How to Pack a Backpack for Two Weeks in Europe

I packed my work computer, camera, and chargers; snacks, toiletries, and medications; one packing cube stuffed with clothing; and additional necessities, including a raincoat, a tote, and a pair of shower shoes.

While I longed for more outfit variety, I was glad I packed so little. I didn’t feel as weighed down by my backpack as I have on previous trips, so I had more energy throughout the day.

When I pack light, I usually bring laundry sheets, which are small, dry, scented squares that resemble dryer sheets but are actually pads of laundry detergent that turn into a bubbly soap when mixed with water.

But I wanted to save more space on this trip, so I brought a 2-ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castille soap, which is an all-in-one soap that cleans everything from dishes to bodies. It also works as laundry soap.

I plan to travel with it from now on instead of laundry sheets and a separate container of body wash. 

No matter how lightly I’m packing, I always make room for my electric toothbrush. Although I find it bulky, with a battery, charger, and case, maintaining my usual hygiene routine away from home makes me feel more comfortable while traveling.

Another necessity I packed was for my hair: the Sea Spray from Lush. I hate doing my hair. I like to just let it do what it wants, avoiding heat products and gels, but this hair product has my heart. Made from mostly natural ingredients, according to the Lush website, the spray adds texture and shine. I find that this product is easy for me to apply with just a few spritzes, and I think it always makes my hair look good with minimal effort. That’s why I never travel without it. 

I brought quick-dry shirts and pants made of thin, moisture-wicking materials, designed to dry quickly in the sun.

Most of my quick-drying clothes are from Under Armour or Prana and are good for exercise, but I thought they’d serve a dual purpose on this trip, considering my laundry strategy. I dried these articles on the balconies of hotel rooms and the porches of Airbnbs, and it never took longer than 20 minutes.

I was also satisfied with the versatility of the clothing I selected. With mostly neutral tones, like my gray T-shirt and navy sweater, as well as pops of color, every article I brought paired well with everything else.

I wore every combination of pieces to have as many different outfits as possible. While I still longed for more variety in my style abroad, I was impressed by how many outfits I was able to make with such a small selection. 

I find that shoes take up quite a bit of room in my backpack, so I try to travel with just one pair. I thought these black and gray New Balance sneakers were the perfect everyday shoes for this trip because they were comfortable enough to walk around in all day without hurting my feet. And with a neutral color scheme, I think they looked good with every outfit.

Besides my pair of sneakers, I also brought a pair of rubber slides to wear in the shower.

Unless I’m at a nice hotel, I prefer to wear shoes in the shower when I’m traveling. I can be a bit of a germaphobe, so having a layer of protection between my feet and the floor makes me feel at ease in places like the outdoor shower at my Airbnb in Switzerland or the tiny home hotel in Germany, where the toilet and shower shared the same floor. 

My Members Only jacket is my go-to travel jacket in the fall, and I thought it was the perfect pick for this trip, as it’s comfortable in various temperatures. Since this jacket is a little big on me, I was able to fit long-sleeved layers underneath on cooler days. And it’s black, so I think it goes with everything.

It also has four pockets, one of which is hidden on the inside. I used that pocket to hold essentials, such as my phone, while walking around each city. 

I checked the forecast during the week leading up to my trip and saw that some locations were expecting rain. I packed my smallest rain jacket so I could wear it alone on warmer rainy days and layer it underneath my windbreaker on cooler days. 

I caught the most rain of the trip during my second day in Vienna. Although it was pouring, I was able to walk around the city all day and stay relatively dry thanks to the jacket. When it cooled down at night, I wore my windbreaker over the rain jacket and felt cozy.

On travel days, I used a tote to separate and hold personal belongings I wanted quick access to, so I could stuff my backpack into the overhead bins of planes and trains.

This made it easy to quickly find items I needed, such as my headphones, while keeping my bulky backpack out of the way. By stowing my backpack on the shelf above me, I was able to maximize legroom, too.

On non-travel days, I left my backpack at my hotel or Airbnb and explored with a lighter load in the tote. The tote was large enough to fit all the essentials for a day out on the town, including my camera. 

Different countries have different outlet ports, so my outlet adapter was one of the most important items in my backpack. One side has a European plug, and the other has a US outlet port. On the bottom, there are four USB ports.

I brought my iPad, phone, laptop, and camera on this trip, and I was able to charge all of them at once with this device.

I bought several e-books on my iPad to read as much as I wanted during the trip, and to avoid bringing physical books that would take up too much space.

Before my trip, I downloaded some guidebooks for each country I visited. As I made my way to each destination, I read about the sights that awaited me. These books helped me decide how to spend my time in each location and built up my excitement for my coming adventures. 

During my trip, I downloaded a few episodes of my favorite TV shows to bring me comfort when I felt homesick, which was usually around bedtime. I also used my iPad to draw cover art for my band with the Procreate app, so I spent some time sketching designs for our coming singles. Watching TV and engaging in hobbies that I enjoy at home made me feel more grounded while traveling.

While I take photos digitally for work, I shoot and develop film as a hobby. For me, this includes manually loading film into a mechanical camera and taking my time with each shot before developing the negatives in my kitchen using a combination of chemicals. 

I hadn’t brought my film camera on previous work trips, but since Europe was my longest adventure yet, I packed my Minolta Autocord to help me find a work-life balance by taking film photos just for myself.

When I was in work mode, I shot digitally, and during my breaks, I took pictures with my film camera. This made me feel so much more creative during my trip, and I think I got some great photos. Although this camera is quite heavy for its size, I thought it was worth bringing to feel inspired and maintain an artistic mindset throughout my European adventure. 

Packing meal bars and snacks for travel days helped me save money I would have spent on munchies in airports and train stations. 

During my 8-hour flight from NYC to Berlin, I saved money on an in-flight meal by consuming an entire bag of Combos. On busy days spent exploring, I often had RX bars for breakfast or lunch to save money and keep me energized. 

However, I also think it’s important to try local cuisines while traveling to new places, so I maintained a balance of meal bars and dining out during my trip.

I brought way too much film for this trip. I packed eight rolls and only shot four of them due to some rainy days. I was also surprised by how easily I could buy film in Europe. If I’d needed more, I could have stopped at one of the many film stores I passed in Vienna and Berlin. In Vienna, I even spotted a film vending machine on the street.

Because I overestimated the number of film pictures I’d take, next time, especially if I’m traveling to Europe, I’ll bring half the film I think I’ll use.

I find that rolls of film feel bulky in my bag if I have too many, but my camera lenses feel even bulkier. I brought two lenses for my digital camera: a zoom lens and a fixed wide-angle lens. I think I could have just brought the zoom lens.

I brought a maxi dress for days when I wanted to dress formally. But apart from different jackets over top, my dress looked the same to me every time I wore it. And since it was so long, I thought it took up the amount of space in my packing cube that a pair of shorts and a couple more shirts could have taken.

Replacing the dress with a pair of nice shorts and some blouses would have provided me with more versatile outfits.

I brought 10 pairs of socks for my two-week trip since I’d had trouble drying my socks in just one night on previous trips, leaving me wishing I had packed more.

But since I booked two nights in most of the cities I visited in Europe, I found I had plenty of time to dry my socks. I probably could have done with six pairs to leave more room in my bag for small souvenirs. 

Apart from having less stuff to keep track of and less weight on my back, the best part of packing so lightly was saving room for trinkets to remind me of my trip.

In Vienna and Zurich, I bought tiny framed paintings of landscapes to display on my desk at home. In Venice, I purchased three 3D puzzles, which came in small, flat packs, to put together and display once I got home. I also picked up a few other flat items I like to collect that slid easily into my backpack, like bookmarks and a thin, paperback photo book. 

With so many reminders of my European adventure scattered around my apartment in NYC, I think having fewer belongings during my journey was worth gaining extra space to bring a piece of each place home with me. And next time, I’ll pack even lighter.