I am officially one week away from leaving for Europe! Words cannot describe how excited I am… just thinking about all that is to come is overwhelming but thrilling.

My itinerary is as follows:

1. London, England
2. Worcester, England
3. Cardiff, Wales
4. Dublin, Ireland
5. Galway, Ireland
6. Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
7. Edinburgh, Scotland
8. London, England
9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Stockholm, Sweden
11. Oslo, Norway
12. Bergen, Norway
13. Copenhagen, Denmark
14. Berlin, Germany
15. Prague, Czech Republic
16. Budapest, Hungary
17. Stuttgart, Germany
18. Paris, France
19. Barcelona, Spain (Spanish Language Program)
20. Granada, Spain (Spanish Language Program)
21. ???
22. ???
23. ???
24. ???
25. ???

I will be spending 2.5 months traveling through the first 18 cities and then I will be in Barcelona for 2 months and Granada for 1.5 months. During my time in Spain I am attending a Spanish language program and will be staying in a home-stay to fully maximize my language immersion.

I have booked most of my hostels and modes of transportation between each city (mostly trains and a bit of planes) until Spain. The time I have after Spain (about 6 weeks) I have left open to plan while I am in Europe. If I fall in love with Berlin, I just might go back. If I decide I regret skipping Greece in the first 2.5 months, I’ll go then. If I meet friends while traveling in Copenhagen who will be in Vienna in December, I might go visit them. Who knows? And this is exactly the reason I have left some of my trip unplanned 🙂

This last week I am home before leaving will be spent fine-tuning the exact list of items I am bringing on this 6.5 month excursion. Not an easy process. I plan to bring just a carry-on sized backpack for the duration of the trip, with the possibility of swapping some summer clothes for winter clothes if my parents end up visiting. While it is difficult to imagine spending 6.5 months living out of one suitcase, it is also exciting and cathartic.

If anyone has any recommendations for me for any and all of these cities, I would love to hear it!