When I was about 28 years old, I remember how Iberia re-opened the airplane door for me – because I got there really late. I felt way too cool to wait in line like the other passengers, and because I travelled frequently, I felt completely in control, and mounting an airplane was no different from stepping onto the bus.
Well, that’s different these days. After 1,5 years of the pandemic, even the ordinary train trip to Hamburg for a weekend is special. I cannot decide what to pack. Will the jacket be warm enough, or should I take another one? Or even an extra one? I can’t possibly take these shoes: not practical enough. But then, I swore to myself never to travel in all practical clothes only, again.
I’ve always liked to travel with light luggage. Very light luggage, in fact. And it has become quite an obsession, over time. Because, for my own comfort and security, I seem to need a number of items: my phone, of course, purse, keys, tissues, glasses for reading, sunglasses? Already an extra. And the number of these indispensable items seems to grow: a warm scarf, extra t-shirt, my computer?
This journey, I realize, is at least partly about re-gaining some freedom. From luggage, from worries, from over-thinking things and perfectionalizing.
