13 September, 2019

Adventures in Mazatlán: Countdown to Europe and How to Travel Light episode!

Three days until the trip to Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, and Budapest! I booked my tickets through Brussels Airlines who are using Air Canada to get me from Boston to Paris (via Toronto). A little concerning in that I could see my reservation on Brussels Airlines website, but not on Air Canada. So I gave Air Canada a shout today and, after holding for 20 minutes, they gave me their record locator for my reservation. They also were nice enough to assign seats for me! Now I can see my reservation on both airlines, and don’t have to worry that I’m going to be in a middle seat between two sumo wrestlers!

Three days and I begin a journey that will take 24 hours, 14 of them in the air. I am definitely not looking forward to that many hours of sitting, but I have aisle seats on all flights, so I’ll have the opportunity to get up and move a little whenever I feel the need. I’m only traveling with a small backpack, and think I just might tie my Amtrak Comfort Kit to one of the backpack straps. It has a blow up pillow, earplugs, sleep mask, and a fuzzy blanket. The pillow is the selling point! If it doesn’t live up to Amtrak’s hype, I’ll leave it in the hostel in Paris.

Yes, staying in hostels. They let me keep the cost of travel & lodging under $1,500 for a five week trip from Mazatlán to Tijuana, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Toronto, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Budapest, Paris, Zurich, Boston, San Diego, Tijuana, and back to Mazatlán. I only have concerns about Munich (I’ll be there, totally unplanned, during Oktoberfest) and Budapest (staying at the “Hive Party Hostel” on the advise of another traveler – my idea of ‘Party’ these days is saying yes to a second beer). Munich I’m probably locked into because of Oktoberfest, but I’ll grab a hotel room in a flash if the party hostel keeps me awake.

As I said, I’m traveling with just a small backpack (35 liters). If it weren’t for my daily medications it would have a lot of room left! So, here’s what I’m bringing and how I intend on maintaining during the duration of the trip. Two long sleeved shirts. Four short sleeved shirts. Three pair of socks. Two pair of underwear. One pair of flip-flops (for the hostel showers). One pair swim trunks for sleeping in. Two electrical outlet converters/adapters. One Olympus TG-4 travel camera. One multi-USB power center and some assorted USB cables. Travel sized hand sanitizer. Small bottle of water (which I need to remember to empty before going through airline checkpoints). Four folding clothes hangers. One TEPI portable hotspot for WiFi. One knee brace. A microfiber towel.  One travel money belt. One extra backpack, flattened into it’s small travel size. One Ipad and one Kindle. Meds and toiletries in a separate travel bag kept on top of everything in the backpack. One light knit jacket that I loop through one of the backpack straps if I’m not wearing it.

I’ll be wearing some of the clothes – as well as jeans and a pair of tennis shoes. The shirts, underwear, and socks are all made of nylon/rayon/polyester type materials that dry quickly. I’ll wear them into the shower every day, clean them then clean me, and hang them on the folding hangers to dry. Of course, everything hinges on my not spilling mustard on my jeans while I’m eating all variety of wurst in Munich!

I intend on emulating this food vlogger, at least while in Munich!

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