Aussies travelling in Europe?

In Brussels: Officially, French and Dutch. Though French is more prevalent. Unofficially, almost everything is spoken here it seems. You shouldn't have too much problem getting by with English, though a bit of French helps. In London, they speak English, of course. In Monaco it is French and in Denmark, Danish, though most Danes should speak English quite well too. Must see places in Belgium: Brussels, Brugges, Antwerp and Ghent. http://www-use-it.be/ People here are generally not racist, and if they are, as a tourist, it is unlikely you will notice it. Rudeness on the hand has more to do with different cultural expectations. What may not be intended as being rude by the locals, may be experienced that way by you. Culture shock is simply part of traveling. The easiest way to get around Europe is by train. Any place worth its salt should have at least one train station. And within Belgium, it's even quite cheap. For longer distances, there are always the cheap airlines. If you want to get around by car, a GPS will save you a lot of time, unless you don't mind getting lost. Most shops in Europe work with a fixed pricing system. It's generally not a custom anymore to haggle over prices. You will always loose money when exchanging money. Keep in mind that London and Denmark are not in the Eurozone. So it is cheaper to directly exchange from AUS to Pounds and Kroners, rather than AUS to Euro, and then to Pounds or Kroners. Its also better to exchange a one large amount once, than smaller amounts several times. This also holds true if you plan to get money from an ATM machine. You will usually have to pay an extra fee just for the transaction alone. For Belgium, Antwerp is the party Capital, though Brussels has a lively night life scene as well. And there is definitely a lot happening in London. As for Amsterdam: personally, it doesn't really appeal to me, as I believe there are nicer places to visit in the Netherlands. But as a new comer to the low lands, I'm sure you will have lots of fun there.

To answer your questions. Several languages are spoken, but you'll get by with English. All of the places you mention are worth seeing. You might encounter racism or rudeness, but generally whatever attitude you put out there is reflected back at you. With this in mind, you might want to bear in mind that good manners are universal. Yes, it's easy to get round the cities, they all have public transport systems. And there are train and bus services also. Shopping in Europe is like shopping anywhere else. Yes, you probably will lose money when you exchange money, but you do realise that you could probably use your own ATM card in the machines here to access your bank account at home, I strongly advise that you consult your bank at home about this well BEFORE you travel, in case you need to get a new card. Now, down to the travel section in your local library, spit spot!!!