Tips and Tricks: Volume 4 - Packing a Day Trip Bag

Isn't this the absolute best bag you've ever seen.

     Continuing in this week's blatant failure to pretend to follow the schedule which I arbitrarily assigned to this blog, I give you this week's "Tips and Tricks:" how to pack a day trip bag!  It seems like common sense to many people, but lets be honest, doesn't everyone like having a little checklist to go off of?

Must Haves:

You will find none of these in Germany.  Sorry about that.

     First and foremost, pack some sunblock!  As I've seen with some of my northern European friends, who have the magical ability to apparently receive sunburns indoors, it is really easy to forget that the sun is in fact shining on the other side of the clouds which are usually overhead.

Yes, the cat is wearing it better.

     Don't forget a poncho or umbrella!  Even something as simple as the garbage bag-esque ones which look absolutely silly no matter what the occasion is vastly preferable to being soaked through when the clouds didn't "look dark enough" for rain from your window in the morning.

Soda, coffee, and/or energy drinks do not count.

     Hydration is a must, no matter what the situation, but depending on where you go, access to water can be limited, so pack a bottle (or two!).  The good news is that 1.5 liter bottles of water can cost as little as 20 cents (in Euros) depending on the store, so there is no sense in not bringing some along.  If you happen to have a reusable bottle, even better!

If you have one of these, take a bow.  Right now.
We don't have all day.

     In the age of smartphones and tablets and all of those things, having a device with a camera is typically a given.  I bring it up here only as a reminder that these things need batteries or to be charged, and that pictures do in fact take up space on them.  Make sure they are charged, and that all of your old pictures are transferred onto another storage device before your trip!

Colorfulness is optional.  If you want to be boring!

     A plastic bag or two can really help to solve the occasional problem on a trip, be it a water bottle opening in your bag, needing to carry that one souvenir which is too oddly shaped to fit into the bag you have with you, or putting between your socks and your shoes because of the one puddle that your feet decided you just had to step in soaking you, it never hurts to have one floating around in the bottom of your bag.

     And now that you don't look like this guy on the left, this is where I leave you for the day.   I said it in a post a few days ago, but going forward, I will be right back on schedule, posting just about each and every day.  Until then, happy travels!

Proverb of the Day:

There was a hot air balloon overhead today.  It appeared to be advertising a bath-house of some kind.

It was hard to tell though, there was a small dog distracting me.

*Source links are included for stock images.
**The background music is from a personal music project in progress.