Drherhel Goes to Europe >> Thoughts on Trip Preparation

Currently writing this from a friend's couch in Seattle while eating my 6th meal of ramen in the past few days. Attempting to brainstorm what needs future me will have while galavanting around Europe on a one-way ticket.

Predicting future needs has never been a strong suit for me. I generally make long lists that inevitably miss something important, disregard previous obligations, and wind up Googling "what the f*** do I pack/do with my life" at 3am.

Despite the obvious holes in my travel prep technique here, I find myself feeling successful and ready upon arrival in my latest destination. 5 continents and 16 countries later, and my less-than-perfect prep "strategies" haven't failed me, or left me passport-less in a Columbian prison. (furiously knocks on wood)

I thought I would post a brief list here with some pre-trip thoughts/pieces of advice for other travelers. This is not to say that I am an expert traveler. Just wanted to spew some potentially helpful words from one human to another.

A List

• Imagine yourself in your final destination.

  • If you're like me, you find it hard to plan things because abstraction and dissociation rule your everyday feels. To get in the packing zone, I try to imagine myself, physically and mentally, in the country I am headed to. What do I imagine it to look like? Feel like? Am I cold/hot? Where is the nearest pharmacy? These types of questions force me to move beyond a distanced view of my trip and pack my bag according to what I will actually need.

• Sometimes packing last minute can actually be better.

  • This sounds counterintuitive, but when I really think about it, some of my best least terrible packing experiences have been at midnight the night before. Obviously, this does not include gathering materials, but actually sorting through necessities, putting excess clothes back in your closet, etc, seems to work best when I can almost feel the refreshing bone-chilling blast of airplane AC on my face.

• Have your necessities laid out a few days in advance.

  • To follow up on the point above - you don't want to leave your chargers/passport/meds/other must-haves lying in a drawer in your desk because you were too busy watching Netflix during your last few days at home. I try to leave these out in plain view for a few days before I leave. This allows me to gradually realize if something important is missing, rather than experiencing an anxiety fueled stomach drop in the security line.

• Accept that you are going to forget something.

  • This is a guarantee. Most likely it will be something small and not instrumental to your traveling needs. For example: I just realized that I forgot a fun German phrase book at a house in California. Feeling slightly disappointed, but not beating myself up about it. I find this to be the best mindset to aim for when realizing something was left behind.

I hope my rambling thoughts are useful, or at least mildly entertaining. May your future adventures be as awesome as you imagine them to be inside your head!