and bar is a nice place meet fellow travelers over a local Czech beer. Located close to the town center, and on two of the best tram routes, Czech Inn Hostel is an ideal base to explore ancient Prague.