Quick question

sorry, that's not a quick question.

I'm off to bed. Maybe others still awake will have a shot.

Thank you anyway Appreciated. Perhaps tomorrow?

When are you thinking about this trip? Weather and daylight hours matter a lot at that latitude over the next 6 months or so.

Seems awfully busy for 2 weeks, and you don't just drop in on St Petersburg - visas, planning, etc., required.

Are you only flying to London to transit to/from the Cotswolds, and then to proceed on to Paris? Is London a key focus of this trip? Either focus on London and environs, and then maybe a chunnel hop to Paris, leave the rest of the trip for another day (or skip England and do the stuff on the continent instead)?

good luck

St Petersburg--you need a visa.

UK--shortage of petrol

Covid rules change constantly. You have to keep up with restrictions as they vary from country to country.

You have to Google each country and find out what their requirements are for entry… Covid Tests, QR Codes, Quarantining, etc.

Given your restricted time frame, St Petersburg may be difficult. You will need a visa, which will take several weeks and comes with its own set of conditions. And it isn't a quick hop to get to. A train is out- it would take well over a day. Flying is still several hours, and would be faster from Warsaw than Berlin. Given the travel times between locations, you will see very little at any of your destinations.

Plus, with all the border crossings, you will on multiple occasions likely need fresh COVID tests. Certainly to get into and out of Russia
Do check on the petrol situation in England before finalizing any car rental plans.

It may be prudent at this time to shrink your geographic spread, and confine yourself to just 2-3 countries with compatible entry requirements.

Quick Answer: Too ambitious in today’s travel conditions.

I do like the idea of a two week adventure (escape). I suggest you narrow your focus to two countries max.

Have fun!

Have you traveled in Europe extensively? Have language skills?

With only two weeks I would stick to England only or at most, London, Cotswolds, and Paris. Cotswolds for me would be weather dependent so likely not November through March. Cities are great in winter.

Editing to add this can easily be a car-free trip. A car is certainly not required in London or Paris. In fact, it would be a liability.

Also, your proposed itinerary would be very expensive. A lot of transit for such a short time. Also exhausting.

Calvin,

Avoid England right now. (currently running out of Petroleum/gasoline).
I would perhaps go to Paris/Berlin or even Paris/Madrid.

Margaret

As much as we’d all like COVID to be no more, when it comes to traveling, you will not be free of restrictions. If anything, it will be in your face every day. The capacity limits, need for reservations, mask requirements indoors and on public transportation, need to show proof of vaccination, etc won’t disappear anytime soon.

Travel at this time requires acceptance of extra testing, the potential for lockdowns, and the potential for quarantining. Consider one country, where outdoor activities are prevalent. We went to Costa Rica in August and it was wonderful. 99% of their restaurants are outdoors all year, tons of outdoor adventures, and a strong tourism industry that has adapted to helping visitors navigate the COVID hoops.

Personally, that is way to much distance to cover in 2 weeks, even pre-COVID. Too much time getting from place to place. Not enough time IN that place. Two weeks is just enough time for London, Cotswolds & Paris. No more.

St Petersburg is too much hassle visa wise so pick any two of your other options and you have the makings of a good trip, although I think there are far more interesting places to visit than the Cotswolds in England. There is petrol in the U.K., despite the media created panic - I filled up on Sunday with very little queuing.

Covid issues? Check the day before you travel. Any other answers are guess work.

The recommendations all year long from those based in Europe is limit the number of countries that you visit to simplify any Covid testing and restrictions, ideally to one country.

Avoid England right now. (currently running out of Petroleum/gasoline).

Just to clarify, the UK hasn't run out of petrol, there's plenty of it but the problem was caused by a government minister leaking to the press that British Petroleum were having issues supplying a handful of their petrol stations due to a shortage of drivers. The press, in their usual manner, reported this in a way that suggested there was a nationwide shortage and warned people not to panic buy which of course they did. Cue thousands of idiots descending on garage forecourts across the country, queueing for hours and filling up their tanks, jerry cans, buckets etc with fuel they didn't need. Petrol stations went from supplies that would last for several weeks down to several days.

The refineries are full but with a shortage of drivers it's going to take a lot longer to replenish the pumps however with thousands of people with cars languishing on their drives with full tanks the pressure is gradually easing and normality will soon return.

To me, it’s a great time to do some deeper exploration in a single country. Berlin to Munich. Berlin to Frankfurt, Berlin to Hamburg. Krakow to Gdańsk. Vienna to Innsbruck. I would enthusiastically spend 14 days in Berlin or Warsaw alone, but I realize I’m probably not the typical traveler.

Post above reported.

throwing off this exhausting yoke of restriction and going for a
little walkabout. What Might I run into for a two week journey

Well... an exhausting yoke of restriction, most likely. As others, especially travel4fun, have already pointed out, an itinerary like yours would require lots and lots of research and constant updates: What is the current situation for Americans to enter all of these countries? What is the situation when you try to move from one of these countries to another? That's not the same thing, and you would have to keep track of both sets of rules for each of those countries. You are infinitely increasing your chances of getting quarantined with such a quick succession of different countries.

Also, I am having trouble following your math. Seven destinations and "two or three days in each", how on earth does that add up to two weeks? And you haven't even considered the travel day you will need to add between locations.

Remarkable resource. - so grateful for everyone jumping in. Excellent advice from all.
1st: length of proposed journey increase to 6 weeks if IMaintaining this itinerary.
2nd: current restrictions indicate timing is not appropriate.
3rd : weather - visas - COVID restrictions redefine the word “ walkabout”.
4th: I’ve been to all previously except Warsaw and St. Petersburg. - perhaps 2 weeks in London for Christmas - would be far less hassle
THANK YOU ALL. ‼️👍🥃🍷

You may find you have exchanged the "exhausting yoke of restrictions" for something more burdensome. You are going to have to be constantly updating on the fluid COVID situations in every single city, county and country you try to visit. That's going to be exhausting in itself. You'll need to factor time for testing, the right test for each place, and possible quarantine into your schedule. There is a good chance, you may not be as warmly welcomed as you think. You may be turned away at a border. You might test positive. How do you feel about getting sick in a strange land? Do you really want to be in a crowded Christmas market?

If there is anything the last 18 months has taught us is that flexibility, caution and planning are our friends. If you decide to go, get appropriate insurance and most liberal cancellation policies possible. Hope for the best but plan for the worst.

I agree with other comments that it might be better to reduce the number of countries and spend longer in each, given the current Covid regulations in various countries, which could change at any time. I probably wouldn't consider St. Petersburg at this time given the Covid rates there and the need for a Visa.

I may have missed this but when is this trip going to take place?

I'm glad that the cavalry has arrived.

Are you going soon or is this planning/dreaming for next year?

Calvin,
Your planned itinerary is WAY WAY to much. You could easily spend the entire two weeks in London and England.

Going to Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, St. Petersburg would require weeks, at least a month.

Forget going to major European cities just for 2-3 days. You need about a week in a major European city.
Also, your plan would waste four days in traveling.

Do some research, go to TripAdvisor and look at what there is to see where you want to go and decide what you want to see before you decide on how many day there.
Also, look at some group tours and see that they do in terms of days and things to do.