trying to cram in as many countries as possible with an interrail card

One of the problems with reading something like europe on a shoestring is you tend to want to go everywhere in it afterwards!

It is possible to cover a lot of countries in a month, the question is whether you want to spend most of your month running around from hostel to train station and back so you can get to the next place, or if you want to spend your time visiting the places you do go. Luckily for you, you live in the UK, so it's not as if Europe is hard to get to for you to go again.

Your destinations are really, really scattered - it's an enormously long way from antwerp to latvia, and there's a lot in between. You've only got a month, so concentrate more closely on one area or line - visit Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark for example. Maybe throw in Austria and/or Hungary. that's more than enough for one month. You'll find you enjoy yourself a lot more than desparately racing around trying to get to every possible country. Save the rest for another time.

your questions though:
1. rome is as good a starting point as any, it depends where you want to end up and where you want to pass through to get there. whether to leave it out depends on whether you/your boyfriend really want to go there.
2. Yes, of course there is, but it depends what you're actually interested in. You might be a world war II history buff who would love to see the monument in Brest, or that might bore you stupid for example. You might want to get out a do a bit of hiking in the alps, so slovenia could be an option, or water sports on lake balaton... or you might prefer the nightlife in the big cities.
3. Yes, travel less - see more. there's little more boring than the inside of a train, except possibly the inside of a train station while on holiday.
4. generally speaking, yes, plus you get where you're going without wasting a day on train (see above!). I've not been to Roskilde but I'd guess a tent is the simplest form of accommodation, however you'd have to carry it for the rest of the trip as well, which doesn't make it super convenient for you.
5. depends where you want to go. If you're starting in Rome, it's much faster to fly. Since you'll have the interrail pass, it's cheaper, but slower to catch the train or a ferry, but again that depends on whether you think spending a day or two on the train to get to Rome is worth it. I'd say it probably isn't, especially if you're interrailing around for the rest of the month.

thanks a lot that's really helpful.

it is worth deciding between us whether we want sights, nightlife or adventure stuff and whether some countries offer more than others and also whether we can hack travelling a bit more to see other places.

thanks for your help.

It's well worth deciding what you want to see/do first - even just the things you like doing at home - then have a think about where you might like to do it, definately. Obviously in a month, you've got the time to do some outdoor stuff out in mountains, lake districts etc as well as have a week or two partying yourself insensible if that's your thing. Just try to work it out so the places fit together logically - get yourself a big fold out map and look at the distances between places.

yeah i'm trying to find a massive up to date map at the moment and i will be checking train timetables closer to the time we want to go so we can make a proper itinterary.

the reason i was asking about the balkans and scandanavia is because i wanted to check that the culture is completely different to what it's like in england. i know it will be to an extent but the further removed it is, the better then we'll have the contrast of western europe [nightlife and all that] with the scenic, historic parts of eastern europe. but it's still choosing...

so to the giant map it is!

Here's a good site for figuring train travel all over Europe: D Bahn. It looks like it is just for Germany, but it covers all of Europe.

I agree that you should narrow your focus. Decide which places are the most important to you and start prioritizing. Don't forget to figure in one day of travel between locations. Even if it is only 4 hours on the train, it is a whole day of travel from door to door.

Don't bother with a tent or sleeping bags. Travel light. Sleep in hostels. Take a sheet bag if you want or a very light sleeping bag. If you take a tent just for one stop at a festival (which you may or may not get to) it will be a lot of time that you have to carry it. Personally, I don't use campgrounds when traveling on trains and visiting cities in Europe. Others do and like it, but it is not for me. The campgrounds are usually way outside the cities centers and you spend all your time and money getting into the places you want to visit. Also, the last bus or train back to your camp leaves early, just as the nightlife is strarting to come alive. When it rains, it is a real pain.

I once met two American girls in the train station in Madrid who were doing nothing but traveling from one major city train station to another, sleeping on the trains, and catching the next train out. They were just checking off cities. They saw nothing of the places they "visited." When I met them they'd just arrived from Rome and were waiting for the train to Paris. Stupidest thing I'd ever heard of. That was an extreme case, but don't be like them.

I agree with the above. Assume you'll be able to travel Europe again sometime in your life, so you don't feel obliged to fit everything in. Pick your top two or three countries, and try to focus on those countries, and maybe the countries surrounding those. Two months is a lot of time, but it will fly by. You'll want to stop and smell the roses along the way -- maybe lounge on a beach, or just walk around town aimlessly. Slowing down your travels allows you to do this.

Another thing you may want to consider is just winging it along the way, and not making all your reservations in advance. In this way, you can slow down or speed up your travels as you see fit. Book a day or two in advance while you're on the road, using a site like www.hostelworld.com. June will be busy, but isn't quite yet peak season, so you'll usually be fine, even if you just show up in a town without reservations.

Dave

I can understand all the wishes about seeing everythinG ON a single trip (have you never been outside UK before?). BUT: First of all - do not count countries - they are not interesting as such and not as different as you imagine (and they do not even stamp your passports) - count places and regions (and try to see other things than capitals and big cities - UK is more than London - and the same is true for the rest of Europe).

Next general comment: You are young and from the UK ? You will have vacation a few times every year the rest of your life! You do not have to travel extensively in order yo reach any point in Europe - you will have plenty of oportunities to see all of Europe during the rest of your life, without spending more than anyone else in your county spends on their holidays. You can even easily visit all major towns in Europe one by one on (relatively) cheap extended weekends.

Why not chose Scandinavia ONLY (take the ferry directly there - or fly and buy a Scanrail pass) - if you are going to use one of your precious holiday weeks in Roskilde - thene there is much more to see than you possiblycan in the remaining 3 weeks if you visit more than the 3 capitals - OR Netherlands and a bit of Germany OR a bit of Germany and Czeck OR Germany-Switzerland OR .... and then you have your plans for the next few years!

AND then get a guide for the regions visiting in addition to the "shoestring guide" that is so "thin" on each place.

i see what everyone is saying and i'm thankful for all the advice, but my boyfriend and I are both students, no way can i afford to go away all the time both in terms of funds and actual time [maybe in a few years when i've finished uni but i study fashion and that doesn't really leave much time] - and i want to see lots of things now! i'm not bothered about checking off every city, in fact i've been reading up on smaller areas so that perhaps if we do focus on fewer countries, we can visit cities and the smaller villages. i am rather organised, but my boyfriend isn't so the advice people are giving me will hopefully make him be a bit more decisive! thanks to badger for the d bahn link, i'm having a look at that now and the tent idea is dissipating [even though we found some handy little compact ones, i did realise that the campsites are a bit further out]

thanks again!

i see what everyone is saying and i'm thankful for all the advice, but my boyfriend and I are both students, no way can i afford to go away all the time both in terms of funds and actual time [maybe in a few years when i've finished uni but i study fashion and that doesn't really leave much time] - and i want to see lots of things now! i'm not bothered about checking off every city, in fact i've been reading up on smaller areas so that perhaps if we do focus on fewer countries, we can visit cities and the smaller villages. i am rather organised, but my boyfriend isn't so the advice people are giving me will hopefully make him be a bit more decisive! thanks to badger for the d bahn link, i'm having a look at that now and the tent idea is dissipating [even though we found some handy little compact ones, i did realise that the campsites are a bit further out]

thanks again!