Hola todos,
If you caught my Blue Backpack Break series from my time in South America, you know that I took the word "backpacking" very literally. I had no idea that "backpacking" involved really large camping backpacks. My school Jansport backpack had everything I needed for a trip lasting a little over 5 weeks.
What was the trick? Minimalism. I had like 2 changes of clothes that I washed in hostel sinks. My sneakers were my only real shoes. (I packed super thin flip flops, but those don't really count.) This was before there was pressure to have Instagram-worthy pictures in a cute new outfit every day of your trip. Back then, that kind of challenge was novel and exciting.
And while I now know what "backpacking" entails, I also made this trip (relatively) affordable by choosing budget airlines with restrictive bag policies (think Frontier or Spirit but for Europe). When I calculated how much extra money packing a modest carry-on would be (about $180 total)... well, challenge accepted. If I could do it for a 5-week trip in college, I could do it again for a week and a half in Europe.
I'm fitting 12 days worth of clothes and toiletries in a backpack that is 40x30x20 centimeters, or roughly 16x12x8 inches. (And, since I'm currently training for an Ironman triathlon, I need to bring some training gear, too.) *re-reads that paragraph and gulps*
Here is the bag I will be bringing, packed and within the allowed dimensions:
(I'll carry my water bottle and wear my coat!)
I think the trick will be relying on:
- Multi-purpose clothing: Every clothing item should have multiple purposes or "wears" in it. Sports bras? Good for a day of touring and a run (in that order, please) before washing. Shirts and leggings? Same. I'm also bringing one casual black dress--the black makes it easy to wear several times, even if I spill food or coffee on it (likelihood of such incidents: high) and reduces the need to make a cute "outfit" that works. Black works with almost everything, even Saucony sneaks and ballcaps (I hope...).
- Emergency toiletry purchases in Europe: It's not Mars. Need more toothpaste? Deodorant? Shampoo? They have it. I don't need more than a small travel size for a trip less than 2 weeks. I'm not even packing sunscreen--it's going to be cold, cloudy, and rainy in Iceland, so we'll be in lots of layers. No sun exposure there! (Calm down, some of you--I have a teeny tube of face sunscreen.) I'll just buy a small bottle of regular sunscreen when we get to Portugal. I'll share, and if we don't use it up in a week, I'll just leave it at our Airbnb for the next traveler. An $8 bottle is still cheaper than $180 in luggage fees last time I checked (but in this economy, who knows...)
- Friendly neighborhood laundromats: I used these in South America and they were great. Drop off a load in the morning and come by that afternoon to clean, dried, and folded laundry. Have to hover at your machine? Bring a book and get this done during a group nap time or rest time. It will still be worth it, I think.
