The plan and the budget (test)

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The Plan

With eight consecutive weeks off in the summer, I finally have a perfect opportunity to do a little travelling. After much debate, a little (lot?) verbal sparring and some major compromise (mostly Caroline.. REAL MEN don't compromise!) we solidified plans to tour Central and Eastern Europe for four consecutive weeks.

In 2010 I was able to visit some of Europe's largest and most toured cities (Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam) as part of a business trip. For the Caroline, this will be her first trip to the continent.

Over the course of the past six months travel plans have been scrapped, adapted, optimizied and changed (many times) due to various factors (thanks for nothing Hungarian train system). As of today, the trip has been booked (planes, trains and automobiles), accomodations have been reserved and key tours booked. Let the countdown to Europe 2013 begin 😊

I'm not what you would call a 'planner'... the logistics of this trip were managed and co-ordinated by Caroline (credit where credit is
due)... definitely more work than I had originally thought!

Itinerary:

Ottawa to Munich – July 5^th; Munich to Prague July 8^th; Prague
to Krakow July 12^th; Krakow to Vienna July 15^th; Vienna
to Sarajevo July 16^th; Sarajevo to Mostar July 18^th;
Mostar to Dubrovnik July 19^th; Dubrovnik to Cinque Terre (via Milan)
July 25^th; Cinque Terre to Sienna July 27^th; Sienna to
Rome July 29^th; Rome to Munich July 30^th; Munich to
Ottawa July 31^st

The Budget:

For the four week trip we have budgeted 10,500 - 11,000 dollar (No small amount of money for the most underpaid person at Algonquin College). This budget includes transportation, accomodations, food and fun. Travel includes planes connecting Ottawa-Munich, Vienna-Sarajevo, Dubrovnik-Cinque Terre (through Milan), Rome-Munich and finally returning via Munich-Ottawa. All other connections are made using the European train system (including overnight trains from Prague to Krakow and from Karkow to Vienna).

The intercontinental flights (Ottawa-Munich; Munich-Ottawa) were covered with Aeroplan points (60000 per passenger)... (who knew a simple flood could bring so much joy...hehe...kidding...).

As young professionals, we have decided to avoid the hostels (Eli Roth anyone?) and instead stay at modestly priced hotels. We selected hotels in the historic city centers whenever possible. In most cases we managed to book for less than 100 CAD per night.

Don't worry Mom, we've thought of everything...

...Oh shit... who is gonna feed the cat?!?

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