I ran my first oversees marathon in September.  It was the Berlin Marathon.  While planning for this big running adventure, I had a lot of questions:

1. What is the cheapest way to fly to Europe?
2. How will jet lag affect my marathon performance?
3. How can I make the most of my time in Europe?
4. What is it like running the Berlin Marathon?

I am writing this post as a way to give you an idea of how to plan your best Berlin Marathon adventure!

Berlin Marathon Itinerary

Here is a run-down of what we did during our European marathon adventure.  I wanted to make the most of my time in Europe, as it was my first time there.  I knew I wanted to see more than just Berlin, so I mapped out a pretty good itinerary…

1. Fly from Orlando to Paris on Norwegian Air

I managed to fit all of my clothes in a backpack, so I got the cheapest tickets possible.  I managed to pay $410 for round trip from Orlando to Paris!  Our first stop in Paris was only a layover, because next…

2. Fly Paris to Prague on Vueling Air, One Night in Prague

I initially planned on flying directly to Berlin via Easy Jet, but by the time I was ready to book these tickets, prices went from $50 to $180.  I decided to look for other alternatives.  I found a dirt cheap ticket ($40) from Paris to Prague.  Why not spend the night in Prague and take the opportunity to see another city? I am so glad we went this route!  Prague was amazing.  I highly recommend you include this city in your plans.

3. Train from Prague to Berlin, Three Nights in Berlin

After some turbo sightseeing in Prague, we took the train from Prague to Berlin.  I booked the tickets online ahead of time, via EuroRail.  They sent the tickets directly to my house, which was nice.  The train station was a little difficult to navigate.  We figured it out and were on our way! Tickets were $60 for first class.  From what I understand, the only difference in the first class tickets is that your seat is reserved for the whole trip.  I do recommend going this route.  Other people had some confusion over seats.  The train ride took three and a half hours.  It was really comfortable and scenic.  Once the train arrived in Berlin, we used their local train system (U Bahn) to get to the hotel.  Once in Berlin, it was easy to get around using Google Maps and the train system.  Their ticketing system was really strange though.  More on that in another post!

4. Fly Berlin to Paris, Two Nights in Paris

This was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to!  We flew Easy Jet from Berlin to Paris.  These tickets were kind of expensive at $120.  If we booked earlier, they would have been much cheaper.  We flew into CDG and took a taxi to the AirBnB.  Please watch out for all of the scammy “Uber” drivers in Paris.  They hang out where the legit taxi drivers pull up and try to lure you into their car, overcharging you like crazy.  Once we got our bearings and did some planning, we took the Metro most places.  Google Maps to the rescue!

5. Fly Paris to Orlando, Homeward Bound

We flew Norwegian Air back to Orlando, then had to drive from Orlando to Tampa.

More marathon details to Come!

I wanted this post to focus on just the basic itinerary.  This is what stressed me out the most while planning for the Berlin Marathon.  More posts to come regarding some of the other important details: food (hello?), navigating each city, and…oh yeah…running the Berlin Marathon 🙂