by Chris Robideaux

Created on: August 04, 2008   Last Updated: August 05, 2008

Recently, my girlfriend and I embarked upon a six week journey across Europe and the UK that was equal parts euphoria and wonder, misery and confusion, exhiliration and play.

Allow me to elaborate.

First things first. Warning: If you plan on driving into Austria, make sure you have the required "ten euro toll sticker", or "vignette" in your front windshield (which you can pick up, apparently, at petrol stations on or near the border). We had no idea whatsoever about this, and were detained in Innsbruck and given a 120 euro fine (!) from a grizzled Edward Norton look-alike who was extremely brusque and unswerving, meting out the punishment as if we were petty thieves or something. Much to our dismay, we found there was basically nothing we could do but pay it at that point, advised as we were by the locals and police that "there are signs all over in Germany and Switzerland telling you to get this sticker", and that there was no kind of reclamation that could be had.

Feeling pretty swindled (this guy pulled us over on the roadside with a ping pong paddle-like thing, in a day-glo yellow vest), we took the nearest road out of (yes, beautiful) Austria toward Munich, cursing up a storm at the Austrian authorities along the way. Germany was much friendlier, and less... swindle-some.

Now, for you first time Europe travelers, who are looking to save money (who isn't?), there are what are known as hotel-pensions, or just pensions, and these are cheap roominghouse-type places to stay, but you have to pre-arrange it, as they don't have, like, a walk-in reception area. You can get a phone number off the front door plaque and call, or look them up online, should you have internet access, or as an alternative, there are many restaurant-hotels that are one step away from a bed and breakfast, and these are very nice, and cost, on average, maybe 70 euro per night. We did this on several occasions in Germany, with mostly pleasing results.

Now, to continue with the best cities and sights to see, and the ones that can be avoided...

We loved Munich, the Rhine River Valley, Cologne, and Dresden. We were not so blown away by Berlin, and we - as you may be doing - have wondered why that is. Maybe it's that it is this flat, sprawling metropolis on the lowlands of North Germany that has this....underwhelming quality about it. To wit, I did enjoy Potsdamer Platz, which is this rebuilt ultra-modern square right in the center of the city, with a great, towering plaza area with cafes and shops,

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