Is Backpacking thru Europe in WINTER a good idea or bad idea?
My Boyfriend and I are planning to take a trip through Western Europe mid December through Mid January. Is this a good idea? We are from Los Angeles, so we know NOTHING about real winters.
We are fond of the idea of Europe in the winter..but…. considering we will be traveling by foot/rail…
is it Fun and Adventurous? OR just plain stupid?
THANKS EVERYONE FOR READING 
I first went to work in the UK in late December. I went on my first trips to europe (Paris) in mid Feb.
For the most part the weather is WET and overcast…it seems to rain a lot so an umbrulla and decent raincoat are good ideas. You can get some cold weather (in fact the coldest days I encountered were in the first few days of arrivial (and coming from summer in the southern hemisphere I was feeling it!) and it can snow. Snow can be annoying, more so in the UK which does not seem to cope with it as well as continental europe, but its usually over in a few days and its makes for nice scenery. Take a warm coat and layers of clothing for that and good walking shoes.
When I went to Paris in Feb, I found the weather cool but not really cold…..What you could do is head SOUTH where its warmer eg Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece where its probably going to have the best weather (we went to just south of Barcelona, spain for Christmas the next year after arriving where we actually had a chance of seeing blue skies…good idea).
Overall I would say, go for it. Its nice in some ways as there are less people around, so its not heaving with tourists, queues are shorter and prices (that are not ski areas) are cheaper in general.
Snow makes for nice scenery and you can find some good weather if you go south.