Have Passport Will Travel

My Passport!!!!

I got my passport in the mail last month and I'm finally starting to get excited.  So where are you going you ask?  EUROPE!!  Mj has been to Northern Europe before but I've never been anywhere near it.  Like having a wedding it's just one more thing in my life that I've always figured I'd never get to do.  It's too expensive!  Yes, it's expensive but I'm finally at the point in my life where I'm not letting that hold me back anymore.  I've been told over and over that "you can't take it with you" and while I still am and always will be frugal I'm finally starting to believe them a little.  I'm a saver.  I've saved up enough to do this (on top of my other savings) so why just let it sit in the bank?

[Photo Source:  worldatlas.com]

Mj is now attached to an Army reserve unit stationed in Stuttgart, Germany so he'll be doing his drill there for about 40 days. The timing at work is miserable so I didn't think I would be able to go but it would be such a shame to pass up this opportunity.  His airfare is paid!  I just have to meet him there. Europe is huge and there is so much to see.  Trying to narrow down where to go has been really hard.  Mj just said "decide where you want to go and we'll go."  I like that.  I'm in control which is awesome for me because I love to plan and it's also awesome for him because he gets to let me figure everything out and show up.  Kind of like our wedding!  I've always wanted to go to Greece and was hoping to fit it into this trip but it's so far South that it's just not possible.  We're going to save that for a separate vacation.  I did my research and broke down how much everything would cost us.  Hours and hours of obsessive research have come down to two options which I typed up with ridiculous detail into a Word doc and have cut and pasted here for your viewing pleasure.

Option #1  

EUROPEAN VACATION WITH CRUISE: 13 Days

Barcelona, Spain (1 night)

Western Mediterranean Cruise, Norwegian Cruise Lines (8 days, 7 nights)

           Sun: Barcelona, Spain departure

           Mon: At Sea

           Tues: Naples, Italy

           Wed:  Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

           Thu:  Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy

           Fri:  Cannes, France

           Sat:  Provence (Marseille), France

           Sun:  Barcolona, Spain return

Paris & Versaille, France (3 days, 2 nights)

            Barcelona to Paris:

            Barcelona Sants to Paris Lyon ARC/TGV (7 1/2 hours) OR

           

Amsterdam, Netherlands (1 night)           

Paris to Amsterdam:  THA

            Paris Nord to Amsterdam Centraal (3 hours)

Depart Amsterdam to Stuttgart (overnight on train) 

Amsterdam to Stuttgart:  ICE

Amsterdam Centraal to Stuttgart Hbf CNL Sleeper Train (8 hours, 8pm-4am)

Stuttgart Airport departure early morning

Mj's never been on a cruise so with this option we'll get to kill two birds with one stone.  We'll get some easy traveling and get fed on the Cruise ship but then also get to experience the Eurail train travel on our own as well.   Mj would take a flight from Stuttgart to Barcelona and I'd meet him there.  It's best for us to cruise out of Spain instead of Italy or France because it's a much cheaper/shorter flight for MJ.   There is another cruise that starts in Barcelona (MSC Cruises) and includes Tunisia-Africa, Malta, Sicily, Civitavecchia (Rome)-Italy, and Genoa-Italy.  That one is a little less expensive but it means seeing less of France....still deciding.

Option #2

EUROPEAN VACATION w/o CRUISE: 14 Days 

Frankfurt or Stuttgart, Germany (1 night)

Venice OR Verona AND Rome (5 days, 4 nights-2 nights in each)

           Germany (Stuttgart) to Italy (Rome) (Car:  10 hrs, 671 mi)*

            Stuttgart Hbf to Venezia Santa Lucia IC/EC/ESà (10 hours)

            Venezia Santa Lucia to Roma Termini ICN (7 hours)  

            Stuttgart Hbf to Verona Porta Nuova ICE/EC (9 hours) OR

            Verona Porta Nuova to Roma Termini R/ES (4 hours) 

Barcelona, Spain (3 days, 2 nights)

            Italy to Spain (Barcelona) (Car:  12 hrs, 849 mi)*

            Roma Termini to Barcelona Estacion de Franca ES/EN Sleeper (18 ½ hours)

           

Paris AND Versaille, France (4 days, 3 nights)

Spain to France (Paris) (Car:  9 hrs, 666 mi)*

            Barcelona Estacion De Franca to Paris Austerlitz EN/INT Sleeper (12 hours) OR

            Barcelona Estacion De Franca to Paris Lyon R/ARC/TGV (8 hours)

 Amsterdam, Netherlands (3 days, 2 nights)

            France to Netherlands (Amsterdam) (Car:  5 hrs, 322 mi)*

            Paris Nord to Amsterdam Centraal THA (3 hours)

  Frankfurt or Stuttgart (1 night)    

            Netherlands to Germany (Frankfurt) (Car:  4 hrs, 275 mi)*

Amsterdam Centraal to Frankfurt (main) Hbf ICE (4 hours) OR

            Amsterdam Centraal to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbf ICE OR

            Amsterdam Centraal to Stuttgart Hbf (5 ½-6 hrs)

 Frankfurt or Stuttgart Airport Depart early morning

Researching this really took a lot of time because I had to figure out exactly where these places are on the map and the distance between them to determine logistically what we can fit in.  Knowing the driving distance put it in perspective for me then I figured out how long it would take us on the train and what trains would take us there in the shortest amount of time.  We want to use the high speed trains which carry an additional fee on top of the Eurail pass cost but I think it'll be worth it to save time.  It's a lot of hours of train travel which could be fun.  I like this option because we fit in more time at different cities I want to see but I worry that I might get worn out by all that traveling.  Oddly enough both options cost about the same.  With the cruise option we have to factor in the cost of the cruise but we spend less on hotels, food and the Eurail pass.

We're leaning towards including the cruise since logistics for eight full days of travel are already taken care of and it'll be easier but I'm thrilled to be going either way.  Which option would you pick?  How sad.  I've had a passport for ten years and never needed it!  It's about time I actually use it and get some stamps.  The thought of packing for this trip is already stressing me out a little but it'll be worth it.