It’s hard to fully picture our trip without understanding details such as bags and packing. I knew that strategy was going to be a key role in packing for this adventure, as I wanted to be comfortable, fashionable, and flexible. This is why I purchased the High Sierra Classic 2 Series Summit 45 Internal Frame Pack, which is my standard bag for longer trips today as well (https://amzn.to/2lZ2za6). I will say that it’s possible that I am too long-waisted for this version, as I sometimes found it difficult to make it sit right on my waist to remove the feel of the weight. This was not a major issue for me, as we often deposited our bags at our accommodation or in train station lockers, but would be something to consider for long days of hiking.
Since we traveled to northern European countries and southern European countries, our dress code varied throughout the trip. One thing that made a huge difference was packing cubes. I ordered the basic small packing cubes from Amazon, and the worked very well for my backpack size and needs (https://amzn.to/2kqtFXw). They somehow make everything seem more condensed, but more importantly they made it easy to separate my clothes, which made finding certain pieces more efficient.
Complete clothing packing list:
3 sweaters (one navy, one cream, one grey sweatshirt)
3 jackets (one denim, one olive green, one lightweight black puffy jacket)
3 pairs of jeans (lightwash mom jeans, darkwash skinny jeans, white jeans)
3 pairs of shoes (Adidas sneakers, plain white Keds-type shoes, Birkenstocks)
1 pair of leggings
1 pair of orange trousers
2 shirts (black off the shoulder, yellow striped button up)
1 tank top
1 blue jumpsuit
1 black dress
Socks and underwear
1 scarf
2 head scarves
1 belt
1 small black purse
What I could have done without: the white Keds-type shoes as they are pretty similar to the Adidas’, the orange trousers (I only wore them once), possibly one of the pairs of jeans although I did wear them since I had them.
Yellow shirt, white jeans
Blue sweater, green jacket, scarf, darkwash jeans
leggings, blue sweater, denim jacket
black top, lightwash jeans, head scarf
cream sweater, lightwash jeans
Other than clothing, I did not bring much else.
a converter (https://amzn.to/2mmtJbn is a lifesaver)
basic toiletries
makeup
jewelry you are not afraid to lose
sunglasses
a travel towel
travel information (passport, Interrail Pass, British Residence Permit)
small amounts of cash
If I had been coming from the USA, I would have gotten a travel debit card that would have eliminated the foreign transaction fees. Since we flew over, we had to purchase sunscreen once we arrived in the hotter countries but this was an expected cost.
Stay tuned for day one of our travels!
Melissa