May '18 - Ocean Cruise

We just got back from a two week Viking Homelands cruise from Norway to Sweden with lots of stops along the way - I'm not going to post each stop but would like to share a few highlights and tips in case you are interested and want to take this cruise...and also because I use these travel posts as a sort of travel journal to help me remember our trips and what happened where!

 
When I saw this cruise went to Norway I was super excited, it's been on my list of places I'd like to see for a long time - also, I'm a cool weather girl and when I think of Norway I think fjords, glaciers, and cold weather. Perfect. Well let's just say that it isn't always like that - naturally we chose to go during a heat wave. Everywhere we went someone said "it's NEVER like this!". It rained for maybe 10 minutes once, maybe twice, but I think once. By the time I got my umbrella out of my backpack and opened it the rain was over. Seriously. I shouldn't complain but c'mon - a heat wave? Sunny every day? In Norway? I packed mostly long sleeves, jackets and a couple coats, pants but no dresses or skirts, scarves, cargo boots, even a knit hat and gloves. I had to be creative to come up with appropriate outfits to wear and not roast to death! Good grief. I wore the hat once and that was mostly because my hair was dirty and I needed to cover it up.

Let's see...how many times have I written about the virtues of traveling light and not overpacking? Once again I blew it and brought too much. When will I learn? And this time I even went so far as to bring a second small wheelie suitcase! I figured since we weren't having to pack up and move hotels it wouldn't be a problem to just stick it all in - we had a nice stateroom with a small balcony, a large bed, couch and a desk but it only had 3 small drawers and a standard closet. Uh yeah, nowhere near enough storage for all the shizzle I managed to pack. Thankfully our suitcases fit under the bed and I used mine like a dresser. If I go on a cruise like this again here is what I'll bring - I promise this will still be more than enough (note: this list is if you end up going when it's sunny and mild temps, if it's really cold and rainy obviously I'd bring different clothing) because each floor of our ship had a self-serve laundromat with 3 washers and dryers, ironing boards and irons, and they provided the detergent too.

Note to Viking management - the dryers are stacked on top of the washers and some of us, ahem, not tall people couldn't reach the back of the dryer and looked like an idiot jumping up and down trying to grab the socks from the back, I'm thinking a stool might be helpful? Not everyone doing laundry was as sprightly and high of a jumper as me, ya know? ;) Anyway, I'm not going to bother telling you what I did bring because it was either wrong or unnecessary! Note: make sure everything goes with each other - and the scarves should match most of the outfits.

• black jeggings
• dark blue jeggings (note: I love Hue brand jeggings - they look like skinny jeans but are thin and super lightweight, more like leggings
• black slim stretchy (but not tight) ankle pants - I have Alfani brand from Macy's that are pull on, stop right at my ankle, don't wrinkle, travel great. 
• one other pant that can go day or night - I brought dark green camo ankle pants
• yoga/workout pants or tight thick black leggings (maybe not necessary but I wore these quite a bit for running to the laundromat and hanging out - not that there's a lot of hanging out time!)
• white or black button up shirt
• chambray blue button up shirt
• 1 black pullover light weight v-neck top
• 2 long sleeved t-shirts - 1 striped, 1 solid
• 1 or 2 short sleeved t-shirts - 1 striped, 1 gray with words
• 2 dressy camisole/flowy tanks - wear under the cardigans or on their own at night
• 2 cardigans - 1 black dressy, 1 black casual
• optional - tank or work-out t-shirt to go with the yoga pants/leggings. Also one long c.y.a. shirt if you want to wear the leggings as an outfit and are pretending that leggings are pants. 
• 2 lightweight scarves that match all of the tops. I brought a light blue/cream/brown/gray one in a map pattern, and a flowered one that has many colors (brown, black, navy, green, rose, cream, white) that I got at Target and is the perfect travel scarf for matching everything. 
• sneakers, combat boots or other comfortable walking shoes (I interchanged the sneakers and boots every day for walking around), silver flats, flat black sandals, ankle booties with a little heel for nighttime (I wore these more than I thought I would). This is probably one pair of shoes too many but the silver flats and flat sandals don't take up much room.
• I took a bathing suit and cover up but didn't wear them once. Your call. 
• hat with a brim for day trips. 
• jazz up all these plain simple clothes with fun earrings and other jewelry - doesn't take up much room and you'll add lots of variety! I found an obnoxiously big pair of earrings drew attention away from the same black pants and black camisole that I wore most nights. 
• optional: lightweight utility jacket or pullover sporty jacket
• packable water resistant hip length coat with a hood
• 1 black medium weight vest - I wore this more than anything. 

Some useful things to take with you: 

1. we didn't need plug adaptors on this Viking cruise - our room had plenty of standard American plugs and a couple USB outlets on each nightstand and at the desk. I still packed them tho for the nights we stayed in a hotel pre- and post- cruise.
2. we always pack an extension cord for when there aren't enough outlets. 
3. I packed one of those hanging plastic pocket/holder things and hung it up in the bathroom - I put my earrings and other things we used a lot in the pockets and it was easy to see and access... things like small sunscreen, lint roller, gum, etc. 
4. a lightweight backpack for day trips to hold an umbrella (even tho I didn't need it!), city maps, water, etc. If you are carrying your passport with you off the ship I wouldn't put it in a backpack tho (not very safe). Dave wears a belt that holds his passport and money under his shirt, I carried a small wristlet. 
5. we didn't take money for each country with us and found that we could use either our credit cards or Euros most places. 
6. they give you a stateroom card when you first get on board that has your name and info on it, you use this card for everything including getting on and off the ship so you have to carry it at all times. Many cruise savvy people hole-punched theirs and wore it on a cord around their neck but alas, I left my hole punch at home (along with my labeler haha). I strongly suggest carrying your card in the same exact place every time because nothing riles up the people waiting in line behind you like you searching for the darn thing cuz you can't remember where you put it. Just sayin'. 
7. spring in Norway and along the Baltic means almost 24 hours of daylight. The first time I woke up and saw sunshine I panicked thinking I overslept - only to check the time and see that it was 3:30 am. I kid you not. Pack a sleep mask. 
8. I wore an anti-motion sickness patch the whole time - a few of the waiters and bar staff made fun of me because it was actually a very smooth cruise but I wasn't taking any chances. Nothing worse than motion sickness! I also packed a bunch of ginger candy just in case. 
9. If you're traveling with friends, or are the chatty friend-making sort, pack a deck of cards. We played most nights before dinner and it was lots of fun. 
10. Lastly, and I realize this is possibly TMI, they take spreading germs and people getting sick on the ship very seriously for good reason - getting sick on a cruise is something that can definitely happen no matter how much hand sanitizer you use. Plan for the worst and bring pepto-bismal and/or immodium and/or the equivalent. And maybe don't eat the crab legs. Don't ask me how I know. 

Travel Packing List - Amsterdam, Scotland, and Ireland in Spring

Ok, I've talked before about packing light and really really thought I was doing good this time around...and yet I still took too much! Ugh. When will I learn...? We were very lucky with the weather this trip - I thought we would have lots of rain and it'd be chilly so everything I packed was thin and lightweight to be able to layer as needed, but it only rained a couple times! It was still nice to have the multiple light layering pieces so I did good there, but I just took more than I needed. Nothing like getting up to the baggage drop counter and having them put a "heavy" tag on your bag (I was a little offended on behalf of my bag, that's kind of a rude label if you ask me LOL!). In my defense I didn't have to use the extender zipper to fit it all tho, so there's that.

We were gone 16 days - I googled, researched, and studied other people's suggested packing lists for the areas we were going and they basically all said the same things...layers layers layers and lots of black/gray/white. I pretty much followed suit and took the following (I don't have the fancy app that lets you take organized nice clean pictures of everything you are packing like everyone on Pinterest does, so just use your imagination - "gray long sleeved t-shirt" is not hard to figure out without a photo). I kept the pieces basic so I could wear them multiple ways:

2 jeans (dark-wash straight leg, light-wash skinny)
1 black stretchy jeggings (a cross between black jeans and leggings - they look like jeans though)
1 black leggings
3 button up long sleeved tops (white, jean, black)
2 long sleeved t-shirts (gray, black/white stripe)
2 lightweight hoodies (cream, gray)
2 short sleeved shirts (cream, black)
red pullover light sweater with hood
black pullover light sweater
gray pullover light sweater
black cardigan
multi colored (brown/blue/cream/gray) cardigan
flowy dressy tank
short sleeve black button up dress with a little collar and tie belt
2 thin down vests (silver, cream)
2 scarves (both matched everything)
tall brown boots
black ankle high combat boots
brown/black ballet shoes
hiking tennis shoes
a couple tight tanks for layering
pajamas
swimsuit and coverup shorts
hip length black jacket
long black light rain coat/shell with a hood
knit hat, lightweight gloves

That equals 4 bottoms, 12 outer shirts (not counting short sleeve and tanks that I never wore alone), 1 dress, 1 flowy dressy tank in case we went somewhere "nice". All of the places we went are super casual, or if they were a little nicer no one cared what we wore so we still wore casual clothes. I wore the dress one time under the black pullover top with tights and tall boots - totally didn't need to take it. I wore the dark straight jeans with ballet flats one time, didn't need either of those pieces either. Only wore the multi-colored cardigan once, didn't need it. Did not wear the flowy tank or the short sleeve black t-shirt. The tall brown boots were an extra that I debated packing but I wore them all the time and am so glad I decided to bring. A couple of the hotels had pools but there was never time to swim so didn't need the swimsuit.  I didn't pack anything that was bulky or heavier-weight and didn't need them so that's good. Now that I've been I would pack a little differently if I ever go back to these places around this time of year:

dark wash skinny jeans
black stretchy jeans
black leggings
2 button up long sleeve tops (either white, jean, or black - didn't need all 3)
1 or 2 long sleeved t-shirts in neutral color (I never wore this without a shirt overtop, it's just for layering)
2 lightweight pullovers
1 long cardigan
2 lightweight hoodie/shirts (I wore these a lot!)
2 thin vests (1 down and 1 fleece)
1 lightweight fleece either pullover or zip up
scarves and jewelry to jazz up the neutrals
1 coat that has a hood and is water repellant that can be worn with everything. I took 2 different ones and layered them but one light- to mid-weight would have done it.
tall boots, ankle boots, hiking shoes
2 tight layering tanks
pajamas
knit hat

I could probably pare down even farther, and this amount of clothes will probably still earn me a "heavy" bag tag but there would be less to deal with which would be nice and this amount of clothing would still give me lots of mix and match options - and something I should have remembered is that you are pretty much wearing a jacket or vest over every outfit every day so what you have on underneath is really not seen all that much!

Some packing tips and ideas:
-I rolled all of my shirts and laid them in a single layer in the top part of my suitcase that has a zip around cover in the lid - when I unzipped it the shirts were all in order and functioned almost like a drawer. I could see everything and didn't have to move any shirts to get to another one. That worked great.

-I used 3 cube things to keep my bag in order: 1 big one for tanks, swimsuit, pajamas, etc. 1 medium one for under things and socks. 1 smaller one for hair accessories and jewelry.

-Put a shower cap over the soles of the shoes you are packing so they aren't touching your clothes, and for my boots I put them in a large plastic bag (or a plastic grocery bag). Pack a couple extra plastic grocery bags in case your clothes or shoes get wet from the rain and you need to put them back in your suitcase before drying out.

-If you are traveling someplace that is normally rainy, spray your boots, purse, backpack, etc. with water repellant spray before you go. I did this to my shoes and boots and never had wet feet.

-Bring along a piece of bubble wrap in case you buy anything fragile (I brought home 2 coffee cups and wrapped them up in the bubble wrap and placed between the down vests).

-Print out your name and contact info on a piece of paper and include it in your suitcase in case the outer tag gets ripped off.

Here are some photos so you get an idea of what we wore:

skinny jeans, tall boots, black cardigan, blue button up shirt with tank under, scarf. 

I'm wearing a tank, jean shirt, lightweight hoodie, thin down vest
with my skinny jeans and tall leather boots...too many layers, we were
all peeling off clothes in the warm sunshine!

yep, our guide Scott wore a kilt every day - even when it was cold!

skinny jeans, hiking/tennis shoes, black pullover with long sleeve t-shirt under,  down vest

it was cold and rained pretty hard the day we went to the Cliffs of Moher -
definitely a layering day. I have on my knit hat, and put my jacket under
the hooded rainshell, and wore my waterproof hiking/tennis shoes.
Stayed warm and dry!

If there are any guys reading this post, here is Dave's packing list:

3 jeans (black, gray, blue)
1 chico/khaki dressier pants
2 plaid flannel shirts
2 plaid cotton button up shirts
2 lightweight turtlenecks (tan, black)
1 lightweight pullover (gray)
1 short sleeve polo (black)
Nike lightweight lounge/workout pants and pullover (black)
1 swim shorts
2 short sleeve t-shirts (gray)
1 mid-weight hip length jacket with hood (gray)
2 pairs shoes (hiking/tennis shoes and loafers)

He didn't wear the chinos, black jeans, swim shorts, or the polo shirt. The Nike pants and pullover he wore on travel days. He says he didn't need anything other than what he brought, wouldn't change his packing list other than not needing that many bottoms.

I'm going to do a few travel blog posts for the next couple days if you're interested - stay tuned!

Packing Tips

We are going on vacation soon and I'm stressing over what to pack. Last year we went away with friends and I panicked at the last minute and just started throwing things in - and of course ended up not wearing like half of it - I overpacked so much that I left a big note in my suitcase that says "DO NOT PACK AS MUCH AS YOU DID LAST TIME" to remind myself! This isn't a long trip but it's the kind that I need to pack like one of everything, from super casual to black tie. Oh, and it's probably going to rain so I was advised to bring rainboots and a cute raincoat. Along with black tie and heels? Not easy to do!

I made myself a list (of course) and have everything laid out - then I got an email this morning regarding the trip and what other people will be wearing...one woman said she's wearing dresses like "Julia Roberts brown polka dotted one in Pretty Woman" complete with a hat - oh no, I don't have anything like that in my pile. Ugh. Now I have to revise the list and find some sundress thing if I want to blend in with the group hahah...I'm not much on blending in though so maybe it's all good. It is what it is and all that.

I think I'm a pretty good packer and have picked up some useful tips thru the years.

• When figuring what to take I try to do neutral separates that can mix and match with other pieces - for example I'll take a top that can go with a couple different bottoms, etc. so I can change things up without having to overpack. 
• if you pack basic pieces in plain colors (not a lot of pattern) and take lots of different accessories, you'll save space and be able to change your outfit easily (like scarves, jewelry, etc).
•  I roll all the pieces up (I think it saves space and decreases wrinkles); if they are thin shirts I'll stack 2 or three of them and roll together. 
• Put the larger heavier items at the bottom of the suitcase (the bottom when you stand the suitcase up, not when it's laying open on the floor) and work up to the lightest things at the top. I put my makeup and toiletry kit at the top so it doesn't get crushed, and if there is anything in there that I think might spill I put it in a plastic bag first. 
• Shoes usually go around the edges with socks or small things stuffed inside - although this time I am going to try this idea I saw online, they put the shoes into plastic disposable shower caps so the soles don't touch anything. Like it, what a smart idea.

Once I get there it's going to be a fun trip, but deciding what I need (and want) to take is so hard!! I'm just repeating to myself over and over to not take too much, it'll be fine. And if I don't take so much with me that my suitcase is super stuffed like last year then I'll have room to do a little shopping if I need (or want!) anything :).