I was lifting 100 lbs onto trains across Europe. Of that, I was carrying 42 lbs on my back and dragging 26 lbs in a suitcase. It worked, it can be done, and it was for two of us including mobility aids which I appreciate are requirements these days for Lisa, and medical supplies for myself. But headed off onto leg 3 of my Interrail trip next week (on my own) , and going to see if I can do that with 20 to 25 lbs.
Paper is heavy - so I have just dowloaded both the European Rail Timetable and the three volumes of the European Rail Atlas. My own medical supplies are more bulky than heavy, but I am switching - having had a chat with the experts - to re-usable elements for the most part. A clipboard taken to provide a firm backing to writing turned out to be unnecessary, and a bag of Euro cents from previous trips was unopened. The HighVis station friends tabard I always carry and is very occasionally useful in the
UK▸ is - thinking it through - something I can't see myself using once I am on the continent. The picnic plastic plates, with knives and forks will be replaced by the excellent card ones collected from under a meal in Switzerland, and wooden knives and forks - one of each. I can leave out the chopsticks that were accidentally at the bottom of my bag all week.
Some things remain - the long cable attached to the power adaptor for recharging, and the long cable from that to our laptops. They are a godsend for hotel rooms where the power socket is nowhere near the bedside, and on trains where the power is above your head. And a couple of other adaptors and cables so I can charge from USB, USB-c and a multitude of sockets including continental and Italian. A recharge pack so that my phone / camera can last all day, even on exciting routes where there are 100s of pictures to take, and I'm burning up power using my phone as a hotspot too. My laptop comes too - I need a computer and a keyboard; in March, I bought one of the new Mac Neo machines which is marginally smaller that the air I was using, considerably smaller than Lisa's Pro which was also in that 100 lbs, and provided more then enough cpu umph while I travel.
Clothing - I carried a cold weather jacket which I only used once, but I feel to be necessary even on occasional use. Likewise I carry copies of insurance papers and passport copy which I hope I never have to refer to. Shirts, trousers, socks, underwear - 3 sets of each so I can have two in circulation, rinse and wash overnight, and still be OK if things don't dry. And I should take a small towel - I neglected the importance of this, in spite of having read the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.
Let's see how I do for when I set out next ... and how I do during the trip ...
Some pictures that have helped and hindered with loads of luggage.
Many, but not all, trains have some doors with better access than this. And there is no need for every door on a train to be level / easy access if you know where to go on the train. Station boards that show the zones are very useful!
The standard-to-first differential on Interrail is small enough to make it affordable without feeling stung, but sometimes it's truely "upper class"
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