As some of the people have suggested, train trips thru Europe are really interesting. We, in fact, took an extra week after both of our Globus bus tours to travel on our own. We used the Eurail pass to get from London to Berlin and then back to Amsterdam for our flight home. The one comment I have to make on that method, however, is you may occasionally encounter language issues. Since you have never traveled to Europe before, I don't know how comfortable you will be on interacting with the locals for everything - From transportation, to lodging, to food, or to places to sight see.
If you are the adventurous type, this might be just the trip for you. But if you are a little apprehensive on making your FIRST trip to Europe, maybe a tour is best. Whether that be a big cruise ships that allows you to see the harbor towns and country side, the Rhine and Danube river cruises which gets you into the heart of Germany, or a bus tour that goes to all the "major" sights whether they are along the coast, river, or inland.
I have to say I was apprehensive about being on our own the first time in Europe and I was really glad we were with a tour group. They took us directly to the sights and we didn't have to stand in lines or figure out where/how to get there. So we could enjoy the sights and then got to know and become really good friends with the other people on the tour. Once I got some experience with European ways (like having to pay to use the bathroom) then our week on our own was enjoyable but sometimes stressful because we had to decide what to do next and figure out how to get there. Usually language wasn't much of a problem, but it does add just a little stress if you are having trouble communicating.
So, bottom line, decide what kind of vacation experience you want. Totally taken care of and have the same room - big cruise ships; pretty much totally taken care of but able to see more towns and sights - river cruise; totally taken care of but on the go almost every day - bus tour; or strictly on you own - rail and rental car. But regardless, you will REALLY ENJOY IT !!!! Europe if fantastic.
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