Geijer.us

BAGGAGE

There are two kinds of baggage: checked and carry-on. Checked baggage is your suitcase. Carry-on
is what you carry with you on the plane. You’re also allowed one personal item (ie, a purse or
briefcase.)
CHECKED BAGGAGE
You can bring one checked bag. Well, you can actually bring two, but they charge you for both, and a
bit more for the second one.
Continental: $25 for first, $35 for second I think basically, it comes down to a $25 fee each way. I included the links in case you want to read more about it, including more specific instructions on what you can and can’t bring. Suitcase size: 62 inches (158 cm) in size. Measure width + height + depth to get the size. Take my word for this, don’t go over your size limits or you’ll regret it. It costs a FORTUNE. Ten years ago, before they went crazy on adding fees, I paid $100 to get my suitcase home. Also remember to leave empty space and weight for your return trip because you are very likely to be buying a lot of souvenirs and stuff while you’re there. In general, most people want to pack as lightly as they can. CARRY-ON BAGGAGE

Maximum weight is 8 kg (17 pounds). The maximum size is 23x40x55 cm (14 in x 9 in x 22 in),
though the sum of these three measurements may not exceed 115 cm (45 inches).
Bring things that will entertain or comfort you, but remember that you have to carry this around
through three airports for fourteen hours and stuff it under your feet or above your head in the
carryon bins, so the smaller/lighter, the better.
□ MP3 player and headphones, books, word puzzles, paper, pencils, etc. It is REALLY boring, especially on the long flight. I’m not sure how much Evelyn will let us entertain ourselves this time around, though. ;) □ You may also want a few good snacks but nothing that will get too ruined if squished. and no drinks. Or fruit/veggies, not that I think you will really try to bring THAT, but customs doesn’t like fresh meat or produce. We’ll have stuff that you can eat, of course, and the airline will serve a meal, but if there’s something in particular that you’d like to have, you might want to pack it. □ I usually stick a little makeup in my carryon bag so I don’t arrive after a full day looking like crap, but I have had a boyfriend and then later my in-laws to impress. You don’t, yay you! ;) You’ll probably feel pretty grubby by the time we arrive though. □ Chapstick or lip gloss. The air is pretty dry on the plane. Lotion, too. □ Gum for take-off and landing to keep your ears from popping. We’ll probably bring this too, □ Dramamine, in case you get airsick. (Please don’t get airsick!) □ Hair scrunchy things and a brush, if desired. □ My travelingest friend suggested you bring a diary. I don’t know if you normally write in one or not? The idea of starting a travel journal is a pretty good one, though, so you can remember □ You might want to have a change of clothes in your carryon just in case. Roll it up tightly, put it in a plastic bag and secure with rubber bands to save space and make sure it stays dry. □ Eye mask, if you want to try to use one to sleep. Any liquids or gels need to be in small containers (100 mL, or 3.4 ounce) containers in a quart-sized clear Ziploc bag. There are a few exceptions that I don’t believe will apply to you so I won’t bother going into them. (Don’t think you’ll be bringing baby formula or odd medications.) Miscellaneous
The tickets are e-tickets. We need to have a printout of the email confirmation of the flight. There will
not be a paper ticket issued. The email confirmation is already printed (I even printed four, just in
case they go absolutely insane and insist we all need one) and stored with our passports so we won’t
forget them.
The plan is to put one outfit in all of the other suitcases, just in case one gets lost. That way, we’ll
hopefully have a change of clothes while they’re being located. It wouldn’t hurt to have a change of
clothes in your carryon as well, if you can spare the space. It’s not tremendously common to have
luggage lost—it has so far (knock on wood) never happened to me. If we don’t get a chance to do
that, it’s no big deal but doesn’t it sound like a nice idea?
Wear something comfortable for the flight, and preferably in layers in case you get too cold/warm. The
plane will most likely be cool. And remember, if you’re wearing it, it doesn’t count as baggage! ;) It’s
best to wear shoes with socks, and that are relatively easy to slip on and off.
Some friends suggested I tell you that it might be a good time for Airborne, since you’ll be around a
gazillion people and exposed to a lot of germs that you haven’t been exposed to before. (By this, I am
talking more about different strains of a cold than random scary infectious diseases.) I don’t know if
you ever take that or not.
□ Money, which will need to be converted. You don’t need to do this before you arrive though. It’s best to convert a bit at a time so you don’t end up having to re-convert it again when you leave. you always lose a little in the process. □ Clothes, of course. We can wash clothes while we’re there so no need to bring an outfit for Might help to try to bring things that can go together with different pieces to make different looks, if you care about that sort of thing. □ Shoes. We’ll probably walk a lot so bring some that won’t hurt your feet for the walking days. Cute shoes that aren’t comfy are great, too. just in moderation. □ Jacket… maybe two, if they’re different weights. (If you’re wearing it on the plane, it isn’t □ Addresses for anyone you want to send postcards to. And just so you know before you promise to write postcards for everyone you know, it’s kind of a drag to sit down while you’re on vacation and write six thousand postcards, so save ‘em for the people you really like.  I sent Brad a postcard once with a picture of a naked lady on it. This has nothing to do with your packing requirements but I thought it was incredibly funny so worth mentioning. I think he also wanted to go to Sweden after that. ;) □ Toiletries. Put anything that might leak in two gallon Ziplock bags (doubled) in the checked baggage and make sure that the lids are on really well first. We pretty much always have something that gets banged up and leaks a bit. □ Washclothes/poofy things. As far as I can tell, M’s parents do not have any (?? What can I say, Swedes are a little weird. ) so I always bring my own. I will have a bunch and we’ll be able to do laundry, so if you don’t bring any, it’ll work out. Just a thought. They have towels and stuff, though. □ Feminine protection stuff, if we’ll be gone during that time. You can buy it while there but it’d be a whole lot easier on you to just have it with you, especially since you never know if your favorite brand will be available. Notes
Electrical devices: Sweden uses 220 instead of 110, as we have discussed. The plug-ins also look
different (like two round poles instead of two flat ones.) We have converters that both change the
currency and shape so theoretically, anything will work. I have only had one item break, and that was
a curling iron that no longer worked when we returned to the US. I’m not sure if it was the conversion
or if maybe it just got messed up in transport, but I found out when I bought a new one that it
automatically converted currency, and I have wondered if that was the problem. In any case, I am
bringing my old straightener and there’s a hair dryer already there. And yes, I know we have already
talked about this but I wanted to put it here so you remember while you pack.
Bringing your cell phone and charger is another decision to make. You’ll probably want it before you
get out of the country and when you get back. You CAN use it, but it will be expensive. I’ve never
tried it, but according to the website, it will cost about $1.29 / minute. Eek. Texting is $.50 each.
(Incoming texts seem to be billed at regular rate, so if you have an unlimited plan, then you shouldn’t
have to worry about that part.) If you want to have that option, you should probably have your mom
call them and verify that what I just said is accurate, and that your phone and plan is compatible with
this, etc. Last time, we pretty much just turned our phones off while we were there and left them in
our room. We used one of his parents’ phones when we were out.
Contact Information

Erik and Gunnel Geijer
Granvägen 21A
191 41 Sollentuna
Sweden
Home phone: +46 8-351680
Gunnel:
To dial internationally, you will need to type in the country code, which is 46, first. There’s a six hour time difference between here and Sweden. When it’s 1:00 p.m. here, it will be 7:00 p.m. there. So, for example, our plane is supposed to land in Sweden at 7:15 a.m. Swedish time. It will therefore be around 1:15 a.m. here. I’ll estimate that it’ll take at least an hour or more to get back to Magnus’s parents house (assuming we arrive on time, etc). What I’m trying to say is… if you want Whitley to give you a call when we get there to let you know that we made it alright, make sure you know what you’re asking. *laugh*  Itinerary

Source: http://www.geijer.us/w-travelguide.pdf