By Ryan Behr, Tribune News Service

There is much more to do in Europe than visiting landmarks on a fixed schedule with a tour guide who attempts to sound excited about 14th-century architecture. I am not against taking tours when you go to a foreign country, but I am opposed to having a fixed regimen when traveling. From some experience (I am still in high school), I can attest that having everything planned in advance can take away from the sense of freedom and wonder you get when you enter a country that is different from your own.

I am just back from a European excursion with my father, having visited together numerous destinations across the northern region of the continent. We began in an unusually sunny Hamburg, Germany, where we stayed for five nights before taking the relaxing fi

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