Traveling to Europe with the boarding case

(The picture shows the oversized suitcase that our couple took to Europe for the first time)

"There are two kinds of tourists in this world, one is a person who packs and travels easily, and the other is a person who wants to pack and travel easily." (Rick Steves, a well-known American tourist)

The first time I went to Europe for 14 days (semi-self-help and half-time tour), my husband and I each brought a large suitcase that must be checked in.

On the second European 12 days (full buffet), our couple brought the boarding case with each other and the large luggage that had to be checked in.

The third time I went to Europe with friends for 6 days (full buffet), I took a small boarding box directly

This is the fourth time for our couple to go to Europe. In 16 days, three countries, five flights (including low-cost airlines and traditional flights), and a full self-service itinerary with countless trains, we challenged one to bring a small boarding case Go play for 16 days.

Let's talk about the positioning of our travel first. We are not backpackers in general stereotypes. Although I know that the backpack can be lighter, most travelers must carry a large backpack when traveling around the world, but because of my occupational injury, the shoulders, necks, and backs have never been too good. Just to kill me, there is no other way. I have to use a suitcase with four wheels. In addition, we are not a general three or five-day business trip, but it is not a five-month long-distance trip around the world, so this positioning is usually a bit of kaka, so we basically want to relax and not bring Any checked baggage to travel. Let me talk about why I plan to do this challenge. (The following is pure personal experience and opinions, do not like to fight)

1. Many things are not used at all

I used to think that as long as I traveled for more than five days, I had to bring a large suitcase, and I had to stuff the suitcase into an explosion until I felt it was worth the price. After all, airlines have checked them for you free of charge, without white tape. For example, clothes, bags, shoes, well-dressed accessories, plus snacks, instant noodles, and even pots and pans are usually used as an excuse to bring these small things, "In case of need, it is safer to bring more. "But when I traveled, I didn't wear it, I didn't use it, and I even forgot to bring these things with me. (Yes, I'm here). I think that as long as you prepare early, the amount of luggage packed for a week can be the same as the amount of luggage packed for a month of travel. During the trip, I often heard many people complaining, "If I knew I would carry less luggage," I had never heard anyone complaining, "I knew I would take XXOOO to travel."

2. Dragging around with a large suitcase, it's not fun at all

(The right side is the large checked baggage we brought when we first went to Europe, and the left side is the small boarding case to be brought this time)

When traveling with a group, it is easiest to see the group passengers traveling with a large luggage compartment (such as a five-day and four-night trip in Thailand, but you have to bring two big checked luggage boxes). On the one hand, the food eaten with the group is often unpalatable, and it is king to fill up the stomach with a little bit of bite. So after I went in and out of the airport many times, I found that most of them were not only Taiwanese tourists but even foreigners, except for business travelers. As long as they went abroad, they would have to wait in large suitcases. However, when you travel by yourself, unless you are driving the whole journey, the plane, train, bus, and luggage are traveling on the stone road in Europe. Even many accommodations staying in Europe do not have elevators at this time. Dozens of stairs also have to be carried, often being dragged down by the excuse of "just in case", and it also makes travel a lot more tiring.

3. Low-cost airlines in Europe are the most convenient, but checked baggage fees are also terribly expensive

Europe ’s low-cost airlines are really cheap enough. As long as you start at the right time, you will really make you feel full of purses. For example: my trip to the three countries, I bought three one-way tickets, one person is $ 500 (equivalent to NT $ 15,000), including two flights from the United States to Europe, which is basically less than half of the traditional air fare I purchased before. However, there is no free lunch in the world, and the cost of a checked bag is 42 dollars, which is very expensive. Therefore, if you plan to use European low-cost airlines to move around freely, it is easier to bring a small boarding case.

4. You do n’t have to worry about missing luggage or being targeted

With checked baggage, in addition to taking time to check in, you also need extra time to wait for your luggage. When our couple was in Salzburg, Austria, they had encountered the problem that their luggage did not catch up with the plane. They had to wait several hours before receiving the luggage from the bed and breakfast. Even when her friend flew to India from the US and traveled to Dubai for two weeks, she also encountered airlines losing luggage in India, causing her to wear clothes and a camera in Dubai for two weeks. It is better to bring a charger), and a side backpack bag to dominate the world. Afterwards, I asked her how it feels like to travel. She said that in addition to having to wear laundry pants every night, it was actually easy. The memory of Dubai's travel is also completely unaffected. The benefit of carrying around with you is at least that the problem of lost or missing luggage is much smaller. At the same time, there are many pickpockets in Europe who love to deal with tourists. Large suitcases are the best way to tell the world that "I am a tourist". Dragging around with a convenient small suitcase, it can be relatively integrated into the crowd.

5. It's less likely to get frustrated and buy souvenirs

(I saw Fortnum and Mason's tea bags in the UK this time. Even if the luggage is still small, I can't help but start with two large bags. In addition, I opened the chain bag to save space. As a result, I found that it was also sold in China after returning home. Feel like a dumb -_-)

The bigger the luggage, the more you buy. But usually after buying a pile of expensive souvenirs, I regretted why I couldn't get along with my wallet after returning home. In fact, the concept of the global village is in line with the whole world. I really want British black tea, French macarons, American chocolate, and even German jam. There is still a way to buy it. Unless the meaning of your travel abroad is to buy souvenirs and sweep brand names, the scenery and photos you have seen are actually the most valuable souvenirs. Travelling only with the case, on the one hand, forces you to not buy a bunch of liquid things indiscriminately (and also prevents you from having to drag and drop these liquid souvenirs), on the other hand, it also indirectly saves you A wallet. The souvenirs that you really get will definitely be willing to let you drag around and do not hesitate, then I believe that this must be true love.

After talking about the easy trip, let's talk about the preparation before preparing the luggage.

a. Check the baggage size regulations of the airline company

Not all of the five flights we took this time were the same airline, but of course I checked each one and used the strictest regulations as the target for the luggage. Some airlines will strictly enforce baggage size and weight, while others will not. But just in case, we still take Norwegian as the standard 55cm x 40cm x 23 cm, under 10kg. Only a few of our existing worn-out suitcases (following us for two decades and long enough) only found out that they were all out of range. It is possible to take a domestic flight in the United States, but it is impossible to take a low-cost airline in Europe. Fortunately, we have a simple measurement, because on our flight back to San Francisco from Norway, we are forced to measure whether it can be put into the container for measuring luggage, otherwise we have to pay extra for consignment!

b. Instructions for buying luggage

(The picture shows the suitcase we selected this time)

The old suitcase is too big. We started to look up the size of the suitcase on the Internet, only to find that the size reported by the manufacturer of the suitcase does not include the length of the wheel. But when you are really traveling, when measuring the length, width and height, the airline will include the length of the wheels. Therefore, comparing the boarding case with the big backpack is relatively disadvantageous. But there is no way, in order not to pay the consignment fee, nor to crush my back. My husband and I, like a neuropathy, took a soft ruler and measured the first one in the store to the last one. It was found that most of the boarding cases are really beyond the scope. So we insisted on buying these two boxes after running two stores.

There is no reason why we chose these two boxes, it is purely because they meet our measurements, they are relatively light, and the style is acceptable to us.

c. Packing luggage broken

I have written several articles about packing luggage, but this trip is considered the spring of Europe. The temperature is around 5-20 degrees. We plan to bring only one week's clothes and find a nearby place to wash clothes during the journey. Therefore, in this case, the way of traveling from one week to one month is actually the same as the amount of clothes.

Different countries have large temperature differences, so they can only wear the onion style before. We don't bring overly heavy clothes, but all bring light jackets. If it is really cold, just wear five clothes inside.

Finally, in a boarding case, I have a total of stuffing (other things such as airline tickets, passports, credit cards, cameras, etc. I will put a carry bag):

Clothes category:

3 pairs of underwear (also can be used as warm pants)

3 outer pants

7 tops

1 half-length down jacket (with another jacket on)

7 underwear

7 pairs of socks

1 pair of outgoing shoes, 1 pair of indoor slippers (wearing sneakers)

1 scarf, 1 fur hat, 1 pair of gloves

Cosmetic bags:

Cotton swabs, combs, eye masks, ear plugs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, cotton pads, cosmetics, makeup removers, hand towels, dry cleaning hands, a small piece of soap, a small jar of shampoo and conditioner, personal medicine

Also added a small umbrella.

Chargers and other electrical appliances will be carried on the body (after all, the mobile phone camera will need to be charged at any time), so it will not be put in the luggage.

It sounds like a lot of things, but in fact, using the drum packing method, it is really all stuffed in, not very full, and there is still room for compression in many parts of the clothes! There are pictures and the truth, and I will show you how everything is contained.

Of course, this is purely my personal experience and point of view, to share with you. Finally, I wish you all a smooth journey, and I hope everyone can travel easily!