Europe Trip

About a week and a half ago, I got back to Chicago from my adventure in Europe. On my trip, I toured through Italy alone, then met with friends in Munich for Oktoberfest, we went to Austria for a brief climb of a mountain, and finished off the trip in Prague, Czech republic. Then I had a 14 hour layover in Dublin on my way back home. Getting myself out of my comfort zone while traveling alone, as well as the great party atmosphere of Oktoberfest, combined to make this the best trip of my life. I will continue to post more detailed accounts of my trip, country by country in the coming days.

Italian Solo Itinerary

On September 11th, I will depart on a solo journey through Italy that will conclude with me meeting up with friends for Oktoberfest, a short trip to Austria, and a few days in Prague. Because I am trying to explore the world without going broke, I will be staying in hostels for this leg of the trip. I booked them online, after sifting through a multitude of reviews, and even after that, it is pretty much a crapshoot. I will be happy if I do not see any bedbugs on my trip. The itinerary for the Italian portion of the trip is as below, as for an activity itinerary, I don't like to plan that far in advance. The beauty of a solo trip is that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it.

September 11th: Fly from Chicago to Rome through Philadelphia

September 12th: Arrive Rome approx 8:30 AM

: Train to Naples

September 13th: Stay in Naples

September 14th: Train back to Rome

September 15hth: Rome

September 16th: Rome

September 17th: Train to Florence

: Stay in Florence

September 18th: Train to Venice

:Explore Venice for the day

: Night Train to Munich

September 19th: Arrive in Munich 6:30 AM

Hostels: Naples: La Controra Flashpackers Hostel

Rome: The Yellow Hostel

Florence: Florence Youth Hostel

Before my departure, I have some gear that I am hoping to buy. Included in this list is a new backpack(50-60 L), sunglasses, a money pouch, maybe a new Camera, and possibly some form of ultra-lite summer sleeping bag. I will keep the Adventuring Blog a breast of these pre-planning activities.

International Travel Update

I am still working out the details of my trip to Europe. This much I know: my friends and I will be in Munich(Munchen) Germany for 4 days of Oktoberfest, followed by a few days in Austria, and I think 3 or 4 days in Prague, Czech Republic. Because I wanted to experience a little more, and be less rushed, I decided that I would extend my vacation a little bit earlier, and do a weeklong solo Eurotrip before meeting up with them in Munich. I was about to pull the trigger on some airfare to Berlin before I realized that I might like to see Naples Italy or Rome instead. So, now I am on the verge of another decision, and will probably seek out some advice from fellow travelers, and then pull the trigger on that sometime this week.

If anyone has any advice on what I should be doing on my solo international expedition, send me an email with your input. Adventuringblog@gmail.com