It's not from lack of trying. Since August, I have been searching for a light-weight garment bag to use in Europe on our choir trip. Nine months later, I've given up. Countless stores had garment bags that were bulky and heavy, but none of them had those sleek, eighties-era ones that used to be so handy.

After considering poking a hole in a black garbage bag to protect the dress, a pillowcase came to my attention. After measuring its width, it became clear that by poking a hole in the top and sliding the coat hangers through the opening, a pillowcase is all I need to keep the dress protected.

My pride may be another matter... I will probably be the only MasterSinger toting her outfit around in a striped pillowcase.

No matter how reputable the airline, mistakes are still made. Most know that you need to make certain your essentials are on the plane with you: medication, passport, money, jewelry (why bring jewelry overseas?), and electronics. Equally important is an essentials kit.

Ten+ hours on a flight is a long time to go without important things like soap with which to wash your hands. (I have been on a Lufthansa flight with no hand soap in the bathrooms because they did not have time to refill before we left.)

Also, Arriving in a new place with your luggage lost and no toothpaste or fresh underwear can launch your trip on the wrong foot.

My coming trip, with a jam-packed agenda and no room for errors makes an emergency kit more important. If luggage is lost, it will be chasing a tour bus all over Austria. Here is what I intend to bring for my personal emergency kit:

• Two pair socks and underwear
• 1 set light weight jammies
• 1 fresh shirt
• 1 warm jacket
• Toothbrush/toothpaste and a small shampoo
• Hairbrush
• Small bag of trail mix
• Gum
• Choral music and binder
• Doterra OnGuard pearls
• 2 aspirin
• Probiotic pills

All of this will only take up a small space in my carry-on and it will be great to have should my bag not make it to Germany with my person.

This article from USA Today is also handy.

 

Here is a fun puzzle - what to bring to Europe this year...? I don't like to lug things around and will probably buy a few items along the way (like Mozartskugeln), so light is key.

On the other hand, have you ever been in 90+ degree weather with only jeans and long sleeved shirts? I am pretty sure there will be too much fantastic food, so keeping the CrossFit momentum going will require some workout clothing so that my poor roommate doesn't have to witness underwear-based workouts in our shared space.

And so the list begins... (Note: this will be a living post as packing occurs.)

Electronics and entertainment

This configuration allows me to write things down, read books, take and process photos, charge things up and call Mom when I return to Atlanta:

• 1 Macbook Air + Charging cable and adaptor
• iPhone
• GoPro camera with USB cable
• iPod touch with USB cable
• Headphones

Under consideration: USB Battery charger

Footwear

• Flip flops (for the beach)
• Dressy clogs (for walking around all day at tourist sites and museums, as well as choral performances)
• Sandal clogs (in case it gets hot)

Under consideration: Workout Shoes (but I can do barefooted workouts in the hotel room if I stick to pushups, air squats, burpees, lunges, and jump roping).

Day wear

• 2 Longsleeve shirts
• 4 short sleeve shirts (I can had to be able to get through up to 4 days no washing)
• 2 pants
• 1 capris
• 1 sundress
• 1 swim suit
• Jamies
• 1 big wrap around scarf for warmth and shoulder coverage in church tours
• workout shorts & T
• Light-weight rain jacket
• down jacket
• sweater
• red leather jacket (This was not absolutely necessary but it is very convenient for travel with is inside pocket and it looks good over the sundress in case it is too cold to expose my shoulders)
• concert attire

Other

• Pencil, pen
• doterra On Guard
• Aspirin
• Filtering water bottle
• probiotics
• jump rope
• ear plugs

My suitcase is half full, or half empty depending on your perspective.

The world has changed since my last hop to Europe, and yet it hasn't. With a little over a week to go before I head out, little things that used to be second nature pop into my mind.

1) Clothing: plan for layers and be ready to handwash clothing. This makes fabric choices very important. My suitcase will have mostly with thin, fast drying clothing, then a few heavier items to keep me warm in the Alps. Every time we pause at a hotel for more than one night, there will be items hung out to dry that I have handwashed.

2) Electronics: this has gotten so much easier than in years past. With most of my devices (camera, phone, Kindle) able to charge via USB, I can bring one adaptor for my Macbook Air and then make it be the charging station at night. The only real decision at this point is can I eek enough life out of my phone (which I need to carry along for communicating with my ride when I return) to read, or do I truly need to kindle for that?

3) Cash and Credit: This week, I will be alerting all my banks and credit card contacts that I will be overseas and the approximate schedule. Why? Because I don't want to carry a stack of Euros. Having multiple cards and bank cards with multiple vendors allows flexibility to use one when the other does not work and the exchange rate I get in Europe tends to be better than here.

4) Snack Packs: At least three times on this trip, I will end up somewhere in a hurry, having had no time to get something to eat. When I am hungry, I can be grumpy. The best solution is to bring along 3-5 healthy trail mix packs (I prefer the ones with no chocolate) so that I can refuel and become a nice person again.

5) Filtering Water Bottles: While the water quality in Europe is good, I have had negative reactions to it from time to time. These days, you can buy a light-weight, filtering water bottle, or even pack a hiker's infrared water filter. This is much better than my last adventure where I was carrying around glass bottled water from the store which is HEAVY.

6) Telecommunications in Europe: I am on a choir tour or with my friend Andrea this go around, so why get a disposable? I'll just show up where I am supposed to be and at the time I am supposed to be there... Mark and I can talk via Skype over wifi.