Itinerary

Do you have RS "Best of Europe" and "Europe thru the Back Door" guide books yet? If so, good. If not, you should get them and read them both. They will prepare you for your trip. Spending some money ahead of time on good books is a cheap investment in the total cost of one's trip. Good luck and happy travels and I wish I could spend 2 months there rather than the one month I do now.

Megan: It isn't clear that any sort of railpass is the way to go. Check out the many discussions on this topic on this website. Charlie is right about the books. One thing to keep in mind is that you should fly "open jaw" or "multi city"...that is, into one European city and home from another rather than backtracking to your original landing point. Given the places you mentioned (and keep in mind Switzerland in November won't be all that great as a destination, too warm for skiing and too cold for hiking), you might do an itinerary like this:
USA to London, then ParisBrussels/BrugesAmsterdamBerlinRomeUSA. Allowing a week in London plus 3 daytrips into England, 6 days in Paris, a week for Belgium/Netherlands, 5 days in Berlin, and 6 days in Rome, that gives about 36 days counting arrival and departure days. What to do with the other 24 days? Think about some destinations between Amsterdam & Berlin, some time in Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Milan, Venice (maybe...it will be flooded), Florence. You'll have no trouble filling up those 24 days.

I do have the books and I've been reading them along with reading as many discussion boards as possible. Switzerland was more of a sentimental stop, my boyfriend's parents lived there for awhile so he just wanted to see it. It's encouraging to know that we could fit more into our trip. I'm glad you mentioned flying open jaw, I was wondering about that because I would hate to have to backtrack back to London. A railpass isn't something you would recommend for this length of a trip? Flying is better? I just thought traveling by train would allow me to see more.

It's not that flying is a better alterntive to rail, it's that point to point tickets are often cheaper than a railpass. Some trains require reservations (with a fee) when you have a railpass, for one thing. Plot out your potential legs and add it up and see if a railpass comes out cheaper. It often doesn't.

A few things to keep in mind if you're going in November and December. Most travel guides, especially those written by Mr. Steves, are written mainly with summer travel in mind. In November and December, daylight hours are very short, and the weather is usually gray and wet with limited visibility. This doesn't really affect touring in cities and large towns, which are well illuminated and contain plenty of indoor options, but it limits how much you can see in rural areas and small towns. Those stunning postcard views that you always imagined often melt into a grayish haze. This is a big reason why most Alpine resorts go on brief hiatus in November before the ski season begins. The take home point- I would plan a city-heavy itinerary, and be very flexible with rural daytrips. As the others will also tell you, a railpass will probably be significantly more expensive than buying individual tickets in advanced. You can usually get large discounts on the long-haul trips. Shorter trips to "less touristy places" (as you phrased it, I assume you have smaller towns or rural areas in mind) on local trains generally don't cost that much to begin with... certainly less than a it would cost to use one day of a rail pass. And now, I'll hand this over to the crowd for more suggestions....

Megan: Good advice from the other posters. I do strongly recommend rail travel, just not railpasses as automatic choices. But there are some trips where flying on discount airlines makes sense. For example, you could fly from Amsterdam directly to Berlin on Easyjet, thus eliminating a long train ride through fairly mundane scenery. But you can train from Berlin to Prague in 5 hours, and from Prague to Vienna in another 5, and all are very very worthwhile destinations. Google "The Man in seat 61" to find a website run by a British rail expert which is loaded with detailed information and pictures on rail travel in Europe.

Megan, You've received some great advice so far! I have a few comments to add as well. I would also highly recommend using open-jaw flights, as that's usually the most efficient method in terms of both time and cost. Inbound London and outbound Rome would be a good combination. To determine the number of days in each city, I'd suggest checking some of the country-specific Guidebooks. Once you have a rough idea of what sights you want to see in each location, it will be easier to determine a time frame. I normally recommend at least five days in each of the "big three" - London, Paris & Rome, as there's SO MUCH to see. Stopping in Switzerland is still a good option, especially with a two month trip. While hiking won't be as attractive in November, the cities are always wonderful (Lucerne would be a good choice), and day trips would provide some variety. Which area did your BF's father live? The order you listed the cities is a somewhat logical route, although you may want to include a few "intermediate stops" in some areas. For example from Berlin to Switzerland, you might want to stop in Munich or Salzburg for a few days, as that will make the travel legs a bit more manageable. In order to determine if a Railpass will be the best option, you need to do some "homework" and establish an approximate cost for P-P tickets for the trips you'll be taking. Use the Rail Planner on this website (click the "Railpasses" tab at the top. Compare that with the cost of a Railpass. Remember that Railpasses do NOT include the cost of reservations which are compulsory on some trains. These are included with P-P tickets. You might find it helpful to download the free Rail Guide also. Good luck with your planning!