Backpacking Across Europe | 4th Grand Falls Scouts & Venturers

Feb 14th Backpacking Across Europe

So what started out as a joke over a great game of S.W.G. at Scout Camp has morphed into a pretty awesome pre-camp! So… how many countries could you visit in Europe on the way to the Jamborette if we weren’t picky about fancy things.. like beds…?

The answer is, A LOT! As much as we always say things like “this trip isn’t for everyone”, let me be really clear – this trip is NOT for everyone! First off, on the way to Rome, our flight will transfer somewhere… either Ireland or the United Kingdom. so that is country #1. We’d be joining in with the Switzerland crowd touring Rome, Italy and Vatican City (#2 & 3) and traveling to Kandersteg, Switzerland (#4). After a day or two at Kandersteg it will be time to hit the rails! While our exact route will need to be well researched for suitability and safety, our best case scenario for country-count would be Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and into the Netherlands. All this acheivable thanks to our EuroRail Global Pass which will give us unlimited rail travel in Europe for a SUPER reasonable price! That puts us to 20 countries! Fair enough, in each of these countries we’ll get little more than a selfie and a meal, but at least we can scratch another country off the map 😉

This is the one pre-trip that also turns into a post trip! After the closing ceremonies at the Haarlem Jamborette, instead of going back to camp we’ll be heading to the train station to scratch off a few more! First stop is Copenhagen in Denmark (#21), then through Sweden (#22) and finally to Oslo, Norway (#23) for our flight home. Unlikely to get a direct flight from Oslo, so expect a layover in Iceland (#24) before returning home to Newfoundland & Labrador.

In this pre-trip you will sacrifice personal comfort for adventure. You will sacrifice a set itinerary for the uncertainty of public transit through countries you have never heard of. We will need to think on our feet, change the plan hourly as needed, and always, always be prepared for the unexpected.

This pre-trip requires a truly enormous amount of work in advance as you will need to research all the cities we plan to stop in as well as alternate cities in case things don’t go according to plan. We need to know what to expect in the 24 countries we plan to visit and have a risk assessment plan for our itinerary as well as for our back up plans. This is a monster of an effort, but would add a clean two dozen countries to your list 😉 This is literally the sort of trip you talk about for the rest of your life.