[l2ridehd]

Everyone has made excellent points and as you can tell, everyone has a way they prefer to get around Europe. My preference is a combination of train and car. I have not done the bus tour so I can't comment. It just seems to controlled for me. Almost all major attraction's you can get pre-travel tickets on the Internet so waiting in line is not as much of a problem as you might expect. Rick Steve's books are excellent, both for travel tips and dining recommendations. Car rentals are usually cheaper if done in country. (pick up and drop off in same country) And trains for major travel distance works well. Although all of Europe is actually fairly small and driving from Germany to Italy is measured in hours not days. Large cities you don't really need a car. (Paris, Florence, Barcelona, Munich, etc.) But still very worth while to rent and drive in the country side. And you have to drive the Autobahn in Germany at least once in your lifetime and even Italy was not a problem driving and the only way to see Tuscany and all those small old villages. Bicycles work well in Copenhagen and even the wine country of France and again can be rented fairly easy. PLAN PLAN PLAN. With the Internet, virtualtourist.com, Rick Steve's books, maps, city web sites, you can build your own itinerary for every day. It is actually very easy. Go spend $50 to $100 on books and maps and PLAN some more. That is really half the fun. There is so much to see in every country that the first thing you run out of is time. Good luck.