15 September 2022.
Every traveler has some things they tuck into their bag, items they cannot imagine doing without or items that make life on the road more comfortable. Some things I take may seem silly to you, and I am sure some of your habitual inclusions would also make me shake my head.
Bear in mind that we travel for 6-10 weeks at a time in Europe, that we cook in vacation apartments, and we check bags because our trips usually involve hiking and apparently one could hijack a plane with a trekking stick. Still, we are light packers. Our 24” rolling duffles weigh about 24 pounds each, which is manageable on-and-off of the myriad trains we take.
A Swiss Army Knife.* This utilitarian device — a very small one BTW — comes in so handy to open a package, trim a loose thread, or even divide up some cheese and salami for a trail-side lunch. Goes in checked luggage. I have surrendered at least two to TSA when I forgot they were in my purse.
Bag Clips. IKEA sells these amazing little bag clips of various sizes. Leftover potato chips? Check. A bag of rice? Check. Haven’t quite used up the whole bag of salad mix? Check. Love ‘em!
BeesWrap. Do you know about this stuff? It is waxed cloth you can use to wrap some foods. I love it for cheese, bread, covering a bowl of leftover food, wrapping a sandwich and much more. Treat it kindly and it is reusable indefinitely.
ZipLoc bags. I reluctantly use these plastic wonders more than I should, but there are few decent options for stashing leftover bits of this-and-that when cooking in an apartment that has no storage containers, for keeping your body wash from leaking all over your snacks, or packing a lunch for the train or trail. A few gallon, quart, sandwich and snack size will serve us for two months. I actually wash them out with dish soap and dry them if they aren’t greasy and reuse them.
Wine stoppers. In case of leftover wine. Who has leftover wine you might ask? We do. Sometimes. Especially when we are holding out for grappa after dinner. (See below.)
Knives for cooking.* Most vacation apartments have crappy knives. They barely cut butter. A few years ago, I bought a set of those multi-colored knives with blade guards and packed along four: paring knife, bread knife, chef’s knife, and santoku knife. Game changer for cooking in a rental! They are usually good for a couple of trips, but sometimes I “gift” them at the last stop and often they are there when we return the next year. I still bring a new set each fall.
Corkscrew.* You might think every apartment would have one and every hotel could find one for you. Not always true. And it is such a small item, why go without? When you want it, your want it.
Benadryl and Benadryl Gel, Imodium, Tylenol, Advil, Antiseptic Ointment, bandages and various other things-I-might-need-in-the-middle-of-the-night-when-the-pharmacy-is-not-open. Diarrhea on the flight? I’ve got you covered. Rash from unknown substance? Got that too.
A flask for leftover grappa. Sadly we abandoned about 12 ounces of Ric’s favorite grappa last year when we changed locations and could not see carrying the bottle in our stuffed backpacks. I gave him a flask for Christmas. Problem solved!
A pashmina. Mine is pale pink on this trip. On the flight it is my blanket. (Those airline blankets? No thanks! Who knows how they are cleaned?) The pashmina can also be a wrap on a chilly evening or a lap blanket in the apartment.
What do you pack along to make your travel life special or easier?
*Goes in a checked bag.
We have been hiking in some amazing places. Lovely weather overall. Other then the trip in an uncovered chairlift when strong winds moved in with driving rain. Luckily a short ride!
Clockwise from upper left: Aletsch Glacier; View from our balcony in Bettmeralp; Train ride through the valley; Evening patio at Hotel Waldhaus in Bettmeralp; Ciadanet Hütte in the Val Gardena with view of the Stella Group.
Below is the same glacier view on September 21, 2021. We are getting out of Bettmeralp before snow is expected on Saturday!
Girovaga 