Pack Light!
The following is my clothing packing list for the ten days of the tour, plus an extra day at the front of the trip.
As someone who grew up in an urban environment and who currently lives in a city, as well as being someone who is solidly a Europhile, it’s important for me to not look a tourist when I travel — and I want to look stylish as well. It was going to be both potentially hot and potentially rainy, so I had to be prepared for the weather while also packing light.
I brought a little laundry powder and washed my underwear, and occasionally my shirts, in the sink. My roommate and I would drape our things on the radiators or hang them in the wardrobes. She also brought a clothesline to put up in the bathroom. Other members of the group did their washing at a laundromat, but that wasn’t how I wanted to spend my free time. The sink worked perfectly fine.​
3 quick dry shirts
2 tank tops
linen button down shirt
3 pairs light trousers (2 quick dry, 1 linen)
long skirt
2 linen dresses
2 cardigans
Converse sneakers, combat-style boots, sandals
sun hat
4 pairs quick dry underwear, 2 bras
3 pairs lightweight wool socks
pajamas (t-shirt, light bottoms)
rain jacket, umbrella
I brought a 45L backpack and a shoulder bag (actually a fashionable-looking diaper bag). The clothes went into a compression sack that I crushed closed when headed back home. Even with toiletries and incidentals, I still had plenty of room left for souvenirs (including a fourth pair of shoes).
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When I started the trip, my backpack weighed around 20 lb., and the shoulder bag weighed around 8 lb. They may have weighed a bit more coming home. I also carried a tote bag onto the plane for the return flight.
Ready for a day of bus travel. Our bags went underneath. I had a travel purse, as well as a bag of supplies for the bus.