What I Didn’t Need For 12 Days in Europe

Above is what I brought with me to Europe. I had ordered what turned out to be a rather large duffle bag with wheels and a carrying strap, rolled all this stuff up, and put it in. The bag was maybe only 2/3 full and pretty much collapsed when I stood it up to wheel it (annoying).

I ended up bringing two tank tops, a skirt, four long sleeve tops, a flowy cardigan thing, a pair of jeans, high waisted black skinny jeans, two pairs of leggings, a scarf, a black sweater, a larger black sweater, a dress, a t-shirt, and sweatpants (I took out that flannel top at the last minute). I also brought a pair of flip flops (for the showers), walking sneakers, and a pair of Crocs. 

What did I not wear? The skirt, the dress, and the flowy cardigan thing. I knew before I left my apartment that I was never going to wear the skirt but it took up almost no room, so I left it in there. The cardigan was just never going to be warm enough in Scandinavia and I never wanted to wear a dress.

The only article of clothing that I purchased on my trip was a big evergreen cowl-necked sweater at the H&M flagship store in Stockholm (there are three on that one corner), which I lived in for like, two days straight because it was cold. I also wore, basically every day, a jean jacket that I picked up the day before I left. Without that I would’ve been freezing the entire time. 

More about my trip later, but in the spirit of packing as lightly as possible, if you have a hunch that you won’t wear it, leave it home. 

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