Just got back from 31 days in Europe

Jason, good to hear you have a good time and no problems. Glad you were wise and used a money belt.

Are you planning your next trip?

Jason, where did you feel the hands in your pockets? Rome? Salzburg? Laueterbrunnen? Curious! Thanks! (And brave to go with nothing booked- good for you!)

Rome and Venice were by far the worst for pick pocketers that I ran into.

I had instances of walking alone down a sidewalk and had a person jump over from their side of the road to mine and "bump" into me.

I didn't even carry a money belt in Switzerland. I think I could have dropped my money on the ground and someone would have returned it.

Hi Jason, glad to hear you had a great trip. When we travel we only book our first and last night and have never had trouble getting a room.

Glad to hear you had a good trip Jason.

I had to laugh at your comment about Switzerland and dropping your money on the ground. I was walking with some friends this week through downtown Frankfurt when 2 young women came running up to us with a 5 euro bill in their hands. They had seen one of the women I was walking with drop it and wanted to return it. Have to say I was impressed. Needless to say the visitor I was walking with was impressed too. That is just how it is in some countries.

When is your next trip?

Your experiences in Rome and Venice only convince me more that a money belt is essential for those places. I was also on 32 day trip from mid-May to 16 June and was in Paris, London, Vienna, Frankfurt Hbf., Berlin-Potsdam, a day in Budapest, Duesseldorf. Never wore a money belt, but in the Paris Metro I was much more on guard than, say, in Germany, where it is not needed at all. Took the night train from Paris-Vienna, sat in a compartment with 4 "strangers," three of them one third my age...no problems at all, very nice.

Glad you had a great time.

Your trip is already over?? It seems like you were posting questions just a couple of weeks ago. Wow, time flies! (which is kind of okay, because I can't wait until October!)

Jason, what was the weather like in the UK? I am trying to figure out what to take to Brighton and other areas in the UK. We are leaving on Sunday.

The official UK Met Office website:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

South East (Including London and Brighton) may be (very) warm (25-30 C = 77-86 F) when you arrive, not quite sure after that. I would expect around 25 C (77 F), no strong winds, but cooler in the evenings.

It's England - be prepared for a shower or two during your stay... It should clear up soon, though, unlike the north western parts of England, and Scotland, where more rain is expected.

Eli - Here is the latest monthly weather outlook from the BBC. Updated every Monday. However despite forecast, expect rain in west London as the Wimbledon Tennis is on, it is traditional! We are in a spell of dry weather (except for short shower this morning) at the moment with high temps last few days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/10209

Jason's right about carrying a money belt in Italy. The last time I was there, my 2 friends and I just stepped off the train in Rome and were walking to our hotel with all of our luggage. A big group of people came up to us and one of them had a baby. We had heard about the baby scam (in which someone appears to thrust a baby at you and while you try to keep the baby from falling, someone else goes through your stuff) from our Italian teacher and one of my friends started yelling, "Go away!" at them. They left, I guess because we were attracting attention.

Linda, thanks.

I have been following the temperatures in the UK and they seem a lot cooler than what my sister is describing in Mannheim.

Hi, Jason:

Sounds like a fun trip! I know what you mean about Italy - I traveled with Contiki and several people had their bags 'touched'...one girl's camera got stolen in Barcelona, and another's passport went missing in Dover when we crossed back over to the UK.
You really have to be careful in Italy, Spain, and even Amsterdam - another tour member had her camera taken there, in the Red Light District.

I'm riding with Busabout - can't afford Eurail and honestly, being a single woman of color traveling alone in Europe, I don't think I'd care to ride the trains - and have booked all of my accomodation (had to in Munich, as it will be Oktoberfest and even the hostels were pretty much booked). 3 dorm rooms there
cost me nearly $300 US!

Anyway, just reading your post has me anxious to go!

My husband's wallet was pickpocketed on the train from Zurich airport into Zurich on the start of a trip a few years ago. When we went to the police station at the train station to report it, we were handed a pamphlet in 5 languages saying beware of pickpocts. Now he always wears a money belt no matter where we travel in Europe.