What I Packed For Europe, My OOTDs, and Other Stories

So many things happened for the past weeks since I got back from Europe, that this dream trip that I've saved up for a long time now felt like a looong long time ago. It's so sad that memories and moments are fleeting, but then again, maybe this is also the reason why I became so masipag in blogging every bit of the remaining details that I can remember from my travels. I always quote the great writer Anais Nin on this: "We write to taste life twice".

Anyway, this blog post is about the things I brought and the outfits I came up with during our "backpacking" around 6 countries of Eastern Europe. As you can see, I had to put those punctuation marks in "backpacking" to pay respect to real backpackers haha--because technically, only my Ate (elder sister) suffered from carrying one HUGE backpack for this trip. She managed it well--The European Style! 👌 Meanwhile, I had to give my old back a break by separating my stuff into 2 semi-big bags -- one a carry-on and the other is a Cabin Zero backpack.






WHERE WE WENT

1) Stockholm Sweden
2) Berlin, Germany
3) Prague, Czech
4) Vienna, Austria
5) Budapest, Hungary
6) Krarow, Poland

I will not include Norway here since it's our "home base" and we had our big luggages left in our relatives' house there--so sobrang maginhawa our whole stay while in Oslo. We also had transportation whenever we were there, so di sya part ng "challenge" hehe.

MY BAGS

So this is the only picture I have where I was able to capture all the bags I brought for the trip.
Minus Ate's luggage, I had with me:

American Tourister Curio 29" Spinner (Yellow) - It reached about 20 kilos when I checked it in from Manila, almost half empty. We brought these huge luggages so we can buy a lot of cheese and chocolates before going home because #priorities. Hehehe. Available in Lazada.

Lipault Plume Spinner 55/20 Luggage (Pink) - I love that I can check this in or use it as my hand-carry. Since it's from a reliable travel brand (sister company of Samsonite) I am assured na pwede sya pang harabas. Super kawawa this bag sakin during our Euro trip! Haha! But super sulit din. Lightweight since it is made with nylon, but the material is also durable and water resistant. Available in Lazada.

Cabin Zero Backpack (Camo) - My most over-used travel bag! I love Cabin Zero because I can bring it empty inside my check in luggage, and use it as my extra bag going home when I already have so much stuff with me. To me, it's the perfect second bag! Available online in Cabin Zero's Website and in Urbanize stores nationwide (check their Instagram @urbanizeph for list of branches).


As mentioned earlier, we left our big luggages in our relatives' house in Norway, and here's how I looked like before we headed out for our train to Sweden:

Portable WiFi rental: HERE.

I am a 10-step skincare girl, so minimizing the products that I brought for this trip was also a huge challenge! In the end, when bare minimum is required, I only had these essentials with me: a Vaseline Lip Therapy balm, Don't Look At Me face mask and scrubs from Lush, Jergens body lotion, Nature Republic's famous Aloe product that I used every night as face moisturizer, and a small bottle of Garnier Micellar Water to take off my makeup.



I placed my bath products in one pouch with hook so I can hang it on restrooms, especially when we were in a guesthouse na common ang CR. For towels, super okay nung Towelite or Aquazorb na both quick-drying!



The compact life: Lush Shampoo Bar (this redish pink variant is so moisturizing!), BeachBorn Conditioner Bar (white variant), a sachet of facial wash, and a bar of body soap.



We had laundry days TWICE! Sobrang bonus na nun sa amin because all the while we thought one time lang kami makaka laba. And the best part is, super hilig ng Ate ko mag laundry! Hahaha! She's super OC, so sinasabay ko na my clothes. Remember-- dapat hindi maghalo ang white sa colored! So when you pack, make sure your color scheme medyo same para madali labhan kahit sabay sabay!

Our private restroom in Budapest has a washing machine in the corner!


Home after all the walks, here's Ate folding fresh-from-laundry clothes while watching TV hehe:


This day was super sabog and messy naloka ako! It was just our first afternoon in Prague, tapos a bird pooped on my top (haha! huhu!). But that's not all! Haha! Natuluan pa yung yellow backpack ko ng trdelnik chocolate! Buti nalang talaga may laundry day! 😆


Outfit Accessories

I am amazed with two things: People who can bring SEVERAL SHOES on a trip para iba-iba ang suot per outfit, and people who can bring JUST ONE PAIR OF SHOES for a long trip!

Meanwhile, I think I am the in-between type of traveler since aside from the "backpacking" situation, I can only bring two pairs of shoes! Aside from that, I also brought two small bags, and since magaan naman--four hats/caps as my accessories. I have no regrets with the hats, I used them EVERYDAY to shield my face from the intense summer sun. They also came in handy on rainy days since I had no umbrella. Napahiram ko pa si Ate! Hehe!

Two Small Bags - Yellow Fjallraven Kanken Backpack and White Sherpani 3-Way Bag (Shoulder, Cross-body, Hand Bag) - both available in @urbanizeph stores.



For the shoes, both are sneakers from Skechers and they did not failed me till the end of the trip! Both are in basic colors (black and white) that I can easily match with any outfit. And both have memory foam cushioning so my feet were pain-free and blisters-free even after reaching 29,000 Steps in a day of walks!



This Uniqlo breezy polo dress is lightweight and cute, super perfect to pack and wear for summer trips! Sayang lang I wasn't able to repeat it again, although I should have brought a black legging and rewear the polo dress as top!

Same with this checkerboard top and black skirt, once ko lang sila nasuot sayang! Although they are light and hindi malukutin so ok nadin, but if I have to do all these again I would have brought pieces that I can rewear at least 2x!

I did not expect na super init during our trip since it was cold when my parents went to Europe years ago (same month)! Again if I can only redo the packing, I would have just brought with me one jacket for the plane--or just a scarf! Bawas luggage weight din! I just wore my jackets on some days to prevent t-shirt lines, but there were days din na di ko na matiis at ang init! Haha!

Same day, tinanggal ko din my jacket mid-day:

The overused pieces: Black H&M top, SM Woman checkerboard pants, and Happy Mallow white top were all used several times during this trip kaya super sulit! Can you tell what are the pieces I wore more than once?!

Where most of my clothes came from: H&M, Uniqlo, SM Woman, Mango, Mossimo, Adidas.

It's the same top na nagka bird poop sa Prague, Haha! Wore it again in Budapest:

All my bags were able to fit this tiny space in our sleeper train! So okay din sya, at least I had no difficulties carrying them on the top bunk, and walang naka harang. Para mas convenient, I prepared my night essentials and put them na on my small backpack. I was able to wash my face, brush my teeth, do my nightly skincare before sleeping in the small cramped space! Btw, we were 6 people in this small train cabin! 😁

The Unlucky-Lucky Day. More than halfway our Euro summer trip, we were already in Budapest, biglang thunderstorm was in forecast on my Accuweather app. Everyday was a fashion challenge for me, pero tipong naeenjoy ko haha! What's the weather, what's in our activities for the day, ang daming conditions, but I still want to look stylish and comfy! So on that rainy day I made sure to wear my light jacket and bucket hat before heading out. 

Spot the Difference: If you will notice, nung umaga naka labas pa my shirt, but in the afternoon naka-tuck in nako. This is because wala pa kami napupuntahan, I tripped na agad sa riles ng tram! 😓😔😭 Huhu ang sakit super! As in flat na flat ako, so my lower shirt super naputikan coz again it was raining, also the shoe na tumama sa riles ang dumi dumi na, white pa naman! I also acquired sugat sa palm na pinang tungkod ko when I fell, and a huge platito sized PASA on my leg. :( Ate (like a typical Ate!) pulled me right away hindi pa ako nakaka hinga, haha! She said later on baka daw may dumaan kasi na train kaya natakot sya.

But kahit na injured na, carry on! Ayaw ko ma-BV and manira ng trip. So we stayed in a waiting shed for a few minutes, waiting for the rain to stop or at least humina man lang, then I cleaned my hands with alcohol, dabbed my shoes with white powder to hide the black marks (high school gala uniform hack, haha). Then I tucked my shirt which thank God hid naman the dirty parts! Still felt lucky that wala namang mas masamang nanyari kundi sugat lang at pasa na nag heaheal naman. And that my phone and camera na hawak ko that time hindi nasira! Buti nalang may screen protector ako, sobrang nag crack sya!

Sabi ni Ate eto na ang aking favorite train station, hahaha! Dyan ako humandusay for a few seconds, hoho! Now that I think of it, yun na ang worst thing that happened in this trip! 

I think we went through about 6 long train rides (not including the short ones), 2 sleeper trains, 1 cruise, and 1 plane ride during the whole Eastern European trip! We were either on-the-road or on-the-go for almost 20 days! It was tiring draining, but we survived! Without losing anything and with just minor boo boos along the way!

There are things that I wished iniwan ko nalang sana sa house, or things na sana I did, but over-all, it was a pretty successful trip especially for my simple standards!! It's my first time in Europe, anyway!

And with that, thank you again for reading my stories. :) I hope I finally have my Euro blog groove back and continue writing!! Again, I still have my Europe Pasalubong Giveaway!! Catch you on the next train coz next blog, we're going to Sweden! 😁

Read More: Eastern Europe Trip Blogs