So we're going to Europe. Now what?

Having received this western europe trip as a gift for my 25th birthday is kind of a blessing. At first our itinerary was only Milan - Ospedaletto - Venice, well, mainly Italy because the Italian friends we know were going back home for summer holiday. But after further thoughts filled with anxieties, pleading, etc., my partner gave up and came up with this final itinerary list.

Istanbul (we took Turkish Airlines so this is a stopover) - Rome - Venice - Brussels - Brugge - Paris

Sounds good to me. Rome --> the mecca. of my religion. Paris --> the mecca of my dream. :)

So next, what? Bought tickets, book hotels and that's it? How I wish.

Being Indonesians we still need to apply for the Schengen visa. For those who are newbies as we were, Schengen is an area in Europe that covers 25 countries. In other words, if you've got yourself a Schengen visa, you're approved to travel within the countries listed in the Schengen without having to apply another visa - unless you get out of it halfway and decide to go back. Those countries are:

1. Austria

2. Belgium

3. Czech Republic

4. Denmark

5. Estonia

6. Finland

7. France

8. Germany 

9. Greece

10. Hungary

11. Iceland

12. Italy

13. Latvia

14. Lithuania

15. Luxembourg

16. Malta

17. Netherlands

18. Norway

19. Portugal

20. Poland

21. Slovakia

22. Slovenia

23. Spain

24. Sweden

25. Switzerland

For Schengen visa, you will need to apply it at the country where you'll be spending the most time at. For us, it's Italy. So I made a call to the Italy embassy 2-3 months before my intended departure date. Little did I know that we needed to be on the queuing list for 1 month or so! Good thing I called that time. But this varies across all embassies in every country. For instance, my friend who applied at the Belgium embassy here in Thailand wasn't required to wait at all. Neither for my friend who applied at the Germany embassy in Singapore. For safest bet, do call them and ask for all the requirements needed, in as much detail as possible because some embassies love to give 'surprises'.