3 week Man Trip

Q4. The only fees that you'll be charged for using an ATM are those imposed by your own bank. Ask there.

Q5. Don't worry about what people think about you sleeping in the park. You need to worry more about your personal safety. In other words, don't even consider it.

Q9. No.

2) How old are you and are you a European resident? Both affect the range of passes available. By the way you mentioned 6 countries, not 5!

Thanks Tony, the park question was a joke...mostly. I Appreciate the tips.

-Chris

Thanks Alan, I'm 28 and not a European resident. I put 5 countries because Eurail.com counts Belgium and Amsterdam as one country, Benelux. Thanks for your input.

-Chris

Amsterdam is not a country, nor is it the capital of Copenhagen.

no points for guessing where you're from

1) How much money should I bring ?
EUR 50 per day without transport (e.g. rail pass)

2) For the countries I've mentioned(5) and the amount of days we are going to be there(20 days), What type of rail pass do you reccomend?
Depends if you really want to use the trains from/to Rome. Use budget flights or skip it. A more logical route would be Amsterdam - Berlin - Prague - Munich - Paris - Brussels.

3) How much is your average beer in each country?
In the supermarket? A residential pub? The classical tourist trap?
Hofbräuhaus in Munich (the best known beer hall on the planet) menu (see page 4 for bevarages) 1 liter mug (stein) is EUR 6,90
For being famous the prices of the Hofbräuhaus are really OK. Not the best price/value relation you can find in town of course, maybe 15% increased.
In Berlin and even more Prague beer is less. In Paris I doubt you'll get even a small class (0,3 liter) for the same price in touristic places.

4) What's the best credit card/Bank card to bring over in regard to exchange rate, ATM fees, and the like?
Credit card: most accepted ones are MasterCard and Visa
For withdrawal fees, fees for exchange of curriencies you have to query your bank.

5) If I am so broke and can't afford a hostel how do Europeans feel about foreigners sleeping in a park?
What about tent hostels?
Munich The Tent
Berlin Backpackers Paradise

6) Are there any good shows or festivals going on around June 5-25?
Berlin (check also the other categories)
Munich

7) What's the funnest city in Germany? Most cultured?
Whats' your definition of fun? And of culture?
Q: Highest budget per head for culture? A: Frankfurt
Q: Most breweries per head? A: Bamberg
Most interesting and diverse city is Berlin. I'm pretty sure you will love also Munich for its beer culture with beer gardens and beer halls.
Germany is a country with a strong and traditional federal structure. One result of this that you have more symphonic orchestras and breweries in Germany than in the rest of Europe together.

8) What is the minimum amount of clothes I should pack?
A pair of underpants for change. And a toothbrush. You can "borrow" the toothpaste from your neighbour. The words of my scouts group leader ;-)

9) Do I need a German Drivers license to drive on the Autobahn?
No. But you will generally need a International Drivers Permit (IDP). This is a translation (on the types of vehicles you're allowed to drive, less so for language) or your national drivers license. The IDP is only valid together with your national drivers license.
OK - some will say you don't need it. Something which maybe indeed the case that nobody wants to see it - but by law the IDP is required.

I'm 28 and not a European resident.

OK, so we are talking about an Adult Eurail pass, which is only available in a First Class version.

How do you intend to fit Rome into the route? If you don't want to fly it will add a lot of travel time given that it is a long way south of your other destinations. Also, unless you want to do it in a very circuitous way by going through France twice, you will need to cross a 6th "country" (e.g. Switzerland or Austria) to get there, which wouldn't be covered by a 5-country select pass. It would be covered by a Global pass but they are horribly expensive.

You'll probably want to look at a 5-country pass for a relatively short number of days, maybe 5, 6 or 8. But even those are expensive, e.g. a 5-day pass works out at 80 euro per day so it is only worthwhile if you will have 5 trips costing more than 80 euro ... which you may well not, especially if you book a couple of the more expensive journeys in advance.

I'd suggest you spend some time looking at individual ticket prices (e.g. www.bahn.co.uk will show you prices for international trains to and from Germany) to see if a pass is worthwhile. My guess is that it may not be.

Extremely helpful abalada, thanks

-Chris

I second post #7... On a map of Europe all the destinations on what I am just gonna call the Grand Tour of Homelands of Beer and Wine :)P are close together save for Rome which is WAY down there... plus its very different to your other destinations - have you considered Vienna or Copenhagen maybe?

By the way, if it is beer you guys are interested in (and the 'MAN' word in your title kinda indicates) don't skip Belgium! Its a diminuitive country but has about a brewery for every person and is frequently quoted as having the best beer around (don't kill me now, German and Czech people..). Another tip for the budget counscious, Amsterdam is cool and really worth seeing but theres other cities in the NL also worth seeing and very probably cheaper. For beer on the cheap I have one golden tip - follow the students. For finding booze on low budgets (esp in NL, I have experience), surely there is no other demorgaphic group on the planet that comes close.