By the time this is published, I’ll be on my way back from my latest train adventure/book research trip in which I’m spending a week visiting Czechia’s three UNESCO Great European Spa Towns. I’ll tell you all about it in at least nine blog posts over the next month, depending on how many spas I end up at but the series is beginning with a good old-fashioned “what I packed”.
What I planned to pack and photographed and what I actually took are not quite the same – I loaded up the bag and it weighed a ton, so I took some stuff out. I’m flying to and from Prague with easyJet on a personal item and although I have a new bag that just seems to swallow up luggage, I reached its limits.
To wear
You wear the bulky stuff rather than carry it, so this is what I’m wearing for my adventure. My purple t-shirt, yellow Solo jumper, because it’s fairly light and easy but warm, and my big rainbow & purple Lucy & Yak fleece which will never fit in the bag, even if it’s empty! Then I’ve got my warm lined outdoor trousers which I wear whenever the weather is less than tropical. I have a shiny new The Bear Knitcessities hat which it looks like I’m going to really appreciate this week and my down jacket, although that’s only going to be put on while I walk through the gate – it’s going to be too hot to actually wear it all.
Clothes to pack
This is some of the stuff that got unpacked before I went anywhere. I’ve got pyjamas and a pair of lined leggings as spares if I get rained or to wear underneath if it’s really cold; I have four t-shirts in similar pinky-purple colour schemes but two of them got removed – the long-sleeved pastel rainbow Lucy & Yak top is out, as is the tiny pink Solo crop top, even though it’s so small and light and takes up no space! The pink thermal top survived and so did the orange & purple wavy striped Marimekko x Uniqlo top. Then there’s my unofficial unauthorised Ethan Hunt t-shirt for my day in Prague and my favourite travel hoodie, which is almost as small and light as a t-shirt but makes a really good mid-level.
This is what that looks like when it’s packed – it’s all in the big blue packing cube and then the small red one contains things I don’t show the internet. Yes, the blue packing cube is slightly clinging to its seams for dear life but I’ve taken two tops out of it since then.
Swimming stuff
Because the plan is to visit lots of spas and pools, I need to take my swimming stuff. The shoes got sacrificed for space and weight so it’s just swimsuit, terry travel towel and tiny miniature towel to sit on in saunas, squished into the little white drybag I bought in Finland.
Washing
I carry two little bags. One contains a children’s toothbrush, toothpaste, a mini deodorant and moisturiser and a miniature lavender soap that I bought last year in Pula. The second bag is my hairwashing kit – a plastic drainage mat and two little tins that contain my shampoo and conditioner bars. And then there’s a blister pack of Vitamin D gummies because it’s good for my bones, and a blister pack of Gaviscon, because I always get heartburn when I don’t carry that stuff.
Jewellery
A couple of years ago – several years ago now – I made this jewellery roll. It contains three necklace (one silver with a J on it and one with crystals and a gold twist), two pairs of small hoops (gold hammered and silver with crystals), two tennis bracelets (one gold, one silver) and two rings (one haematite, one stainless steel). The whole lot is waterproof and except the rings, it’s all from a company called Lovisa (don’t take that as too much of a recommendation; the silver bracelet and the J bracelet both spontaneously fell apart this morning and I’ve had to break out the pliers to put them back together). The rings are just from tourist shops – the haematite from a fossil shop in Lyme Regis; the stainless steel from just about any tourist shop in all Reykjavik. Yes, after I took the photo I tucked the necklaces safely into the orange pockets, the bracelets into the zip compartment and put the rings on the sausage-shaped ring holder and then rolled the whole thing up.
I’ve also got a silver polishing cloth because I’m wearing my silver bindrune pendant and I just know at some point it’s going to end up in a pool it shouldn’t. Then I’ll be wearing my Baby G watch with its replacement pink strap (after the black one fell off last year), my mainland Europe El Camino bracelet and a bead bracelet that says I Am A Polar Bear on it, from my leftover Eras tour beads.
Electronics
First up, portable charger, because easyJet does tickets in the app and my phone absolutely won’t still be working by the end of the last day, which is when my flight home is (at the end of the day; obviously it’s on the last day!). The GoPro (Hero 10 Black) is still a question mark – it’s come out but it may slide back in before I leave in 23 hours. It’s on its floaty handle and I’ve also got the backpack mount and the media mod. Then there’s a set of clip-on mics that I never use, a mini tripod, my normal digital camera (Lumix DC-TZ90) and two spare batteries. Last is my charging kit, which goes into a little drawstring bag and contains a 3-USB plug with European prongs and a Lightning, micro-USB and USB-C wires wrapped up with velcro wraps.
Passport pouch
This thing is a bit chunky but it comes everywhere with me. It’s a pouch that contains my passport, a special notebook in which I mostly write down my plans and itinerary and a phone/tablet holder which is just a piece of foam with a thin piece of aluminium in the middle, which you can fold into whatever shape is most convenient.
Miscellaneous and things I forgot to photograph earlier
My tablet got sacrificed for weight and won’t be going back in. Then there’s my headphones for the plane, a waterproof jacket that folds up into a little bundle, a day bag that also folds up, my guidebook, the padlock that’s still in there after a trip to Zedwell but might be useful for spa lockers; a plastic cutlery set and my 2026 notebook (ok, 2024 notebook that’s still only a quarter used).
Everything else
My phone doesn’t appear in here because I was using it for the pictures. I haven’t packed my hairbrush and only this second realised it. I’m waiting for my nails to dry right now, so I’m taking that with me to patch up the inevitable chips (Barry M Diamond Luxe in Finest, if you care). I somehow managed to miss my wallet and sunglasses and although I’ll be taking my car keys with me, they’ll be left at the airport with the car.
To be honest, the bag is a bit full and a bit heavy but that’s what happens when you fly with just a personal item. I’ve got a couple of souvenirs to bring back (a spa cup for one) so I need space for that, so no doubt anything smallish will end up in my pockets to free up some space.
I Am A Polar Bear 