The Challenge: Pack for Norway including hiking, Copenhagen, Dutch countryside retreat, and Amsterdam for 14 days + 4 days in Orange County, including a wedding, in late August (temps 50s – 90s, rain) in a 30L backpack that fits under the seat in even the cheap airplanes. For my post on the Briidgs backpack I now love, click here.
The Answer:
WEAR ON PLANE
Athleta yoga jeans (this is bs, more below)
Athleta sports bra
Dark gray American Apparel v-neck tee, approx 1,000 years old
Athleta Flannel
Salomon trail runners
STUFF
- Chromebook – this was a last minute purchase and I am thrilled I did. Being able to write has been amazing, and it’s a great tablet too.
- iPhone
- Chargers
- External charger
- Printed confirmations
- Passport
- Wallet – note, Amex not accepted in lots of European countries
- Cash $$ – this was unnecessary, I would not worry about this next time
- Tiny memory foam pillow – this was a major last minute score from my parents house, and because of the memory foam rolls down tight… I would never backpack without it again now that I’ve had it!
- Fanny pack – for days when I get to drop my bag – this was nice but since all my pants had great pockets, kind of unnecessary
- Siggi ADVENTURE HAT! – this straw hat might be a bit of a splurge in limited packing space but it made me happy and prevents sunburn SO I PACKED IT and I’d do it again
CLOTHES
- Athleta Farallon pants (this is also bs, more below)
- Athleta Metro houndstooth leggings
- Athleta chatarunga shorties for sleeping
- Navy walmart tank top
- Green threads for thought v-neck
- Pink athleta crop muscle tank
- Black athleta fws cami
- Athleta purple Hilo dress – unworn
- Patagonia Merino wool v-neck
- Athleta Packable down vest! – last-minute score that was a layering lifesaver
- Columbia Rain jacket – packable
- Havianas
- 3 sports bras
- Rip Curl reversible stripe bikini
- Undies – 4 pair
- Wool Darn Tough socks – 2 pair
TOILETRIES
- Face wipes
- Deodorant
- Face sunscreen
- Solid sunscreen – unused
- Powder – unused
- Mini mascara – unused (for the wedding tho)
- Mini Castille soap
- toothpaste
- nail clippers
SNACKS
- 3 packs tuna
- 3 KIND bars
- 2 GoMacro bars
- 2 random bars I found at Randall’s I can’t remember the names of
- 2 Tanka bars
- Trader Joe’s ginger chews
- 1 Costco bag of beef jerky
I by and large didn’t really eat in Norway, and this was plenty of food to sustain my adventures (I did do a grocery stop with bread & cheese & chocolate)
THE END.
**the bs athleta story: I LOVE athleta, as we well know and as you can see from my packing list. But as I was getting ON the plane IN Austin, I noticed a rip in the crotch of my yoga pant jeans (which are SUPPOSED to be stretchy). I haven’t even left the states yet! The minute I get to Europe I email customer service, hoping they’ll accept the pics of the rip as proof and I can ditch the offending jeans because SPACE IS LIMITED OBVIOUSLY BROS. They will not. Even when I beg. I knew it would be an exception but special circumstances my entire bag is your product and you can’t just let me throw these out while crediting me??
So I buy a needle and thread and sew my jeans, knowing they won’t hold but hoping they’ll at least make it through the trip. The next time I wear them, I participate in something called a wildman workout, so naturally they rip next to my stitching, which was real good, obviously. I give up and stuff them at the bottom of my bag. I’m not giving up on $100 jeans!
I am obsessed with the Farallon pant, a new “Adventure Travel” pant from athleta that I snagged just before the trip. I wore them hiking and up and down mountains and they were great. They’re baggy but not too baggy. I’m on the plane ride back to CALIFORNIA—so, still 4 more days in my trip—when I notice THEY have a crotch rip too! WTH!!!!!
I was left with ONE pair of pants. Yoga pants by, you guessed it, athleta.
I spent the next three days in a bikini because pants are just not worth it.
In sum, I STILL had to fight with athleta customer service because they don’t make the jeans anymore, so didn’t want to credit me for the price of the newer version, which is $20 more than the older version. Uh, no. Finally, they’re mailing me replacement pants.
But can I trust them?!?! I don’t know.