The Suitcase

You're never quite sure what to bring when traveling to a foreign country. Even though you've done your homework by surfing the Internet for specific details about the locale you're headed for, there's always some minutia you're bound to forget or be unprepared for.

The year was 2015. The month November. I was on the verge of leaving for Europe on a three-month missions trip and preparing for it got me predictably frenzied. A year before this I had travelled to New Zealand to spend some time with my family for a couple of months, so I already had an idea what packing for long, international vacation looked like.

However, I have never had the opportunity to experience winter abroad, and I've never experienced it at all living in a tropical island nation. "What does one pack into their suitcase when looking to spend three months of winter in another country?"

Thermal Underwear

One of the first few suggestions I received from friends and relatives who knew what European season I was flying into was to get a set of thermal tops and long johns. These would supposedly keep me warm and toasty down to skin level despite the chilly winter climate. And... they did. Shout out to Baleno for keeping me comfortable all winter through.

Sweaters

Even before this opportunity to travel to the northern hemisphere to experience its cold season came a knocking, I have already had a few sweaters in my closet over the years. But what kind of sweater would sufficiently fight off winter's chill? And which ones would look good on me?

Enter my "Where's Wally?" knitted (Christmas?) sweater. Horizontally striped with red, white and light grey alternating lines, it fit me perfectly and I thought bringing it would be hitting two birds with one stone: the thick, woolen fibers to keep me warm; the vibrant color scheme, in synch with the Yuletide season.

Scarves

Oh my goodness, scarves!!! As mentioned in another blog entry, I'm a bit of a fashion geek. So this European winter trip would be a favorable opportunity for me to try different layering styles and accessories. 

Scarves!!!

If I remember correctly, even before I bought the thermals, I bought scarves first! Scarves! Plural! Not singular. I think I bought two new ones for this trip to add to the two I already had. I think the guiding principle here was to make sure I was warm and trendy for my entire stay. And I was. Warm. Trendy? Well... you'll have to be the judge of that.

Other items

Of course there were more, various pieces of apparel that went into my luggage, such as shirts, pants, handkerchiefs, shoes, etc. Stuff that I deemed appropriate for the dual purpose of my trip, which was to serve as interim pastor in our Milan congregation... and to do a little sightseeing all over Europe. I don't think I made any more relevant clothing purchases for this trip, other than the scarves. The scarves!!!

Packing for this lengthy vacation was such a memorable undertaking as it marked my then upcoming first trip to Europe, first time to encounter the winter season, and the first time to wear a scarf in the appropriate season.