Last time I left you with some thoughts on carrying little baggage per my early 1920’s journal, now let’s see what fall under the “Traveling Necessities for Men” so that we can do a little then vs. now exercise.
“Evening coat, 2 white vest, dinner coat, dinner vest, evening trousers, 2 traveling suits, several white dress shirts,10 ordinary shirts, collars, handkerchiefs, underwear, pajamas, black tuxedo tie, 2 white ties, shirt studs, cuff buttons, neckties, socks, shoes, slippers, bathrobe, razor, hairbrush, bathing suit, drinking cup, wash cloth, tooth paste, cold cream, antiseptic, and blue eye glasses.”
Now let’s see what of that list I packed : several quick dry breathable REI shirts & pants (the pants have zip off legs to allow me access to my prosthetic leg), a bandana and a white handkerchief, underwear, socks, shorts to sleep in (for dorm style hostels), quick dry travel towel & washcloth, no rinse soap (good for body, hair & clothes), razor, toothbrush/paste, stainless steel cup that fits the bottom of my naglene bottle, sunglasses, spare leg sleeve, journal, fountain pen & ink bottle, netbook, phone/pda, charging adapters, travel humidor and since I arrived thanks to travel restrictions I bought a Swiss army knife (handy for everyday & cigar cutter) and lighter fluid. All this fits in a 3100cubic in backpack with room to spare and a shoulder bag (for the daily outing items).
While it is true we are not as well dressed as our counterparts almost 100 years ago we are traveling lighter and thanks to modern fabrics we need less laundry effort and space when on the move.
Now for our trip update…
While this is not a Disabled Explorers trip it is impossible not to notice the efforts to accommodate those travelers with physical mobility issues. In Venice we saw this interesting lift setup to help folks get up and over the canal bridges. We didn’t see these on every bridge but that we did notice quite a few was an inspiring thing.
Our last morning in Venice left us with a bit of time to spare so we went back to the island of Murano to watch some glass masters in action. Nathan wasn’t too into the idea until the reality of the craftsmanship became obvious. Of course this glass guitar caught his eye also. And no we didn’t see a price which just proves the old adage, “if you have to ask, it is too much”.
Each area of the world has its unique transportation issues and Venice being a series of islands has some very interesting solutions. Of course of all the times I have thought about the benefit of having a vehicle that fits in a shipping container to an overlander I never imagined that the container itself would present a problem. But necessity is the mother of invention after all.
We trained from Venice to Vienna to Munich and there are stories for another time that were born in that journey. However our late arrival to Munich really just meant a crash in the Hostel and being ready for our next day’s adventure.
We enjoyed a “free walking tour” led by a young Brit named Luke who kept an excellent balance of humor and tragedy as we explored the home of the 3rd Reich. I highly recommend this tour as the guides work for tips and they are young enough to really enjoy the outings while aware enough of the importance of the history Munich offers.
Later Nathan & I ventured over to the BMW Museum which was more of a glorified showroom than anything else. However the showroom did let us check out the newest moto’s in BMW’s adventure bike line.
Outside the museum we spied this ride which if nothing else gave us some fun laughs imagining it as an adventure rig, Maybe a mini roof top tent, some panniers, a gps and more?
Our walk back to the hostel took us by a “carpark” which has quite a few 2wd VW Westfalias and such but this Ford Transit caught my eye. Yeah it isn’t 4wd but I bet it would have some stories to tell if it could talk.
The day has ended well with me on the rooftop patio enjoying a cigar and Nathan visiting with the other young travelers staying at our hostel. I think it is this interaction that is more important than any building, museum or bit of art we may see. It is the people that make travel what it is and learning that the French, Canadian, Australian or Russian kids are both very much the same while being very different makes this life experience rich and rewarding.
