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SLR Diaries

Update. My trip's over, for a day to day account, check www.slrdiaries.com.

8 countries, 30 days - that's the plan. Welcome to my SLR diaries. I'm actually not sure if I'll be packing the SLR, but thought it sounded more catchy than my trip through Europe.

I can't say that I've always wanted to backpack through Europe. The travel bug didn't bite me until recent, but once bitten, it's hard to ignore the itch. My trips to London, Montreal and Shanghai were great, but I traveled more as a business man than an explorer.

Originally, I was planning to visit Spain and Paris for only two weeks, with my lovely sister. We'd celebrate my 30th birthday in style, in Paris, then head home. But the opportunity presented itself for me to extend my trip to a full 30 days. My friend, who recently turned 30, told me that the year you turn 30 you have to do something big. What could be bigger than trekking through Europe for a month?

Spain (Barcelona, Sevilla, Toledo, Madrid) (w/ sister)
France (Paris) (w/ sister)
Belgium (Bruxelles)
Netherlands (Amsterdam)
Germany (Berlin)
Czech Republic (Prague)
Austria (Vienna)
Italy (Venice, Florence, Siena, Cinque Terre, Rome)

Itinerary

Should be an awesome experience. There's many great sites out there about backpacking through Europe - what to pack, what to see, etc., so I'll try to not repeat. The information here is specific to my trip and may be relevant for yours.

Here's my tentative schedule. At this point I'm concentrating on the train schedules between countries. Within Italy it should be easy to just wing it. Train schedule information can be found at this German website.

Day	Date	Destination
0	Sun, Dec 25, 2005	SFO-BCN
1	Mon, Dec 26, 2005	Barcelona	arrive and settle-in
2	Tue, Dec 27, 2005	Barcelona
3	Wed, Dec 28, 2005	Barcelona
4	Thu, Dec 29, 2005	Sevilla	train to Sevilla ~ 10 hours (overnight instead?)
5	Fri, Dec 30, 2005	Sevilla
6	Sat, Dec 31, 2005	Sevilla
7	Sun, Jan 01, 2006	Toledo
8	Mon, Jan 02, 2006	Madrid
9	Tue, Jan 03, 2006	Madrid
10	Wed, Jan 04, 2006	Paris
11	Thu, Jan 05, 2006	Paris
12	Fri, Jan 06, 2006	Paris
13	Sat, Jan 07, 2006	Bruxelles	Take the Thayles from Paris Nord to Bruxelles Midi. Trains start at 6:55 AM and run every hour (more often on weekdays). Duration is 1.5 hours. Then take Bruxelles Midi to Amsterdam Centraal. Duration is 2.5 hours. Take the 11:30 AM, 2:30 PM or 5:30 PM.
14	Sun, Jan 08, 2006	Amsterdam
15	Mon, Jan 09, 2006	Amsterdam	Overnight train to Berlin (no direct, backtrack to Bruxelles, then direct to Berlin) Amterdam Centraal to Berlin Zoologischer Garten (8:23 PM - 8:03 AM)
16	Tue, Jan 10, 2006	Berlin
17	Wed, Jan 11, 2006	Berlin
18	Thu, Jan 12, 2006	Prague	Take early train (5:39 AM or 7:35 AM) to Prague. Duration is about 5 hours.
19	Fri, Jan 13, 2006	Prague
20	Sat, Jan 14, 2006	Vienna	Praha hl.n. to Wien Südbahnhof Bstg. 1-9 is about 4 hours. Take the early train (6:23 AM)
21	Sun, Jan 15, 2006	Vienna	Wien Westbahnhof to Venezia S.Lucia - direct overnight (depart 8:34 PM, arrive 8:45 AM next day)
22	Mon, Jan 16, 2006	Venice
23	Tue, Jan 17, 2006	Florence
24	Wed, Jan 18, 2006	Florence
25	Thu, Jan 19, 2006	Cinque Terre
26	Fri, Jan 20, 2006	Cinque Terre
27	Sat, Jan 21, 2006	Rome
28	Sun, Jan 22, 2006	Rome
29	Mon, Jan 23, 2006	Rome
30	Tue, Jan 24, 2006	fly home
31	Wed, Jan 25, 2006	rest

Concerns

This is an ambigious schedule. Depending on how much I like a particular city I may or may not stay longer. Think things will go fairly smoothly. My two major concerns at the moment are

visiting in January
to SLR or not SLR

Many people insist that the only way to backpack through Europe is by yourself. It forces you to meet me, explore more, etc. This is great if you're traveling during peak season, but Europe in January is dead from what I've read. It might get really, really lonely.

My second concern is bringing my Nikon D70. There's no way I'll be bringing the Sigma 500mm; it's way too big and heavy, although it'd be awesome to be able to zoom in on monuments and statues. I'll probably take the 70-300mm in addition to the standard 17-70mm. The camera body and two lenses aren't that heavy or bulky, and will fit in my day pack. Probably equivalent to carrying around two bottles of water. What I'm afraid of is theft. I'm going to get some insurance through World Nomads, so I'm not as worried about the theft of my equipment as I'm worried about the hassle of buying new cloths if a thief decides he's going to take my entire backpack and not just the camera. The camera will be on me during the day, so the concern is at night when I'm going out to say a bar or club and don't want to lug around a camera. I think most hostels will have lockers, but not sure how secure the lockers are.

Goals

This trip is going to cost me a lot. Airfare from San Francisco to Barcelona and Rome back to San Francisco ended up costing me almost $1,000. Would have been cheaper by $200 except I made a change and Delta charged me a $200 change fee. The 10 days in 2 months Eurail Flexipass is going to cost about $700. Insurance for 5 weeks in Europe and my camera equipment is $200. Guidebooks say to budget $100/day. Since I'm going in winter it should be cheaper, but I'll still budget $100/day. That's $3,000 for 30 days.

airfare - $1,000
Eurail - $700
insurance - $200
30 day expenses - $3,000

That's almost $5,000. My sister did pay for most of my airfare (thanks sis!), so it's more like $4,000, but if I add in the backpack and misc stuff I'll have to buy it's back to 5K. More importantly, I have to come up with enough money to pay rent and fixed expenses for the month of January and February. Conservatively this is another 5K.

So what's the point of listing these numbers? One, backpack through Europe when you're in college and don't have rent, car payments, etc. to worry about. Two, you really should have some goals in mind to make the trip more than a "vacation."

So my goals are

get unsettled
allow myself to be bored
learn to shoot better photographs

I've had a fairly easy life. Highschool, straight to college, got a decent paying job right after college, etc. There were really no challenges in between. Didn't have to work and save up for college, didn't have to stress about finding a job after college, didn't have to start off making peanuts. Never got really that uncomfortable or unsettled, or felt completely independent and free, even though I've been living on my own since 18. Not sure if my adventures will unsettle me enough that I'll see life differently, but I'm hoping it serves as a mini rite of passage that many travelers often speak of.

In one of my all time favorite books, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff -- and it's all Small Stuff, the author says we should allow ourselves to be bored. I find this difficult to do, maybe that's why I'm always writing since it gives me something to do. I'm hoping that I can just sit on a train, enjoy the scenery, and be completely content and happy.

I'm one of those "rich" amateurs who buys nice equipment and takes lousy photographs. 30 days should afford me great opportunities to learn to take better pictures.

Packing

Did a "test pack" today. Think I should be able to fit everything in my Victorinox Trek Plus 22" backpack.

Still need to buy some misc stuff (clothesline, travel towel, soap, etc.), but I still have room, and most of the time I'll probably be wearing that big jacket so it won't be taking up all that space.

The weight seems ok right now. Good thing I've been working out so I'm in shape.

Things I still need to buy

~~rain poncho - I have a feeling it's going to rain/snow~~
large zip-lock bags
~~wristwatch w/ alarm~~
~~small first-aid kit~~
clothesline / washing kit
~~easy dry travel towel~~
~~locks for luggage~~
thermals?
~~toilet tissue~~

Got most of the stuff the local REI. They didn't have a good luggage lock or poncho, so I ended up ordering those online from Magellan's. REI is not cheap, probably should have ordered more online.

My big purchase was a Salomon Primasoft jacket. Primasoft is a synthetic, down like fiber that's good for insulation but is better in the damp than down.

It's meant for skiing/snowboarding, so I figure it'll keep me warm in the European winter. Hard to find winter jackets in California.

For the wristwatch I just went with a simple Timex Ironman Indiglo watch.

It supports 3 timezones and 3 alarms, both handy features for my trip.

Debating if I still need thermals. REI had all different types of thermals - lightweight, silkweight, wool, etc. They were not cheap; some were $70 each. Will probably just go to Target and pickup a 3 pack of normal cotton thermals for $20.

Also got sucked into getting an Eagle Creek Pack-It system. Here's a little cheesy but informative video on the Pack-It system. The secret is rolling. Don't fold, roll!

Here's an updated test pack, using the Pack-It system. It's pretty convenient that all your stuff are in neat little compartments. I don't think I saved any room, it's just better organized.

Eurail

Got my Eurail Pass. Ordered it through Rick Steve's website. Opted for the 10 day in 2 months flexipass. This is what the pass looks like.

Along with the pass you get a timetable and a planning map. There's also a 90 minute DVD on "travel skills." The DVD doesn't go into a lot of detail, but is helpful with tips here and there. Gives you a nice preview of what to expect at train stations, sleeping on trains, etc.

Gore-Tex Shoes

Bought a pair of Ecco New Track IV Low shoes. They have a Gore-Tex membrane, so I'm guaranteed to be dry walking around the European winter. They're black and plain enough that I can wear them with my black pants and go to an opera or play, but should be comfortable enough to walk in for miles.

Hostels / Hotels