The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. So said someone infinitely wiser than I am. Still, it’s starting to become something of a life-motto for me (although may just be a cop-out for my general level of disorganisation). I can’t help but think that by planning things in advance and putting oneself in a world of diaries, itineraries and schedules, you’re missing out on all the excitement that comes with stepping into the unknown, and the rush of blood to the head that gives birth to those hair-brained schemes that make life more enjoyable.

And where would we be without those visionaries, willing to jump in with both feet to tasks that most other people just see as ridiculous? It’s a bit of a cliché, but without the oddball who thought it was a good idea to get underneath a cow, squeeze the dangly bit and drink what came out, your breakfast would have been a much dryer affair this morning. And society seems too quick to pour scorn on those willing to stick their head out of the window of life’s moving car. Just take John Darwin. You’ll have seen him in the news lately being lambasted for faking his own death whilst apparently on a canoeing trip, and using the insurance proceeds to hotfoot it with his wife to a new life in Panama. Sure, it was irresponsible, reckless and downright illegal, but there’s a significant part of me saying “good effort mate”. Schemes don’t come much more hair-brained than that.

So it’s with that in mind that myself and a long time croney have decided to nick off around Europe for a few weeks, armed only with a rail pass and an appetite for strong continental beer. This is both an exciting and worrying prospect, but at least I know it’ll be entertaining. I speak no languages. I don’t even have a big enough bag to get me through more than a weekend away. I think I’ve got a passport….

It’s this same spirit of foolhardy adventure that found me on the other side of the world back in 2002 with dangerously insufficient funds and a “how’d I get here?” look on my face. But that was one of the best years ever, so I guess that’s proof positive that the best plan is not to have a plan. I started writing this blog under the assumption that I’d have a lot to say about my impending adventure but thinking about it, if I did, then that would be something of a contradiction in terms. All I know is that for a fortnight next month, I’ll be in a foreign land. After reading this entry, you pretty much know as much as I do.

Oh and Jamie… if you don’t see me for a few weeks in March, now you know where I am.