It’s been four months since we left the US and have no plans to return. That means some things are now our “new Reality.” It means we don’t buy anything unless we can eat it, travel with it- or wear it. Which brings up today’s discussion about “what do you take and how do you keep it clean?”
During summer, traveling with a backpack is easier. No thick clothes or boots. No heavy sweater. Light but comfortable clothing, some light shoes and the normal toiletries allow summer travel with more ease. But even though we carry less, we still have to clean what we have! Some locations we stay at include a washer and dryer and some of the areas have public laundromats in town. And some don’t…like where we are now in Croatia. That means cleaning clothes is a job done by hand and hung on lines to dry.
As an American for 65 years I never hung laundry on any outside line since I was a kid. Washing machines and dryers were to be “expected” but when you travel there are many things you cannot take for granted. Washing clothes by hand in the sink or shower seemed weird at first and hanging my socks and underwear on an outside line also seemed intrusive, but in Europe this IS the de facto standard. Our first stay was on the sixth floor of a high rise and putting on clothing pins seemed a dangerous maneuver when they fell! After a while I learned how to hang laundry with more comfort and usually not drop anything. The pictures you see are our balcony, only on the second floor, so much safer!
Living “without” is now a way of life and sometimes the luxury of a shower you can actually move around in is an unexpected pleasure! In Europe everything is small and I will be doing another article called “Size Matters” which will discuss other things being so small over here. America is a country where our definition of “want” and “need” is so much different than the rest of the world. It’s humbling and truly makes me appreciate the things I have rather than the things I want.
This lifestyle is not for everyone, but the goal of Travel Younger is to teach you all- and maybe inspire you- and realize that life on the road with the adventure, fun, and appreciation of new and different cultures, brings an insight that is hard to describe.
We’ve been in the Split area for five weeks now and next week we will rent a bike and ride down to Dubrovnik for another week’s stay there. The next TRUE test will begin July 17 when we jump into our Eurail pass and try to hit as many places as we can in about 45 days. Please join us!
