Our Europe trip planning is in full swing! We have managed to book our lodging in each city we are exploring during our three week tour of Europe. After checking multiple websites and spending hours poring through guidebooks and recent reviews from other travelers, we have chosen locations that we think will be comfortable and accommodating and close to the "action" we hope to see at each stop on our journey. While the original plan was to stay in hostels along the way, we both quickly realized we didn't want to have to lock up our bags and sleep in a room or share a shower with six strangers. We've chosen a nice combination of some fancy hotels (booked at bargain prices), charming little apartments and pensiones (complete with email exchanges direct from the owners) and the off-hostel with private accommodations at a low price. We have also booked our travel between each city; mainly flying on budget airlines, but also taking in the occasional train ride to see the countryside when time and budget allow.

Lauren and I are both "planners" and extremely organized. So not only do we have a color coded calendar of our stops, itineraries and travel plans, but we also have separate spreadsheets for expenses and lodging. I think a travel spreadsheet is coming up next, listing our flight and train times and locations. It doesn't hurt to be organized on such a long and complex trip, but I do wonder- are we over planning? It seems it would be "smart" to be prepared and well read when visiting such new locations, but does that also take the mystery out of exploring? I've always struggled with being spontaneous and just going with the "flow" of things. Maybe this trip will be a new way of exploring for me. I want to be able to enjoy a pint or two in a dark pub with new friends sharing stories of our travels or sit in a cozy cafe for a few hours, sipping in the culture and people along with my coffee (that I hope I also find a new fondness for after this trip) or even let loose and move to the pulse at a techno spot until the wee hours of the morning. I've already read through two travel books and am tackling a third (at the strong recommendation of a friend who recently travelled abroad). I'm not sure if all this reading and highlighting and note-taking will allow me to fully immerse myself in the new and invigorating cultures, or if it will keep me at bay with constant fact-checking and scurrying along to the next suggested stop on the map. I sure hope the latter is not the case. My hope is that it only intensifies the cultures, emphasizes the important stops along the way and makes for stress-free maneuvering in these unfamiliar places. Either way, I think I'll have enough knowledge going into each city to feel comfortable with my surroundings and confident in where we should go and what we should see.