I'm a 17 year old planning an Europe backpacking - alone. Actually the scheduled day of depart is February 24th, so it's kinda getting emergency. I need to decide at least the visiting country and reserve the airplane (it is basically a free ticket... lucky but dates restricted) as soon as possible.
Here's the thing. I have 17 days to travel (02/24-03/12) and have to decide whether I should follow the western course (Portugal-Spain-France...Possibly Italy?) or the eastern one(Benelux-Germany...Possibly Vienna or Paris). I'm personally more inclined to the latter mainly because the safety issues- I'm seventeen but an asian so looks little younger than others and 5' 8", so the notorious Madrid, Barcelona, Venice and etc. look little intimidating although I decided to give it a go to europe backpacking itself. Is the security of those cities that bad? I have been to London and security issues there seemed much better than the rumors.
And one more thing, I don't know how much days should I allot to a single city, especially large ones. I certainly like to walk around streets and go to landmarks but I don't want to do a 'checking trip'- I don't think I'm going to spend 7.5 euros on Anne Frank's house or something like that... I usually prefer more sightseeing and seeing what I like (in london, National Gallery was a bless but Tate Modern was... little disastrous)
Should I travel germany and its neighborhood, what form of transportation do you think is the best? My budget is not that great. And is the Hostelling International membership worth joining? Since I'm a korean citizen I'm also looking at korean europe traveling websites, and HI membership is generally thought of as a necessity there.
Any comments or suggestions on schedule, itinerary, or other travel topics would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,