c'mon dude. it's the ineterenerneret!
http://www.eurail.com/
http://www.hostelworld.com/
i've done the eurail, not the pass.
maybe in some countries buses are better, like spain.
don't know where else though.
trains in italy are ok.
in the netherlands you could prolly just bike it.
hostels range in quality and price
that will be as cheap as you can get ..unless you can get a job working somewhere that you can also stay, like a hostel or some rich woman's house.
and like you said, there's always benches
thta's a combination of countries that a eurail pass doesn't really make sense for though.
i'd look into flying into london, and maybe out of paris, or another gateway..amsterdam?
in between you might wanna fly from destination to destination
http://www.europebyair.com/eba/English_us/default.jsp