Traveling Light

I decided not to sleep in Amsterdam, but instead, in the larger port city of Rotterdam. For a few reasons: it appealed more (cheaper hotels, a higher chance of seeing a drum n bass gig, more harbourside spots to admire, less tourists, and recommendations from people I met in Noordwijk and Leiden). Either way, Amsterdam is only a 20-minute train ride away, and the airport is in the middle. And I could always change my mind. Holland province is amazing in that multiple cities are within a short commute of each other. Imagine having Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and maybe Hamilton all within a short train ride, or even a bicycle ride, of each other? Spoiled for choice - Dutchies in this northern province can choose to reside in one city and work in another, and it has quicker travel times than we have between Wellington city and the Hutt Valley or Kapiti. So I packed up ‘little blue’ and headed across the road to the station. The trains left every 30 minutes. My hotel was a ...

  This blog is called Traveling Light for a few reasons. One of them is literal - I’m going overseas for three weeks with carry-on luggage. Who does that? Turns out, a few people I’ve met at airports and on planes who think the same way. Why? Because it’s so much easier to traverse countries (and customs/security regulations) with less.  I packed light on purpose. I had been gathering together the perfect ‘capsule wardrobe’ for months before this trip. Collected minis from my dermalogica skincare routine, planned for the weather (Springtime - much like Wellington’s mild), limited my expectations of lavish glamorous nights out, no beach attire as I was going inland, predicted that I’d be walking on cobblestones for most of the trip, etc. Experience was at the forefront of my mind when I planned the contents of ‘little blue’. Not my usual anxiety of worrying about what could happen. Probability wise, I wasn’t going to be meeting anyone ‘special’ whom I didn’t already know. I wan...