Europe 2013 Top Five : #5 : Lucerne

Lucerne, Switzerland.

Number Five on my top list of places I enjoyed while backpacking around Europe.

Packing List for Backpacking Europe

Before my sister and I left to backpack Europe for about 28 days, I read packing lists obsessively on the internet. Obsessively. I hated most of them, but that did not stop me from scrutinizing each one. It is silly, but one of the things I was looking forward to most was my own packing list blog post. I may or may not have caught myself thinking, not "when I pack I will do this and this differently," but "my post will have this better and a clearer photo, etc."

OK, confession time over. On to the packing. We will start on the outside and work our way in (people who are only interested in what clothes I packed, scroll until you get to the photo with the clothes!!)

So I have a 45L pack. This one, to be precise:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-XPG-Womens-Ridgeline-Liter-Pack/1348468.uts

Overall, I was fairly happy with how it performed. It held up very well (which it should have, since we were hardly the thrill-seeking, adventure backpackers.) It had sufficient (but not impressive) pockets, and access to the inside was quite good for a top-loader. My only major complaint is that it is too long for my back and therefore did not distribute weight ideally. However, that is not the backpack's fault. My other complaint is that it is too big, but we will get to that later.

To aid with the whole "living out of a backpack without losing my mind" thing, I spent around half a day stopping at, like, SIX different stores, slowly accumulating these beauts:

They were a lifesaver. You can see in a later picture how my stuff was divided into them, but this ^ picture has all of my clothes and almost all of my toiletries. All packed down into that little stack! I really liked knowing exactly where stuff was in the bottomless abyss of my backpack. If I needed a shirt, I knew exactly which handle to grab. If I had to pull out every "item" in my backpack looking for something, it was like four or five objects instead of dozens. Some people hate cubes, so try out packing with them before you take them on a trip, but I will probably always use them in the future.

This is almost everything I took with me. I'm sure there were some last minute additions, but this is the bulk of it.

Biggest cube:
-skirt/jeans/shorts
-sweater(s)
-dress

Medium cube:
-shirts

Small (rectangular) cubes:
1 for socks/tights
1 for bras & underwear

Wedge-ish bag:
-toiletries

Flat zip document "bag:"
This was a last-minute addition, it was nearly waterproof and rather structured. I highly recommend it.
It housed:
-photocopies of passport, driver's license, credit card
-printed directions to each hostel from the train station
-Eurail map & other info
-later in the trip, post-cards or other paper things I wanted to keep nice and flat were kept here.

Small "day" bag-ette (haha funny.) Another life-saver. I took my purse, but I usually only carried it for train rides. This is what I used when we were running around cities. I never worried about pick-pockets since it was attached to my wrist and I always held it like a clutch with the zipper inside my hand. It was big enough that everything fit comfortably but small enough that it was a breeze to carry. Mine was like $7 at Walmart.
-passport
-debit card
-local currency
-chapstick
-misc necessaries

The items above with asterisks by their names are items that I ditched along the way. The lock didn't work, even though I tried it like four times before we left. I threw it away at our first hostel and bought one with a key. The converter stopped working about halfway through. Funny story, my sister's iPhone cable stopped working almost immediately, so we were already sharing my cable, then my converter bit the dust and we finished out the trip with one converter and one cable. Since we were only using our phones to take pictures and use the internet when available, our battery life was decent and it was not much of an inconvenience. I realized after I saved the photo that I did not actually throw away my money belt-necklace (lol,) I just ended up stuffing it in the bottom of my pack and forgetting about it. It was really unnecessary; I thought I might use it at a sketchy hostel or something, but I only used it once at night, just for my phone. I sadly left my wonderful stainless steel water bottle behind because it was far more hassle than it was worth; I was tremendously tired of carrying it. It took up too much room inside my bag and made too much noise clipped to the outside of it, so I left it. I will undoubtedly buy another for home use, though, you cannot beat the stainless steel bottles!

The clothes!!!!!

I realized that I never took a picture after my final cuts on my clothing, so the items with red X's in the picture were eliminated before I left. The item with a green X was eliminated on the trip (explanation to follow.)

So our trip was in September. We went to Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France. Italy was, of course, warm, and southern Germany, Prague, and Switzerland were fairly cold. The rest of the places were moderate. So we were fairly accurate in attempting to pack for all contingencies. In Munich I was wearing almost every item of clothing I packed, and in Italy I could not imagine why I had not packed more hot-weather clothing. But in the end, I wish I had brought less clothing. I know everyone says that, but it's true. Next time I will bring less. So I am going to rate every clothing item I brought to show how much use I got out of it.

Here's my scale:
one: I got almost no use out of this, it was not worth its weight
two: I wore this some, but I would not bring it next time.
three: I got okay use from this, I would consider it next time.
four: I got really good use from this item.
five: I literally would have been miserable without this item.

Shoes shoes shoes.
(1) pair boots - Dr. Martens Felice five
(1) pair sandals - Birkenstock Odessa four
(1) pair $2 flip-flops for showers (always wear them. Foot fungus is miserable.) five

(1) black dress - Target Mossimo - discarded due to lack of use.  one
(1) black skirt - Target. three
(1) pair blue jeans - bootcut, medium wash. five
(1) pair jean shorts - rolled cuff, medium-light wash. four
(1) pair black lounge/yoga/pajama pants. I hated these with a passion, but at the same time, you need pajamas. Just choose wisely. four

(1) black pullover - oversized, loose knit. three
(1) black cardigan. five
(1) black long-sleeve tee. three
(1) grey 3/4-sleeve shirt. two
(3) tshirts (black, grey, grey stripes). five
(2) tanks (purple, grey) - racerback. four and two (I would take one, not two, next time if preparing for the same weather as on this trip.)

(1) scarf three

Not pictured:
(1) black tights (HUE opaque sheer black tights will change your life. They look awesome, feel awesome, and I swear they never wear out. Link to Amazon below) five
(2) wool or wool-blend boot socks (cream, black) four
(3) regular socks four
(1) regular bra three
(2) sports bras (I am among the freakish part of the population that prefers sports bras) five
(5) pairs underwear. I had two pairs of Champion underwear as a cheaper alternative to "travel" underwear. They worked great. But then my regular underwear was fine too, so.  five - duh.

Accessories:
Watch five
one ring (to rule them all) four

Clothing purchased on the trip:
pair of grey tights (meh) and pair of black leggings (crap) one
black fleece jacket four



Toiletries:

So, I am a very low-maintenance person, but I have long-ish huge wavy/curly hair. So I will always look at "toiletries" and see "hair products." Here's my list:

-two travel-sized toothpaste tubes
-toothbrush with cover
- 30-pack of natural-mumbo-jumbo exfoliating face wipes (my skin only tolerates select cleaners)
-one bar of Dr Brommer's peppermint soap
-mascara
-eyeliner
-one small eyeshadow compact-y thing
-chapstick
-tinted chapstick
-travel-sized bottles of:

• sulfate-free shampoo
• heavy conditioner
• light conditioner
• hair goop (magical curling custard-type product which I fondly call Angel Snot)
• hair gel

-tiny mirror (a lifesaver)
-several hair-ties
-small collection of bobby pins

Also, just a mention, I brought 1.5 towels. I purchased an extra-large quick-dry microfiber towel which cost a whopping $30 but was worth every cent, and then I also folded up a small flour sack towel (which I swear by) and whipped it right into my other towel's mesh sack. I always wrap my hair in the flour sack towel (a two-pack costs like $1 in the Walmart dish cloth section) before getting out and drying myself off. If you have longer hair, it cuts down on drippage so much and is also more gentle on your hair. Wet hostel bathroom floors are nasty. Don't contribute to them.

Electronics:
iPhone 4S
charger cord
iPad 2
charger cord (I only brought the USB to Lightning part of the charger since I could use my iPhone charger's plug)
Photojojo Telephoto and Wide Angle/Macro lenses for the iPhone
two pairs of earphones

I brought along two books and my journal. The journal was fantastic to have along. I only made it through one short book, because I cannot read on trains or any other form of transportation. If you do not have motion sickness, bring at least one book (almost every hostel has a book exchange, although some were quite poor.) However, I also recommend not reading too much on trains. It is a fantastic way to see the countryside and even if the scenery is not thrilling, it is still a new place to take in. I downloaded the audiobook The Girl Who Played with Fire before we left, knowing that I would not be able to read much, and it was the best decision ever. The audiobook is like 16-17 hrs long, and I finished it on the plane ride home. It was fantastic entertainment on the train and still allowed me to keep my eyes glued out the window, when I was fortunate enough to have a view. My sister can read on trains and she got through five or six books during the month. If you like or can even tolerate audiobooks, definitely download one. And make it a long one.

Just a few last miscellaneous mentions:
I highly recommend stuffing a handful of healthy bars into your bag. I packed 3 or 4 Luna bars and wished I had brought more. Grocery stores can occasionally be hard to locate and having a backup plan that does not involve an 8 euro sandwich in the train station is essential.

My reusable shopping bag was the greatest decision. You can see it in the second to last photo, on the right. It rolls down to a tiny tube shape, and it holds a lot. I believe it's an Envirosax (or very similar,) I picked it up at the National Gallery of Art in DC on my most recent visit. It carted my laundry bag to the laundromat (we wimped on sink laundry,) carried my groceries (many grocery stores in Europe expect you to have a bag,) toted my shower supplies, and generally saved my butt. I definitely recommend the investment.

Let me know if you have any comments or would like to know more about my packing list, my trip, my life, anything!

Things I Have Learned About Europe

La Basilique du Sacré Cœur, Paris

For the month of September, I  backpacked around Europe with my sister. I fully intended to blog about it while it was happening, but... I was backpacking around Europe! I  used my precious WiFi time (with mostly crappy wifi) to make some kind of effort to stay in touch with the people back in the U.S. of A.

I think possibly waiting until I'm done has been good. Although certain details may have faded, it has put everything into perspective. Some things that seemed like the end of the world at the time are now clearly just a blip on the radar.

So, one of the things that I wanted to document about this trip is what I learned about Europe. I've been a "Euro-phile" for a while now: planning imaginary trips, researching living costs and culture, and playing around with the languages. However, none of that can compare to the knowledge that you acquire when you are actually traveling there (not to mention actually residing there, I imagine.) Therefore, here is just a brief list, in no particular order, of a few things I have learned abroad.

1. Free bathrooms are precious and should be treasured. American public bathrooms are rampant. They are everywhere. And if someone asked you to pay to use one, you would think they were a nutcase. But not only are free bathrooms a rarity in most European countries, bathrooms can be a struggle to find at all. Instead of encountering a bathroom around every corner, you wander the train station aimlessly, happy to fork over your euro once you finally find the restroom. The upside is that these pricey restrooms are usually very clean (as in, sometimes are cleaned and disinfected between each use *cough*Germany*cough*) Don't even get me started on finding a free, clean bathroom. Whoa. So, use your hostel or hotel bathroom before you leave. Use other free bathrooms you encounter. Paying to use the bathroom blows.

2. Europeans love their shoes and bags. In America, shoes are not important. In general, people just wear whatever. In Europe, it is different. There are shoe stores literally everywhere. Most of them sell bags, too. It makes sense that shoes are important since everyone walks so much. By extension, bags are also important. Stuff that I just toss into my car and pull out if I need it has to actually be lugged around when you're cycling, walking, or riding public transportation. Voila, you have an obsession with cute, practical bags and shoes.

3. Politeness is not an essential part of European life. I had heard that this was the case, but I actually did not anticipate this bothering me to the extent that it does. Despite our stereotype of being obnoxious, or "ugly," Americans are freakishly polite creatures. Every single industry in America revolves around customer service. Cashiers, waitresses, receptionists, even nurses- and just about anyone else- is considered to be "paid to be nice." Of course, high quality, efficiency, and other qualities factor in, but generally the number one priority is that you can be a nice, friendly, engaging person. Or at the very least, rein in your snarl. This is not the experience I have had in Europe. This is not, by any means, to say that Europeans are rude. I have encountered many wonderfully sweet and helpful, or gruff and charming Europeans. Politeness is just not on the radar. It is clear that cashiers believe they are being paid to scan your groceries and take your money, not to be friendly. If you fumble with your change or take too long bagging the groceries (or heaven forbid you don't speak Italian and have no idea that they just asked if you wanted a bag!) they have no qualms about rolling their eyes and sighing. This is just not culturally okay in America (not to say it doesn't happen, but it's something weird and unacceptable when it does.) This is not a problem, just a cultural difference; one of the things you have to adjust to while traveling, but it was a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be.

4. Dogs are much more well-behaved in Europe. I'm not kidding.

My long train ride must-haves!

5. A lot of trains and metros function on a modified honor system. I was not anticipating this. In most American metro systems, you have to put in a ticket or swipe a pass to even get through to the train/subway. This was the case in some places (some of Italy, Paris,) but most German-speaking countries seem to be on a different plan. You buy the subway pass or ticket, and just jump straight on the subway. There are no gates or such. A plain-clothes subway dude may come through and check tickets while you're riding, and you sure as hell better have that valid ticket if he does. Otherwise, there is no enforcement of the ticket policy.

6. Vegetarians can eat happily until they die. It is actually stupid how meat-obsessed the U.S. is. Newer, more "hip" restaurants are increasingly offering extensive vegetarian and vegan menus, but many traditional restaurants (particularly outside of large cities) fail to have a single vegetarian entree on the menu. I have actually ordered a collection of side dishes many times at restaurants because there simply is no vegetarian option. Happily, Europe is a wealth of vegetarian options. Even if there is not an exotic item on the menu, you can count on there being spaghetti without meat sauce, or something.

7. Europeans are far more comfortable with the human body. This works both ways. Not only do they tolerate nudity far more, they also are not panting and drooling over the female body the way some Americans seem to. Cleavage seems far less common, not because women are "covering up," it's just not a big huge desirable thing.

8. The Wi-Fi sucks. Sure, it exists and everything, this isn't the wilderness we're talking about, but it's far less prevalent and also far less speedy than internet-obsessed America. It's a sad truth.

9. Upside: Quality matters. Downside: it is hard to find "mediocre" quality/price items. Because we knew we would buy so many gifts at our last two stops, we planned to buy suitcases to check on the flight back. Our backpacks were heavy enough without all that extra. My sister bought one in Lucerne. Oh my gosh, Switzerland, I love you to death and I will be back a dozen times before I die, but your prices!! I cannot even cope with them. We were at a Coop City (awesome store, by the way, it is like Target and Macy's combined,) and the suitcases were predictably expensive. I decided that I could really get away with a duffel/sports bag instead, since I did not have a lot of extra stuff to pack. The store only carried name-brand (Puma, Nike, Adidas,) and the cheapest tiny little duffel was around 40sfr ($45.) No, thanks. I ended up buying a flimsy one from a slimy nasty street market in Paris for 8 euro ($11). It is great that you can get such high quality items, but sometimes you do not need a high quality item, you need something to get you through, and that is where discount department stores like Target, Walmart, Meijer, etc. swoop in and save the day. Perhaps it is just me showing myself to be a product of my consumerist society (but I'm not, really!)

10. The fashion rocks. I mean really. And I don't just mean in places like Milan and Paris. I love the everyday street style of so many Europeans. I believe my favorite was the style of the young people in Berlin. A bit quirky, yet with the practical sensibilities that Germans hold so dear. Ahh, my heart.

11. The cars are so much smaller. And the driving so much more aggressive. I mean, the cars are tiny. Because the streets are tiny. And do not get me wrong, most of the driving was very good. But just far more aggressive than you will usually see in the U.S. I wouldn't go so far as to say the driving in Italy was good, though. More just aggressive. And wild. Borderline not-first-world. ;)

12. There is less emphasis on cleanliness. I am not saying Europeans are dirty. I'm not. Don't put words in my mouth. But in general, sidewalks are dirtier, subway stations are grimier, stores are less obsessively scrubbed, etc.

13. There is a whole lot more recycling going on. I so thoroughly applaud most European countries for making this a priority. In Germany, instead of having just a public trash can, they had these little half-moon shaped holders for bags for different types of waste: paper, plastic, waste, etc. Why isn't the U.S. doing this? Why?

14. There is less water in the toilets. Once I got to Germany I suddenly remembered that I had heard this at one point a while ago, but I had not remembered at all. It's some cool planet-saving thing to use less water. Smart. Also in some cases (German-speaking countries is where I mostly saw it,) there are two levers, one for #1 and one for #2. I have heard new toilets in the U.S. are using less water as well? But I do not know anyone with a new build, so I cannot test this theory ;)

15. The education is much ...better? different, at least? I did not get to have an in-depth conversation with any Europeans about their education system, but based on my research and experience, at the very least in the language area, their education busts the socks right off of America. The people in Germany working in shops accommodating German, French, English, and possibly Spanish or Italian-speaking people just amaze me. The six year old in Switzerland jabbering away to her mom in English, German, and French. All while I haltingly attempt to utilize my years of intermittent study of German. Sigh.

16. Tax is included in store prices. I think really only Americans will understand why this is so hard to get used to. It's nice. But also weird.

Well, I could keep going forever, but my final thought (for now,) is this.

17. Europe is such an amazing place to be. The culture, the architecture, the art, the scenery, the history, the languages. (Nearly) everything about it is so amazing. Everywhere we went, we heard about something we wanted to research, somewhere we wanted to go "next time," people and places we wanted to learn about and experience. It increased our appreciation for travel, for life at home, for Europe, for America, for the entire world.

The Schilthorn, Swizerland