We’ve just booked our trip to Europe (June 4th), and preparations are already taking some of our time. Expect spotty updates until we get back on July 3th. I’ll try to visit cybercafés whenever possible. There seem to be some cybercafé search engines available – here’s one – and I’m going to print out a list of addresses along our itinerary.

We’ll fly into Frankfurt and my cousin who works at the Frankfurt Airport will pick us up; another cousin lives nearby. After visits, we’ll probably rent a car and drive north along the Rhine up to Düsseldorf, where I’ve got a bunch of friends and relatives to visit. Along the way, we’ll probably do the boatride between Rüdesheim and Koblenz – I did that in 1972 and it’s very enjoyable.

From Düsseldorf we’ll drive to Berlin with a stopover just before Hannover (more relatives). We’ve never been to Berlin, so a couple of days there may be worthwhile. From there, we’ll drive into Eastern Europe. Not sure if we’ll be able to visit Poland, as Warszaw is a little out of the way. Prague, Vienna and Budapest are easier to visit, although I’m not sure in which order. In Austria there’re lots of interesting places to visit on the way back – Linz and Salzburg come to mind. Then we’ll drive back to Frankfurt over Munich, with a possible stopover at Konstanz where we also have friends.