I'm heading to Europe!

[PhotoPaul]

Hey guys and gals,

In exactly one week and six days my fiancee and I will be heading to europe for 3 months. It's a trip of a lifetime kind of deal.

I'm taking all my gear (which isn't a lot):
Canon 30d, 18-55mm, 55-250mm, cable remote, CPL, ND2,4 and 8 filters, grad ND filter, some old Japanese magnifying filters for fun, spare battery, charger, usb lead, video lead that I made at work, 4x 8gb CF cards and 1x 4gb CF card, 3x lens pens and a rocket blower. The bag is absolutely jam packed.

Am I missing anything crucially important? Because we're back-packing, I might not be able to fit a tripod in, unless I can get a really compact one that extends to a decent height for very little money (as I'm not flush with cash after paying for this trip!)

Also, if anyone has great places around Europe to check out I'd love to know, regardless of photography

We'll be going through Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Turkey, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Belguim. If anyone knows of good places in there, let me know

Cheers all!

[virgal_tracy]

You haven't mentioned anything about a laptop or something to be able to store your images apart from your memory cards. If you are taking a laptop, then having a portable hard drive is a great idea. There are portable storage devices like the Canon M80, Epson P series or Sanho Hyperdrives that would save on space and provide you with the opportunity to back up 300+ Gb of images.

Prague and the old Town Square is a must. Cappadocia in Turkey is a wonderful experience as is Gallipoli. Istanbul has many wonderful features such as the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar.

Kitzbuhel in Austria is a great town for outdoor activities, Mtn Biking and hiking in the warmer months, Skiiing in the winter.

If you are in Switzerland I'd highly recommend the Jungfraujoch Railway Station. Accessed from Interlaken or Grindewald, it is the highest train station in Europe. At the top you can go to the Sphinx Observatory and stand and on a clear day see 4 different countries (Switzerland, Austria, Germany & France).

They are the best of the not so well known tourist destinations that I can recommend.

[gbamber]

Hey guys and gals,

Belguim. If anyone knows of good places in there, let me know

Cheers all!

I was in Brugge a few years ago, terrific place, the centre is one of the oldest walled cities in Europe, lots of architecture shots.
If you're into history, Dunqurque & Ypres near by. Almost anywhere in rural France there are a lot of good photo spots.

You'll need more cards, or as virgal_tracy says a laptop/netbook to store the pics. Hint, keep a copy with you & write them to a cd & post it home regularly. That way you don't lose anything. We had a bag stolen in LA, luckily only one day/nights images gone, all the rest were waiting when we got home.

Have a great time
gb

[Ionica]

Have you considered taking a good monopod, if you are not able to take a tripod?

[richardc43]

hope you have the best trip, unfortunately, i have not done them country's i did Wales last year along with Ireland, and London, i had a ball taking in all the old history with my eyes and my camera. you will not run out of thing to shoot, click loads and above all have fun.

[Ionica]

If you get to Southern Italy, there is some beautiful coastal scenery, beaches and interesting towns in that area. If you find Maratea ( south of Salerno ), the coastal route takes you to Reggio Calabria, and continues on to Puglia. There are many historic towns along the route ( Cosenza etc. ). The route going to Tropea is ,imo, worth doing. The region of La Sila is worth visiting, as are the numerous hill towns ( eg Serra San Bruno, Stilo etc ), not as well known as the Northern Italian towns, are less visited and some pass through very rugged country.
I realise time is limited, and you have a long route worked out, so may not get to this area. However if you do and time permits, it is a very interesting and beautiful.
Have a great time.

[crazymorton]

sounds like an awesome trip. we went to Italy in Feb/Mar this year. I'd highly recommend this http://www.rhb.ch/index.php?id=33?&L=4 it's called The Bernina Express and goes across the Alps from Tirano in Northern Italy to St Moritz in Switzerland. We stayed here http://www.bellagiolakecomo.com/ as our base and explored the area around the lake. our travel blog is here http://bellagio.shanefergusson.com/?page_id=6 if you're interested.

some other tips
i bought a slim line ASUS laptop with 500gb hdd, it was light weight and easy to cart around in my back pack. i also got a pocket wifi thingy in Italy on their local network, not sure how you'd do this given all the countries you're visiting but look into it. mine cost 90 euro which got me the gadget to keep plus 10gb over 3 months access, and super fast. makes our NBN look slow!

enjoy!!

[Bennymiata]

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll have a ball!
Just make sure you keep your wits about you as there are many pickpockets and ripp-off artists over there.
Treat any strangers as suspicious.

The title of this thread reminded me of an event with my mother.
My parents were at a party, and some woman was really trying to big note herself to my mother, which wasn't working too well, and this lady, with her nose high up in the air, announced to her that she was going to Europe.
Without missing a beat, my mother looked at her and said in her best Polish accent, "Big deal, I was born there!".

[PhotoPaul]

I completely forgot to mention backup. We're taking a Toshiba thrive 10" tablet and we bought a 1tb WD my passport essentail usb 3 drive. I will be backing up every day and I'll be taking notes of where the pics are taken. I was thinking I'd date the folders and then keep a log in my journal of the places in that date.

Thanks for the input. Please keep the suggestions coming! I'm writing them all down ;-)

[crazymorton]

I'd recommend doing a blog. it's a great way to record your thoughts, observations, and experiences. a virtual diary. also good for keeping family and friends up to date.

wordpress is quite easy to set up for this.

[kaiser]

Hey guys and gals,

In exactly one week and six days my fiancee and I will be heading to europe for 3 months. It's a trip of a lifetime kind of deal.

I'm taking all my gear (which isn't a lot):
Canon 30d, 18-55mm, 55-250mm, cable remote, CPL, ND2,4 and 8 filters, grad ND filter, some old Japanese magnifying filters for fun, spare battery, charger, usb lead, video lead that I made at work, 4x 8gb CF cards and 1x 4gb CF card, 3x lens pens and a rocket blower. The bag is absolutely jam packed.

Am I missing anything crucially important? Because we're back-packing, I might not be able to fit a tripod in, unless I can get a really compact one that extends to a decent height for very little money (as I'm not flush with cash after paying for this trip!)

Also, if anyone has great places around Europe to check out I'd love to know, regardless of photography

We'll be going through Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Turkey, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Belguim. If anyone knows of good places in there, let me know

Cheers all!

Hey Paul,

If you're serious about your landscapes, I found a light tripod very useful. Also makes night shots and portraits of the two of you much easier and it will give you more options with your filters. If you're backpacking, you will learn fairly quickly that weight is your enemy and can dampen your fun. Most hostels have lockers to store your stuff in so when you're out and about each day you dont have to take your whole kit everywhere with you. (mind you I wouldnt store unreplacable valuables in here).

In regards to security, I've never had any thefts myself in 3 backpacking trips to Europe. Those who I've come across who had negative experiences were mainly involving other hostellers/travellers and not locals. It has also been my experience that the less well off the country and people, the more generous, hospitable and friendly they were. Although the western and northern European countries were amazing in their own right with all there famous landmarks, I found I enjoyed Eastern Europe more for the fact that locals were friendlier and the more off the beaten track I got, the more often people were willing to talk to you and even got invited back to a few family dinners. It was also less crowded

Cochem in Germany is a real nice town on the Moselle river. Close to some nice bushwalks and castles and easily accessable by the fast DB trains. If you get time I'd definately consider Bulgaria if you can squeeze it in. Great cheap food and a great hostel in Veliko Tarnovo.
That's a lot of countries to squeeze in but I guess you will figure out a pace that you are happy with. If I had any advice it would be to make your plan flexible - there's nothing worse than feeling constricted to a timetable everyday. Things can change on a whim during a trip - you find out about near by places or decide to join up with others for some adventure. Its good to have options open

I agree with the netbook suggestion if you can afford the weight. Wireless is much more common and its handy to check timetable, buy tickets, book accomodation etc.

Good luck with the trip :-)

[PhotoPaul]

Keen on the light tripod. Any suggestions for a light, compact one?

I'm also looking forward to heading off the beaten track! 11 days to go!

[kaiser]

I took a Velbon Sherpa - not sure which model but it was pretty light and compact.

[PhotoPaul]

Talk about meant to be! I was given an Inca i5315 tripod. Only it was missing the quick release plate. $18 later I have one and now have a complete tripod in its original bag stuffed into my backpack

Thank you all for the suggestions, I will be leaving on monday. I will post photos when I get a chance.

Cheers all!
-Paul