Question:
I'm planning to take a 15 day trip to western europe in September, andI'm> hoping to do the standard take a pack, travel by train, sleep in hostels.> This is my first real trip to Europe, so I'll try to cover London, Paris,> Amsterdam, Prague and a day in Switzerland.

> Right now I'm trying to choose a good pack. Does anyone have anyspecific> brand/model suggestions based on their experiences? The daypack+pack> combination sounds ideal, but I'm not sure how safe it will be to leavethe> larger pack in the hostel luggage rooms, and how easy train travel willbe.

> I've read the suggestions on packing light, etc., but I'm still notsure> what to go for. I'd like to bring back some small souveniers, take a bookor> two, and since this is my first time, leave enough margin forinexperience.

Answer: First up, you will be told by alot of people that you will not have enoughtime to do what you want and to spend the whole 15 days in London and Paris.I'm not going to say that.

You are obviously backpacking around so I am going to assume that you willbe flexible with your time and can make changes to your itinerary "on thefly".

Now for some tips:

- Try to book your hostel the day BEFORE you plan on arriving in yourdestination.- Don't worry about a train pass. It won't be valid in the UK or CzechRepublic so is not really worth it.- In London buy a travel card and in Paris a metro card to give youunlimited travel all day in each of these cities. This will save you timewalking long distances between sites. (you could do the same for Prague andAmsterdam)- Travel to Paris by Eurostar which you should book before you leave home.It's more expensive than taking the ferry but only takes 3 hours to get youfrom the centre of London to the centre of Paris. And time is of theessence!- Overnight trains are a great time saver, especially if you are travellingfrom Amsterdam to Prague, for example. You can book either a couchette (asix bunk cabin), 2nd class sleeper (2-3 people), 1st class sleeper (can'thelp with that, but I guess it's better quality than 2nd class) or you cansit up all night in a normal seat. Personally I preferred 2nd classsleeper.- I travelled for about 4 months with a 60 litre (3661 cubic inches) packwith zip off day pack. I bought mine in Australia so can't really help youwith a brand. I fitted a sleeping bag and two guide books in with all of myother stuff!- Try to take only one pair of shoes. Those little suckers take up an awfullot of room and make zipping up your pack very difficult!- Take a body-chamois instead of a regular towel. They still work when weteven if they feel disgusting!- Make sure all of your clothes can be tumble-dried and preferably don'twrinkle!- In Prague I stayed at the Boathouse Hostel which was great fun. And inParis at Aloha which has a great atmosphere.- Two words for you ... walking tours! Yes, go to the main touristinfomation office or ask at the hostel (preferably in the morning) aboutwalking tours. They are a great way to get a feeling for a city and to seethe sights and meet some people along the way. They are usually prettycheap too!- Be ruthless with your guide book. If you buy a Europe book like "LonelyPlanet Europe on a Shoestring" (which I used and was great) just tear outthe countries you know you'll be visiting and, to save your back, tear outthe section that you will be visiting that day. If you are in Paris, tearout the Paris section and leave the rest in your pack.- As for leaving your pack in hostels. I used some pretty cheap combinationpadlocks (so I couldn't lose the key) to lock the zippers closed. Somehostels have locked luggage rooms, some have personal lockers and some haveneither. My advice is to not leave anything valuable like a camera ortravellers cheques in your pack but to take them with you in your day pack.I sort of figured that nobody would want to steal my dirty knickers andsocks! On the subject of locks, it's best to put one on your day packaswell as public transport can get pretty crowded and pickpockets are allover the world!- Invest in some stuff sacks for use in your pack. I used one for t-shirts,one for proper shirts, one for trousers, one for knickers, one for socks andbras. Easy! And if they are all different colours it makes it so mucheasier to find stuff.- One final thing ... you might want to think about booking a flight fromPrague back to London. If you go London, Paris, Amsterdam, Switzerland,Prague it makes sense.

Most important of all is to have fun and enjoy everything you get to do! Ifyou do end up spending 15 days in London, enjoy it! If you are in adifferent place every day, enjoy it! What I am trying to say is to just gowhere you want to and try not to stick to too rigid an itinerary. Enjoywhat you see and don't sweat on the stuff you miss!

Hope this helped!