Travel - Items - What Worked and What Didn't

I put a lot of time in on the preplanning of the five week trip.  The ideas for "What do I take? What do I need?" were experiments in the art of minimalist travel.  Most ideas worked to varying degrees of success and some didn't.  This post covers items that I had with me and my thoughts at the end of five weeks with a carry-on piece of luggage and a backpack.  All product links are affiliate links unless noted.

Large tea bags. These are lightweight and easy to pack.
I used these when the apartment had coffee, but no filters
so we were able to make coffee and buy filters at the store.
I also gave two "tea gifts" of the loose Guayusa tea that
I carried along with a few tea bags.

 Note: I have just discovered Guayusa tea.  I don't have a local store for purchase so use the Amazon Link (affiliate).

Gum or mints. The loose pieces didn't work as they quickly scattered
at the bottom of my pocket or travel bag. Recommend mints in
a small container that is easy to carry in a pocket.  Small enough
portion to be disposable at some point.

 
I also carried a large Altoid tin of mints, but I think that it was overkill and took up too much space for the entire.  The space occupied never got smaller and I came home with a half filled box...same size as when I left so no space benefit from the use during the trip.

This product worked well.  The product is a "sleeve" that fits
over a finger so that you can wipe your teeth.
It has a nice minty flavor. I had a few packets in my purse
and used it mostly during the long sightseeing days. Throw away
the "teeth wipe" and packaging throughout the trip.  I
carried about 20 with me and made sure to use them all
throughout the trip, which left me with enough room for
extra chocolate on the return!

I purchased the tooth wipes from CVS and wanted to see what other products were available.  I think that the "Wine Wipes" would be wonderful if you were touring wine country.  Remove the evidence of all of that red wine!!  As you can see, the pricing varies greatly.
   

These wipes worked well. Kept a few in my pocket and used
very little space.  Refreshing on the days when there was
a lot of walking and movement.  Disposable, so more space
available as the trip continues.

Tina brought face wipes and these were delightful at day's end.  She shared them daily and I was instantly hooked.  Remove the sweat and dirt from the day's travel. Ahhhh, wonderful!  I bought some in Berlin. They came in one single container, so I needed to keep the package wrapped in a plastic bag to save the moisture. Since these are used when you finally walk in the door at the end of the day, I don't think that individual packaging is needed.  Put them in a ziplock bag to maintain the moisture and enjoy the "Welcome Home" at the end of the day.  Here are some examples:
     

My friend Lisa loaned this set to me.  It is a full converter
set and I should have done some research on what I needed
and packed only those pieces.  The large piece is needed
if your appliance cannot work with the different currents.
If your phone, camera or laptop work can charge with the
different currents, you only need the smaller piece.  I had
two of the smaller pieces, and needed this for the overnight
charges on the camera, iPhone, and laptop.  Bag (one place)
is good as all components are together all the time.

WORKED: One place to store cables and converters.  This was a little
bag that I found in the house.  It was perfect to hold the
longer power and connector cables.  The point is to
have one place to put it all during the trip.  The cables
didn't get scattered and misplaced when we packed and
changed locations.  NEEDED: Mark your cables if you
are traveling with another techie person.  Colored
electrical tape works well and you just need something
to identify which cables are yours.

Money storage pouch.  I used this little bag that I found around
the house as a place to store money that wasn't in use
where I was  ie US Dollars while in EU, Euros while
in London. I had a few plastic snack bags to separate
the coins and bills.  This packet now goes to the safety
deposit box so that the next family traveler can have
some money at the airport.

Digital capture of daily documents.  Each evening the
MS Swiss Ruby staff would drop off the itinerary for the
next day.  I took a picture of it with my phone so that it
would be available throughout the day. WORKED.

Thumb/Jump Drive.Some of the smaller hotels have
public computers available but no wifi.  I can use the jump
drive in the computer to post photos to the blog.  I
didn't use it, but nearly did the day that the Lime Tree
wifi had accidently been turned off.  I copied some photos
and intended to go to the reading room to post on the
Public PC.  

NEED: We arrived at the Vienna apartment later in the day and forgot to check the cupboards to see what was available. We discovered in the morning that there was no coffee.  Recommend packing a few emergency ready-made or freeze dried coffee packets.  European Starbucks do not yet carry the VIA packets, but we did find them in London.  These take up very little room but pack carefully so that the packaging does not snap and spill.  These photos show larger packets. We were able to purchase a packet of three in cardboard packaging that would work well.
  

WORKED: Five weeks of walking in these shoes and my
feet and legs were great. No blisters, no sore spots.  It
was easy to walk and I wasn't concerned about catching cobble
stone edges because I didn't have a thick sole.
The laced shoes kept pressure on my feet, so
I did not have end of the day swelling,

HUGE "Thank You" to my son for recommending these shoes.  These are Vivo Barefoot shoes that I bought through Terra Plana.  I bought a higher ankle shoe so that I could have support for my ankles.  I loved these shoes from the moment I put them on my foot.  The toe box is wide.  The soles are thin and (I know that you will think that I'm crazy) it was interesting to be able to feel the different cobblestones.  Much has been said recently about "barefoot" walking and running, allowing the foot to return to its original position after decades of tight shoe squeeze.  See the website video for an explanation on barefoot technology.  I can't say enough about these shoes. They aren't cheap, but I found that they were excellent as every day shoes.  I am going to buy a pair for summer because I think that they are better than going barefoot!

When walking is easy, travel is even easier.  Great shoes make for a great trip.




"Why Barefoot?" Click here!

NO MORE CRUEL SHOES!!!  Why do we do it?  I'm going through my closet and banishing all cruel shoes.




If you have tips and examples on what has or hasn't worked for you, please add to the Comments.