During the summer of my first year of uni a friend of mine and I got a one month Euro-rail pass and hit western Europe.  Taking a ferry to Belgium we started in Brussels, before taking in Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Zurich,  and finally Paris.  Along the way I saw lots of beautiful architecture, stayed in some fun dorms, had some fantastic nights out (Berlin and Prague remain especially memorable), got tonsilitis (not fun) and spent 4 days feeling horrid, didn’t get robbed despite the warnings we’d got about going through former Soviet block countries.

This was my second ‘backpacking’ trip, but my first in Europe. It was fun being in Europe as an independent adult (rather than on family or school trip)

The rail pass was awesome and made things super easy to get around.  Moving around fairly quickly meant constantly changing languages and currencies (this was pre-Euro) which got confusing at times but made for interesting money exchanges with fellow travellers going in opposite directions!  Overall more expensive than Asia, especially Switzerland, we still managed to travel on a budget (eating a LOT of bread and cheese bought at supermarkets).

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Highlights:

Amsterdam: the Van Gogh museum, The Rijksmuseum; Cologne cathedral, Berlin night life; Prague architecture and hostel, Paris museums

Berlin: seeing East Berlin, bar-hopping in East Berlin, seeing what was left of the wall

Prague: wandering around the beautiful streets, meeting and hanging out with other travellers

Paris: hours in the Louvre, evening view from the Eiffel Tower