groundhopping packing list / Groundhopping Packliste
This is what the world has been waiting for! The current #Corona situation ensures that #sportandtravel deals with the boring theory. That’s why your friendly neighbourhood kerfuffle website presents you the ultimate groundhopping packing list. (Sorry, can’t live without superlatives in the age of internet!) Your constructive criticism and comments are welcome and will be included in updates of the packing list.
identity card – this is nowadays sufficient to travel in almost all of Europe.
passport – is especially required outside Europe. Sometimes it is needed in connection with a visa. Also, it does not hurt to have your passport with you in case you lose your identity card. Therefore it is recommended to keep it separately.
visa – are available online for some countries in a very uncomplicated way, in some countries you can get it on arrival and there are countries where you have to get a visa before entering the country. Therefore you should always inform yourself about the current visa regulations, formalities and application period of the destination country in time and, if possible, have the visa in your passport before you start your journey. Note: In some places there are combined visas (several countries offer a visa together) or transit visas which are the better and cheaper option depending on the travel route. Here it is worthwhile to do some thorough research and sometimes even to change the route.
biometric passport photos – having a few of them in your passport is always usefull. These are sometimes required for “visa on arrival” or generally when applying for a visa. Therefore it is always worth having a small supply. The next trip will come for sure.
vaccination card – there are countries you can’t enter without the vaccination card and the required vaccinations. So inform yourself in advance and get the necessary vaccinations if necessary.
discount certificates – groundhopper and stadium collectors like to travel at a reasonable price. If you are in possession of a student or university card, it is worth having it with you, as there are often discounts on events, activities or sightseeing. It is said to have happened that other plastic cards have opened some doors. Paired with an Eddie Murphy like performance, one sometimes gets away with it, but it can also go wrong.
driving licence – if you drive your own car, take a rental car or are a passenger who also takes the wheel. Please note that in some countries you need an international driving licence. This can be obtained for a fee from the road traffic authorities. There are even countries in which not even the international driving licence is accepted, whereby especially there theory and practice often differ widely.
girocard – for cash replenishment or cashless payment.
credit card – for cash replenishment or cashless payments. In some countries this is the only possibility. It is also recommended to have at least one other credit card with you. On the one hand as a replacement card. On the other hand, sometimes one provider (Mastercard, Visa …) is not accepted, but the other is. In addition, credit cards that offer a lot of services are available, for example included travel insurance.
cash – You should always have cash with you. In different currencies is always a good idea. With Euro you can get quite far, meanwhile even at the bigger/more frequented tourist destinations outside Europe and outside the Euro currency zone. A supply of US Dollars is always a good idea, because US Dollars are almost always available worldwide. For the first small errands, transfers or other things and if you don’t have the currency of your destination country immediately, you have a good chance to get ahead with dollars. In the destination country, the cash of the country is of course recommended in most cases. For example, in order not to pay prices that have been converted to your disadvantage or to have a general overview of the price situation.
chest pouch – you wear this under your clothes and is a good place to carry money, ID and cards safely. It comes in a wide variety of designs and sizes. Highly recommended especially where there is a lot of activity, e.g. at markets, sporting events or in buses, trains etc.
money belt – a great invention. The belt has a hidden compartment with zipper on the inside. Here you can keep some banknotes folded as a reserve. The belts can be ordered quite cheaply on the Internet. The belt has proved itself and is highly recommended! There are other types of this belt which can be buckled around all possible body parts. Note, however, that the body part must have a certain minimum size.
mobile phone – nowadays one of the most helpful tools for travelers and much more than just used for making phone calls. With access to the Internet one of the most efficient helpers when travelling and in everyday life.
digital camera (compact) – if the pictures, picture quality, functions etc. of your mobile phone are not enough, you should get a reasonable and handy digital camera. Under the search term travel camera you will find functional and powerful digital cameras on the Internet.
camera (“professional”) – if you want to take pictures and photos of a higher quality, you should get an appropriate camera. You should note that you will be carrying these sometimes quite large devices, perhaps with accessories, with you all the time. This can be exhausting and in some regions of the world it is better to travel unobtrusively. Depending on the destination, the photo friends should estimate how far a big camera is absolutely necessary and how much you want to carry around with you.
When it comes to photos you should ask yourself this question: Is it worth all the costs for an expensive camera as well as its equipment and all the effort, just so that weeks later somebody looks at your photographically valuable and for hours laboriously worked on photo for a short moment on a 6×10 cm screen during the visit to the toilet and wipes it after 2 seconds?
power adapter – in many countries there are different sockets / plugs and voltages. This already starts in Germany for example. Therefore it is recommended to carry such an adapter with you. Especially, because most of the cheaper accommodations are not so service-oriented and have such adapters for their guests, but there are also well-positioned accommodations that provide adapters. It can be annoying, time-consuming and cost-intensive to get an adapter on site.
powerbank – no one needs it! Either you use your mobile phone too often or the battery performance is so bad that you should get a new battery or a new mobile phone. Nobody wants to carry something like that with them. The charging cable is completely sufficient. In every kiosk in the heart of Africa there is one who plays on the mobile phone and surely has a suitable cable to charge your mobile for the one call that is essential for survival or to let you make a short phone call or recharge it. If you play your cell phone empty while crossing the Sahara alone, it’s your own fault and you are basically doing something wrong.
hygiene articles – in general terms. Everyone hase to know for themselve which anti-clockwise stirred and filled Hydro Intense Multivitamin Cream they need for their sensitive skin. The most important things are probably the toothbrush and toothpaste.
It is best to bring sun cream from home in the respective countries, as in some holiday destinations sun cream is sold at exorbitant prices.
In halfway reasonable accommodations there are towels and shower bath or at least soap provided. Even at the smallest airport at the end of the world or restaurant there is lotion from the dispenser. Hand sanitizer and face mask, if they are available, are nowadays also not a bad idea.
Those who collect country points other than football ones also pack condoms. The adventurous among you should not forget your herpes cream and antibiotics. Most toiletries are available in airworthy travel sizes, i.e. in packages smaller than or equal to 100 ml, in most drugstores and better sorted supermarkets.
toilet paper – not because of the Corona situation where it could even be used as currency in some places. Instead, you should always have some kind of toilet paper substitute (e.g. tissues) not in your backpack, but in your pocket! At the latest when you have to go to the toilet in the middle of nowhere in Southeast Asia and find out that there is no paper. With luck there is a bidet shower, which is rather unusual for the european butt. Oh yes and don’t be surprised, in some corners of the world there is no seat but only a hole in the ground.
pain medications – the helper in an emergency. Meanwhile there are allrounders which cover most of the aches and pains. Finding the tablets in other countries can be difficult or expensive. That is why the tablets belong in every travel bag.
diarrhea medications – if the painkillers do not cover this, people with a weak stomach should pack these tablets. Otherwise the old wisdom applies here: cook it, peal it or leave it!
clothing – pack suitable clothing for the country of travel. Two weeks on Bali without winter gloves you can certainly cope with. Speaking of Bali. Less is sometimes more. Especially on longer trips. Having laundry done, for example in South East Asia, is affordable, so you might not have to carry quite so much. I’ve also heard that you can buy a T-shirt or another pair of pants there for little money in case of an emergency. Most groundhoppers and stadium collectors want to see as much as possible and pay as little as possible. Therefore, walking is often the first choice. Solid and comfortable shoes are therefore recommended worldwide.
bucket hat – this headgear should not be missing from any german Heinz on a trip to the sunny climes. It looks stupid, but it serves its purpose.
sunglasses – especially in combination with a bucket hat absolutely beautiful!
explorer shirt – the stylish long shirt in earth colors belongs in the bag when it goes to regions with annoying insects and other critters.
multitool – for the scouts and Macgyvers among you. If you want to be prepared for everything, occasionally open a beer or want to remove a bullet, this handy helper for your pocket is well advised.
backpack – all the stuff has to go somewhere. Whether for short trips or long journeys, the big “Bundeswehr Rucksack” (german army backpack) has proven its worth. This one is also available in neutral colours, so not with military camouflage. In some countries I would even deliberately advise against this. Get it in navy blue or something similar. The backpack is stable and robust. It has plenty of space and is easy to pack. In addition you can pack it safely and make it “smaller” by using some buckles and fasteners on different sizes. For the backpackers and campers among you, there is space for a sleeping bag on top of the backpack. Furthermore, even with a big load, if you squeeze it properly, the backpack will fit into the test racks for hand luggage at the airport. Of course there are other good backpacks on the market.
digital packing list:
hotel bookings – if you make them in advance, most accommodation or booking portals will send you a booking confirmation which you will have in your email inbox. Once you arrive at your accommodation, this confirmation is usually no longer needed, as you are already expected as a guest.
flight bookings / transfer and transport bookings – if you book in advance, you can do this online. The confirmations will be sent to your e-mail inboxes and can be accessed at any time. Some providers still want to see a printout. So take it with you on your trip and have it at hand.
fixtures – check online, shortly before on, for example, sports websites, club and association websites and additionally on the respective Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts, take a screenshot and thus always on your mobile phone.
ticket bookings – in general all tickets are meant here, not only for football matches but also for other sports events or activities. What you can do beforehand, you should do especially where there are considerable hurdles for the purchase of the actual ticket. I’m talking about filling out forms including passport photos and the acquisition of membership in the host club and similar annoying requirements. This can cost you the start of the match or even the whole match if things go badly. Sometimes there are games where there are no tickets to buy on the day of the game. So be careful! If you can’t find another way, it’s best to secure your tickets online or at least at your destination a few days before the match, you might want to visit the stadium, ticket shop, clubhouse, association etc. and secure your tickets. The ticket collector who only has online tickets must then become active during the game and look around for “real” tickets.
It sounds crazy but there are supposed to be countries and leagues out there where you buy tickets just before the game at the stadium and then you just go inside and watch football. Without having to hand in your notarized CV, without needing a membership, fan-, club- or anything card and without passport photo, blood test, veins scan or stool sample. MADNESS!
map material – there are offline map providers where you can download the required map material to your mobile phone before you start your journey.
translator / dictionary – you can download the necessary map material for the respective languages as apps onto your mobile phone.
mobile apps – there are many useful apps. For example for transport. The best known are probably Uber and Grab. With them you can get from A to B in many countries faster, cheaper and less stressful.
travel guides – are available online and you should at least read through them. But between you and me: In most countries people only use water for cooking. You can write down important information or take a screenshot. You should at least have heard about local peculiarities and habits to avoid putting your foot in your mouth. The information from the Internet should also be quite current. It can be quite annoying if the hotel you are looking for doesn’t exist anymore, the ferry hasn’t been running for years or the your middle finger is not the official polite greeting for heads of state.
foreign health insurance – you can often take out an uncomplicated, worldwide valid and for little money online. A small investment you should make.
personal documents – here’s an easy tip: scan all important and necessary documents and send them to your own e-mail address. This way you have all kinds of documents in your inbox or outbox and can print them out or send them on as often as you want.
As a wisdom of life I recommend to scan all important documents such as birth certificate, school and training certificates, passports, social security card, driver’s license(s), further education, contracts etc. and send them to your own e-mail inbox or only to the e-mail inbox set up for this purpose. This can often save a lot of time and searching at home and in an emergency you have everything digitally backed up in one place. You do this once properly and have it ready forever and only have to add new documents.
This list does not claim to be complete. This list is only a recommendation. Irony and sarcasm are not marked separately!
#groundhopping #groundhopper #stadiumcollector