What should i pack when traveling to Europe? What Gotchas should I be aware of? A little advice would go a long way right now.
I am very grateful for your help. Sincerely,
Janet
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Disclaimer: turns out a couple “letters to the Editor” that I responded to ended up being spam. Yeah yeah you got me. Never-the-less as it turns out I think the info is useful so…I win! Hope this helps.
Hi Janet,
Glad to hear your are headed to Europe. Sorry it has taken me a bit to get back to you. I’m in the process of redesigning noambit.com.
I always pack about the same for every trip. I’ve put together a complete list of what I typically pack in our print-outs section. I’ve also made a video on what to pack that will post at our new address when that is up and running. Both sources offer pretty much the same content.
Recently I’ve tried to carry even less than before since airline restrictions can be costly and quite frankly the more you carry means…well the more you have to carry. Try to keep your luggage to a minimum if you’re going to do a lot of train or plane travel. One good backpack should be enough and will make it 
much easier when your have to run to catch that connection. I prefer an internal frame backpack like the ones you can find at www.ospreypacks.com (here’s a review). Luggage with rollers are OK if you’re driving from hotel to hotel but cobbled stone streets are a pain to roll on.
When it comes down to it every thing is going to depend on what type of trip you are taking. Treating yourself to 3-4 star hotels with luggage porters, only changing locations twice and having the types of clothes to attend Operas every night means packing quite a bit different than moving from Hostel to Hostel every three days via train over 40 days and having a few drinks in the local pubs in between. Use my packing list as a general guide but adjust as you see fit for your trip.
Another thing to consider is that anything you forget here or can do without for a couple weeks (so you don’t have to carry it) can be bought overseas. I’ve started to just leave behind all my gels and liquids that I would normally pack in my toiletry bag to avoid the hassle at the airport. Once I land I find a local grocery store or apothecary and purchase travel sized shampoo, soap and anything else I need. It kinda satisfies that initial desire to go shopping, I get to get out there with the locals and its fun to buy products you can’t get in the US. If I pack one pair of pants only to find out that its much colder than expected, I just wander into a local, cheap clothing store like C&A or H&M and buy another pair on sale. Viola, now your hair smells European and you’re dressed like one.
Hope this helps,
Chris.
