No matter how much you plan to see, there is always going to be much that you don't. The key thing to remember is that you might not catch on this trip—but that's why there's next year.
Drawing lines from city to city on my current draft itinerary, it's hard to leave out so much. But it has to be done. I can't see it all, not in 4 months. Hell, not in 4 years. Or 40, for that matter.
Some of the cities and regions not making this year's cut are:
Ireland, both north and south. No Dublin, no Galway, no Belfast. We tried and tried to fit in Ireland, but fact is fact: Ireland might be a Eurail country, but you don't usually think of it as a place where you need the train.
The Scottish Highlands. Anyone who knows my love of Scotland knows this bums me out. I get lots of time in Edinburgh and Glasgow though, so that's good—but maybe I can sneak in a jaunt to, say, Aberdeen or Inverness? And I want to do my own, extended trip through all of Scotland sometime anyway.
Luxembourg. What am I missing? I'm not asking that to be a smart-arse (believe it or not), but please clue me in on the scene.
Northern Denmark. But then again, I'm not yet sure of what's there. Who can clue me in?
Northern Scandinavia. I'm sticking to the cities on this one, this time. But Lappland, Bergen, the northern Norwegian coast...
Helsinki... and all of Finland. Carita, we looked it over, and mulled it over, but the ferry's are long rides. Philip Blazdell clued me in on some great flight deals to Helsinki, but this is all about the train. Can't cheat ;-)
Baltic states. Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania—these countries are hot and getting hotter. They're not on the Eurail network yet though. Maybe next year? (If you hit Helsinki on your own trip, by the way, Blazzy told me that you can do a Tallinn day trip easily.)
Russia. Gads: St. Petersburg, Moscow... and I have to miss them? Yes. Russia's not Eurail network yet. And trying to get in the place as a traveler (as Tan Wee-Cheng can tell you), is hellish and far too red-taped.
Most of Germany's interior. With only Munich and Berlin on my current itinerary, I almost feel like we're neglecting Germany. Maybe one more city?
Southern Spain. No Malaga, no Seville, no Tarifa. And that means no Morocco, which many BootsnAll members have told me makes a great side trip from Southern Spain. I totally agree.
Northwestern Spain. Which bums me out a bit, because after editing a travel guide on the Oveido/Asturias region, I actually know a touch about this area and was really hoping to fit it in. Sorry, Anne Austin. But Santiago de Compostela is still a walk I really want to do.
Liechtenstein. Though maybe this could happen. It just seems appropriate that the smallest of the 4 BootsnAll guys should walk across one of the smallest European countries. Maybe I can fulfill this via the Vatican instead?
Andorra. Neat region from what I've heard. Given my route from Marseilles however, it's not on the way to Barcelona.
Ibiza. Because I want to go to a foam party in the Mediterranean, dammit. Oh well.
Southern Italy and Sicily. Rome might be one of the premiere, must-see European cities, but it's also kinda getting on the arse-end out of the way. I'd love to try some proper Sicilian cooking, but again... next year?
The Balkans. This was a hard decision, but we had to cut the Balkans in order to make sure I could give more time to the other cities. It's an amazing region, rebuilding and building itself up in all ways—but we just couldn't make it fit in with my timeframe. Croatia will just have to keep calling to me; I'll answer someday. Karlien van Houtte (she wrote an awesome Serbia guide), Sarajevo and Belgrade... I swear, soon.
Greece. That's right. No Athens. No islands. No Greek coffee. No ouzo. No ouzo! Dammit... Greece, like Ireland, is a must-see place. But Greece is also a chore to get to. Gonna have to nix it, which also means no
Turkey. Joe E, forgive me. I want to go to Istanbul. I want to see this place, and get my mind blown.
So there we have it. And these are just the places I'm missing, that I was actually able to identify. Who knows how much I've missed just in the research phase. But already I'm thinking about, say, next year's trip.
How about the "Irish Baltic Balkan Greek Turkish tour in '04"?
Too right! That's a great way to look at it. Of course there'll be lots unseen and undone... but what I do get to see and do is what matters. But I still want the Irish Baltic Balkan Greek Turkish tour in '04 :-)
Oooo - more suggestions, yes please! Ideas for interesting day trips always welcome. And sorry the post bummed you out, Claudia - yeah, there's a lot I'll miss, but there's so much that I'll see. Why'd it bum you out?
Because I know you probably wanted to get up to northen Scotland and over to Ireland a bit.
About 25 min north of Marseilles (by train) is Aix en Provence. Fun little city with good character... I was there in March. You might bump into John Malkovich, he lives there... ok maybe not but it's a cool place wothh a day anyway.
Yeah, I'd love to, and if I can I'm going to see if I can swing something. Edinburgh is where most of my Scots friends are, so maybe we'll sort out a drive north or something. Hopefully...
Joe - no, no Turkey. I don't even get to quit it cold. Sean, Chris and I hashed over that whole region for a while - but it had to go. Too much time, not enough months - but again, that's why there's next year. On the boards just saw this great comment from Nikos, actually - to sum up, he said you always "make sure to leave black holes behind you", so you know where to go next time. That's how I'm looking at it.
If you go to Ibiza you can find an accommodation through
http://www.ibizahotelsguide.com
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Comment by Sean on April 22, 2003 03:48 PM
This post is kinda like:
"I have been going to the library for 4 month, and I was only able to read these 25 books....look at all the books I was unable to read!"
Comment by Anthony on April 22, 2003 04:37 PM
Too right! That's a great way to look at it. Of course there'll be lots unseen and undone... but what I do get to see and do is what matters. But I still want the Irish Baltic Balkan Greek Turkish tour in '04 :-)
Comment by Joe E. on April 22, 2003 09:21 PM
No Turkey?
IST is a short flight from Munich. ~$300. Can't you spend even about ten days there?
(sobbing)
Comment by Claudia on April 23, 2003 03:27 PM
So what's left??? Any room for one more suggestion for a day trip in the Marseilles area??
Comment by Claudia on April 23, 2003 03:29 PM
This whole post bums me out for you. :(
Comment by Anthony on April 23, 2003 04:17 PM
Oooo - more suggestions, yes please! Ideas for interesting day trips always welcome. And sorry the post bummed you out, Claudia - yeah, there's a lot I'll miss, but there's so much that I'll see. Why'd it bum you out?
Comment by Claudia on April 23, 2003 06:58 PM
Because I know you probably wanted to get up to northen Scotland and over to Ireland a bit.
About 25 min north of Marseilles (by train) is Aix en Provence. Fun little city with good character... I was there in March. You might bump into John Malkovich, he lives there... ok maybe not but it's a cool place wothh a day anyway.
Comment by Claudia on April 23, 2003 06:59 PM
Dammit, I need to learn to proofread, NORTHERN Scotland... not northen.
Comment by Claudia on April 23, 2003 07:01 PM
And, worth a day not wothh. Oops....
Comment by Anthony on April 23, 2003 09:29 PM
Yeah, I'd love to, and if I can I'm going to see if I can swing something. Edinburgh is where most of my Scots friends are, so maybe we'll sort out a drive north or something. Hopefully...
Comment by Anthony on April 25, 2003 09:10 PM
Joe - no, no Turkey. I don't even get to quit it cold. Sean, Chris and I hashed over that whole region for a while - but it had to go. Too much time, not enough months - but again, that's why there's next year. On the boards just saw this great comment from Nikos, actually - to sum up, he said you always "make sure to leave black holes behind you", so you know where to go next time. That's how I'm looking at it.
Comment by bel on August 5, 2003 12:54 PM
If you go to Ibiza you can find an accommodation through
http://www.ibizahotelsguide.com