You Can’t Take It With You

I travel a bit heavier than I used to. When I fly to Austria for extended stays (my husband’s country of origin, as they say on the package) 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 stored in “ye olde countrie” and it’s not like you can’t get stuff you need in Austria.

When I return stateside most of the space in my bag is taken up with edibles like chocolate and pumpkin seed oil and not so edible shoes, because there’s a brand of Austrian footwear 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, because who wants to lug it around the airport, even if you have one of those wheelie carts?

Airlines are always changing their luggage allowances, but typically, you’re allowed more weight in first class than you are in coach. I’ve always thought that the more money you have, the less luggage you’d need. Because wealthier travelers can afford to buy anything they lack upon arrival, it doesn’t make sense that they get the highest baggage allowance. Plus, if you’re wealthy, why would you schlep it with you to the plane? You’d have it shipped to your next destination and you’d travel with only the tiniest bag containing your silk pajamas, 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 whatever gets you into your destination at the end of your flight, be it your house keys or your hotel reservation. 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 and nothing else, being able to buy or rent what I need on the way with no regard for expense or transport of goods.

Our family unit has learned the hard way that airport security doesn’t care for it much when you travel long haul with no luggage. Because my husband and I both have enough stuff in each other’s respective home countries—and because neither of those places are 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 we packed up the Austria homestead for an extended stay stateside, I decided I’d bring most of my quality outdoor gear back to the US. I packed the pants that always fit, and the handmade sweater that I need to give to my sister in law because it’s just a bit too small for me. The books stayed in the land of snowy winters, along with the hiking boots and some very heavy duty winter gear. I left my ukulele because I have several others in my US home—and because it’s hard to find a ukulele on the continent.

Flying with a musical instrument is kind of fun, even one as absurd 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. Airport 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.