You Can’t Take It With You

I travel a bit heavier than I used to. When I fly to Austria I usually have one bag that’s full of books, only. That takes up a significant amount of my luggage allotment. I don’t carry a lot of other stuff, I have a decent winter wardrobe in Austria and it’s not like you can’t get stuff you need there.

When I fly back to the US, most of the space in my bag is taken up with edibles like chocolate and pumpkin seed oil and shoes, believe it or not, because there’s a brand of Austrian shoes that I just love. I put my extra camera lenses in my checked luggage, though I like to take the camera with me in my carry on because you never know what you’re going to see. I pack the laptop in the checked luggage too, because who wants to lug it around the airport, even if you have one of those wheely carts?

The airlines recently reduced their luggage allotment from 30 kilos to 23 kilos for international flights. It’s still 30 kilos in business class and if you fly ultra deluxe, you get a whopping 40 kilos – that’s 88 pounds. I’ve always thought that the more money you have, the less luggage you’d need because you can afford to buy anything you lack once you arrive at your destination, so it doesn’t make sense the First Class gets the highest baggage allowance. Plus, if you’re wealthy, why would you schlepp it with you to the plane? You’d have it shipped to your next destination and you’d travel with only a small wheely bag – if that – containing your silk pyjamas, your camera, and your credit card. Oh, okay, maybe one change of clothes and a swimsuit.

I have traveled enough to know that there are only three items that matter. Your ticket, your wallet (including your passport), and the keys to your destination at the end of your flight. (Actually, if you’re not flying home, you could just have your ticket and your wallet.) It has long been a dream of mine to be wealthy enough to engage in credit card travel, a trip in which I need only carry my credit card in my pocket and nothing else, being able to buy or rent what I need on the way with no regard for expense or transport of goods.

We have learned the hard way that Homeland Security doesn’t care for it much when you travel long haul with no luggage. Because we have enough stuff on each side of the Atlantic and because our destinations aren’t exactly lands of deprivation, we could both easily get away with no luggage travel, but that puts you right on the short list. Only questionable types travel coach without luggage, after all, if you can afford to travel without luggage, you can also afford to travel business class, at least. When we travel together it’s easier, we can have “family” luggage. Husband doesn’t require a suitcase full of books, so when he flies to the US alone, he ends up filling his bag with t-shirts just to have some kind of luggage to carry through customs and immigration.

When I pack to return to the US, I toss in all my quality outdoor gear (minus ski stuff) in case we decide to do some kind of epic camping trip this summer. I pack the pants that always fit, and stuff I need to give away, prezzies and other goodies. The books stay, as do the Sorels and the hiking boots and any heavy duty winter gear. The ukulele stays because I have another (several) in Seattle.

Flying with a musical instrument is kind of fun, even one as aburd as a ukulele. The cool thing about flying with a ukulele is that it’s small enough to carry on. Sometimes, a stranger in the airport will ask you, “Is that a violin?” And you can say, “No, it’s actually a ukulele.” At that point, anything can happen. Homeland security, as of yet, sees no risk in having you carry your ukulele on the plane. A ukulele is an excellent weapon for staving off anxiety and boredom, the two things that weigh heaviest on my mind when I fly. Airlines have not yet figured out how to charge for mental baggage, though when they do surely flying will be affordable only to those wealthy enough to fly without luggage.