Packing Smart

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Less than three weeks. Time to panic & pack. Oh wait, maybe I should review my list of what I"ve learned and go from there. Okay......here's my adventures in packing.


Packing Adventures

What I’ve learned, trip one
Multi-country tour via trains

We took our teenage girls backpacking across Europe for three weeks about four, five years back. We purchased Rick Steves books and attended his free workshops in Washington. Traveling the Rick Steves way is light, way light; in that you only take what you can carry. So we took his advice to heart. I researched the airlines max size of bag you can check on, and then we shopped the sporting good sports, backpack sections with my tape measure in hand. We purchased backpacks that were at the limit (and maybe a wee bit more.) We practice packed. We took out our clothes; hand washed them and left them to dry over the tub overnight. We re-packed and then put on our bags and walked the neighborhood, all as Rick Steves said we should. The backpack seemed fine. We left for our three week adventure traveling by train, over night train across Germany, France and Italy. By the end of the first week, and plenty of walking with all my gear across towns, on metros and hours at the train stations, my bag was heavy. Too heavy. Heavy enough I ditched clothes to make it lighter. I had stuffed by bag with all the clothes I could. I learned if you roll your clothes, more will fit. It works.

Okay, so this is what I learned the first time:

Only take ONE bag. Pack your day bag. Don’t fill it and have to carry two bags. Not worth it.
Don’t fill your bag. Leave room. You’ll want to buy things along the way. Remember, you are on vacation.
You can wear the same shirt three times in the same week. You are on vacation.
Underwear and socks dry best overnight if they are not all cotton. Pack only three pairs of underwear & socks. They do take space.

What I’d learned, trip two
Berlin & Czech Republic

Okay, another trip with teenagers. This time we decide we are not going to do the mad dash across Europe. Carrying backpacks and traveling by training, staying a night or two per place is exhausting. We wanted to spend more time and really soak in the town, the area. So rented an apartment in Berlin, Germany sight saw by public transportation and foot for a week and then headed to Czech Republic in a car, spending several days in one town. I took my packing skills to heart, and applying what I learned the first time. I took a smaller bag. Yeap, must pack lighter. And took a carry on with wheels. Forget the backpack. I took only five shirts, one long sleeved shirt a light weight jacket and one pair of lightweight pants and shorts. We fly to Berlin middle of the summer. And it rained. And when it finished raining, it rained some more. And then it got cold. I brought a rain jacket; it did not have a hood. Who makes a rain jacket without a hood? Such a bad idea. And then I froze. We spend our whole second day buying warm clothes. I learned to bring more than one sports/workout zip-up sweater for warmth. I also learned that washing your undies in the sink doesn’t mean they will dry overnight in the tub when it’s cold & damp even in the middle of summer. And boy, could I use a pair of sweats. Hanging out at night in our rented apartment made me really wish I had a pair of warm comfortable sweats. More maybe it was the summer rain?

What I learned this trip:
Take LOTS of underwear.
Take one pair of comfortable clothes; sweatpants and shirt.
Take at least one warm sweater.
Never travel without a rain jacket with a hood.

What I learned, Trip Three
Bike tour Hungary & relaxing in Croatia

Teenagers are in college. Our first fall home alone and my husband and I decide to bike for 7 days, straight as in a row in the country of Hungary. Our trip is scheduled to start the first week of September. We figure the weather will be warm, nice and not too hot. And the first few days as we recover from jet lag, it is. We soak in the naturally warm tubs and culture. It’s perfect. We start our bike tour and the weather turns. It is now officially as cold as it’s ever been during that time of the year. The warmest day is almost 50. It rains. And when it doesn’t rain, it’s so very windy. Not exactly bike riding weather. I wouldn’t ride my bike in that weather at home and now I’m on vacation paying to do such??? I am wearing everything I have in my little carry-on suitcase. Everything but the extra bra and swimsuit. I freeze. I would buy more clothes if we could ride through a village that sold clothes. The smartest thing I’ve done for this trip is to bring a rain jacket with a hood and plenty of underwear. In fact I bring a couple dozen pairs of old underwear. I wear them; I leave them behind. Forget about washing and hanging in the shower. Those days are done! The weather changes a bit when we arrive in Croatia. Its brisk cold mornings, warm afternoons and chilly nights. I am smart in my packing in that everything layers, and nicely. It all matches but my jacket. Its clashes with one of my three tops and my dress that I brought as my swimsuit cover-up and pjs. I buy a black, button down smart sweater that matches my dress/pjs that I have to wear around town since all my other clothes are hung up and drying in the apartment. And oh, I also buy tights too. They not only look cute with the dress/pjs but keep my legs warm under my one pair of pants & sweats. Another brilliant move is that the tights are footless and works better with my pants. Cheers. Finally, something I get right.

What I learned this trip:

Take lots of your underwear and leave a dirty one behind however, hide them in the trash so the room service person doesn’t take them out, wash them for you and leave them in the sink and them charge your room more for laundry service.
ALL your clothes must match. ALL. Period.
And always pack for cold weather no matter the season.
Sports bras work best for traveling. You will appreciate wearing one after an early morning hike and not a chance to go back to the room to change after getting sweaty.

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Photos

Europe, here we come
Bahnhof Muinch. Can't believe we lugged around those big backpacks

Guard.
Bags are getting heavy. Dan is assigned to watch the bags while we shop.

Heavy Peace.
Girls in Germany. We were going to see the castle but the thought of carrying the bags futher...we didn't.

Waiting
Another good reason not to check a bag, what if it airline loses it??

My mess?
He claims I've overpacked...again.

No mess
The girls don't need to unpack in Czech Rep since we didn't bring much.