Back in 2015 I had the opportunity to study in Norway for four months. Following that I traveled for a month in Budapest, Vienna, Munich, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Dublin (I also visited Copenhagen, Helsinki, and numerous Norwegian towns during the semester I was in Oslo). The moment I flew back home I already wanted to go back, so I had a goal of returning within four years.

A relative has a villa in a small Italian town that she would rent out to us (my mother, sister and I) for cheap. I'm also fortunate to have a well paying job at a warehouse and an internship that will allow me to get my degree in the spring. With all that I knew it was time to make another visit.

At first it was just going to Geneva, staying there a few days, and then going to the Italian town for a week. But then I wanted to see Copenhagen again as I really liked that city and didn't have much time checking it out the first time, and Oslo as its my favorite city besides my home town of Minneapolis.

Then I thought about seeing the places where my ancestors are from. The only place I hadn't been was Poland, so I decided I needed to go there. Now I have most of my plans figured out.

-Geneva (plus day trip to Lyon) with family
-Italian town (its near Turin) with family, then they travel home with a three day stopover in Iceland
-Milan for one night
-Prague
-Krakow
-Copenhagen
-Oslo

Currently I stay in Oslo for a week, and I'm hoping to volunteer as part of an organization called WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms), where people can work on farms all around the world and the host provides lodging and food. I'm looking at places near Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen, and Stavanger. I would do this for a month, and then probably go back to Oslo for the rest of the time I'm allowed in the Schengen area. Also thinking of doing a weekend trip to Stockholm.

Traveling home OSL-AMS-ORD and as of now the flight is on a 747, and hopefully it stays that way. In Chicago I'll be taking Amtrak the rest of the way home (I love train travel so I'll be doing plenty of it). I'm getting a roomette so I can relax from all the traveling.

I'm also visiting Oslo for a longer period to do stuff I didn't do the first time I was there. With school work and spending a lot of time with colleagues (some of whom I'm happy to still be in contact with) I had limited time doing stuff I wanted to do.

So if you're hoping to travel I highly recommend it no matter where you go. Explore places and in general see what this planet offers.

Have a great time around Europe.

Switzerland, Norway and Denmark. Guess you're not on a budget then!

Enjoy the trip, my honest advice would be to cut down on the number of destinations, in exchange for more time in each of the places you choose. And if you're planning to get around Europe by train, get an interrail pass: https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-p ... gL6gPD_BwE

AF773MSP all I have to say is it’s my stereotype that someone from Minnesota would (1) study abroad in Scandinavia, and (2) volunteer for a farming organization. Well done! If they weren’t called the Vikings I’d say the next best name would be the Minnesota Farmers!

Have fun on your trip. And I hope you’re hosting a good game tonight ... GO EAGLES!!!

I was in Austria and Italy last year - absolutely magnificent. Travelled through Munich and would have liked to have spent some time there, but the short connection prevented it.

Of all the places I stayed in, I loved Innsbruck and also Brixen (Bressanone) in Italy. I could very easily live in Brixen, it's a beautiful place with such nice people and amazing scenery around it. Canazei is also pretty amazing. At the end of it, I didn't want to leave Italy to be honest.

Another magnificent place is Vipiteno (Sterzing): http://www.sterzing.com/en/sterzing.html

B777LRF wrote:

Switzerland, Norway and Denmark. Guess you're not on a budget then!

Enjoy the trip, my honest advice would be to cut down on the number of destinations, in exchange for more time in each of the places you choose. And if you're planning to get around Europe by train, get an interrail pass: https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-p ... gL6gPD_BwE

Besides the cities where I'm only staying for a day, I'm staying in each city for at least three full days. For me it gives me enough time to see if I enjoy a place or not, and if I like it enough there's a good chance I'll plan to return.

And while I sort of have a budget in mind, I do expect the extremely high costs of the countries you mentioned!

That sounds like a great and I hope you and your family have a great time. That schedule also leaves some pretty fantastic places for future trips. London and Paris, Vienna, a road trip from Rome to Barcelona (which would have some great stops), Athens. I just sit here and drool.

The only problem with Europe is that they have so many places to want go to, or go back to, compared to the funds I have for traveling.

af773atmsp wrote:

Nice plan!

Do you have blog?

IMHO, I would recommend some secondary cities if you can fit it in. Like Odense or Århus in Denmark, or Basel, Lugano or Bern in Switzerland. Zürich is also nice.

Personally, I'd never leave Italy if I didn't have more than a month - at least..

Since I will be in Europe during the World Cup, is that good timing or bad timing? I'm a soccer (football) fan, but are EU countries tame when it comes to their team winning or losing?

af773atmsp wrote:

Since I will be in Europe during the World Cup, is that good timing or bad timing? I'm a soccer (football) fan, but are EU countries tame when it comes to their team winning or losing?

You cannot lump the whole of Europe together and get a single answer to that question.

And what do you mean by "during the World Cup"?
June 14-28; Group stages
June 30th - July 3rd; Last 16/knockout stage
July 6/7 & 10/11; Quarter- & Semi Finals
July 15; Final

If you are in Poland, and they are meeting Russia in the Final itself, you can expect plenty of fireworks, but no taxis, buses or trains until the final whistle. If you've got a flight to catch, try walking to the airport.

If you are in Switzerland, and it's just an early group match, most probably everything will continue to run like ... a swiss watch.

Most probably you will be fine, but it really depends on where you are on July 15th.
Although I might add the fans in Poland could kick-off (!) at any time....

Manchester City fans "doing the Poznań" at Wembley


Not necessarily the best picture; I count at least four idiots facing the wrong way in an attempt to watch the match.

SheikhDjibouti wrote:

af773atmsp wrote:

Since I will be in Europe during the World Cup, is that good timing or bad timing? I'm a soccer (football) fan, but are EU countries tame when it comes to their team winning or losing?

You cannot lump the whole of Europe together and get a single answer to that question.

And what do you mean by "during the World Cup"?
June 14-28; Group stages
June 30th - July 3rd; Last 16/knockout stage
July 6/7 & 10/11; Quarter- & Semi Finals
July 15; Final

If you are in Poland, and they are meeting Russia in the Final itself, you can expect plenty of fireworks, but no taxis, buses or trains until the final whistle. If you've got a flight to catch, try walking to the airport.

If you are in Switzerland, and it's just an early group match, most probably everything will continue to run like ... a swiss watch.

Most probably you will be fine, but it really depends on where you are on July 15th.
Although I might add the fans in Poland could kick-off (!) at any time....

Manchester City fans "doing the Poznań" at Wembley


Not necessarily the best picture; I count at least four idiots facing the wrong way in an attempt to watch the match.

I'll be in Lyon, Geneva, near Turin, and Milan at the tail end of the World Cup. I leave for Prague the day of the final.

Cannot recommend Heidelberg enough if you get back into Germany. And the two AutoTeknik museums at Sinsheim and Speyer are nearby. Go walk on a 747 wing 20m in the air, or stand in Buran. The best museums I have ever visited!

http://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/

As you're not shy of spending a few quid, Stockholm is well worth a visit. The best city I've visited.

And Prague is the most boring city I've ever visited. I went on my own for three days and never spoke to anyone. It's beautiful but I was bored walking around it after a day.

I would fly from the US to Milan. Seriously I found tickets from IAH to MXP via EWR for under $500 per person round trip.

You are doing waaay too much. Halve the number of cities and get to experience them rather than transit through.

af773atmsp wrote:

SheikhDjibouti wrote:

af773atmsp wrote:

Since I will be in Europe during the World Cup, is that good timing or bad timing? I'm a soccer (football) fan, but are EU countries tame when it comes to their team winning or losing?

You cannot lump the whole of Europe together and get a single answer to that question.

And what do you mean by "during the World Cup"?
June 14-28; Group stages
June 30th - July 3rd; Last 16/knockout stage
July 6/7 & 10/11; Quarter- & Semi Finals
July 15; Final

If you are in Poland, and they are meeting Russia in the Final itself, you can expect plenty of fireworks, but no taxis, buses or trains until the final whistle. If you've got a flight to catch, try walking to the airport.

If you are in Switzerland, and it's just an early group match, most probably everything will continue to run like ... a swiss watch.

Most probably you will be fine, but it really depends on where you are on July 15th.
Although I might add the fans in Poland could kick-off (!) at any time....

Manchester City fans "doing the Poznań" at Wembley


Not necessarily the best picture; I count at least four idiots facing the wrong way in an attempt to watch the match.

I'll be in Lyon, Geneva, near Turin, and Milan at the tail end of the World Cup. I leave for Prague the day of the final.

Italy didn't qualify - the losers - so I would not worry about it.

BTW The Netherlands didn't qualify either, the losers

Dutchy wrote:

af773atmsp wrote:

SheikhDjibouti wrote:

You cannot lump the whole of Europe together and get a single answer to that question.

And what do you mean by "during the World Cup"?
June 14-28; Group stages
June 30th - July 3rd; Last 16/knockout stage
July 6/7 & 10/11; Quarter- & Semi Finals
July 15; Final

If you are in Poland, and they are meeting Russia in the Final itself, you can expect plenty of fireworks, but no taxis, buses or trains until the final whistle. If you've got a flight to catch, try walking to the airport.

If you are in Switzerland, and it's just an early group match, most probably everything will continue to run like ... a swiss watch.

Most probably you will be fine, but it really depends on where you are on July 15th.
Although I might add the fans in Poland could kick-off (!) at any time....

Manchester City fans "doing the Poznań" at Wembley


Not necessarily the best picture; I count at least four idiots facing the wrong way in an attempt to watch the match.

I'll be in Lyon, Geneva, near Turin, and Milan at the tail end of the World Cup. I leave for Prague the day of the final.

Italy didn't qualify - the losers - so I would not worry about it.

BTW The Netherlands didn't qualify either, the losers

Well that's more shocking than the U.S. not being qualified!

af773atmsp wrote:

Dutchy wrote:

af773atmsp wrote:

I'll be in Lyon, Geneva, near Turin, and Milan at the tail end of the World Cup. I leave for Prague the day of the final.

Italy didn't qualify - the losers - so I would not worry about it.

BTW The Netherlands didn't qualify either, the losers

Well that's more shocking than the U.S. not being qualified!

Sure, for them as well