Tag Archives: travel gadgets

Baden-Württemberg

For our next road trip…

This past Sunday morning, I was on Facebook doing some last minute planning before our day trip to Rheinfall when I noticed an ad.  It’s kind of unusual for me to notice Facebook ads, but this one really caught my attention.  It was from a company called Lazenne.com and the product they were hawking was a wheeled wine suitcase.  This is the perfect product for people who travel abroad and want to check some wine for the flight home.  I might use it for that purpose myself someday.  Actually, what I was thinking when I saw the wine luggage was a great way to transport wine during the road trips Bill and I take.

It’s no secret that Bill and I enjoy our booze.  I especially love finding new wines and beers in the many countries easily accessed from Germany.  Though I had seen the styrofoam inserts included with the wine suitcase that was advertised, I had not seen a bag specifically made for carrying wine.  Intrigued by the ad, I decided to pull the trigger.  I purchased a black wine suitcase that could carry twelve regular sized bottles of wine and three large bottles.  I also bought two wine cradles.  The Wine Check bag is also available in red.

I paid $158.  Yes, though the Wine Check bag comes from a warehouse in France and I think the Lazenne company is in Poland, I paid for my order in U.S. Dollars.  That’s because the company’s payment gateway partner is an American company.  My total included the cost of the bag, the wine cradles, the value added tax, and shipping.

I placed my order Sunday night after we returned from Switzerland.  My parcel arrived this morning. Here are some photos.

The box my new Wine Check bag arrived in.

Wine Cradles.  These are inflatable sleeves for wine.

The bag unwrapped.

Nice wheels for easy towing.

Two handles.

The boxes for the wine bottles.

The blue one is for large wine bottles.

Styrofoam inserts.  Take the top off and tuck your bottle safely inside.

The bag with no inserts.

The red box carries up to twelve regular sized bottles.

Top off so you can see how that works.

 

The styrofoam inserts are nothing new.  When I lived in the States, I used to order wine all the time and it would often be packed with these inserts that kept the bottles from breaking in transit.  What makes this package unique is that the bag is specifically designed for making it easy to transport bottles.  The wheels on the bag makes it a lot simpler to move the booze once it’s securely packed.  I may have to bring this case with me the next time we go wine shopping locally.  I’d love to use this bag in Tübingen next time we visit Vinum.  It’s a real bummer schlepping wine from the store to the parking garage, but this bag would make it much easier to splurge!

Once we have a chance to actually try out this new luggage, I will be sure to post how it went!

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A few of my favorite travel gadgets…

Last year, I decided I needed new luggage.  I did my research and finally bought a bunch of bags from RedOxx.com.  My favorite of the bags I’ve purchased so far is the Sky Train.  It’s a carry on bag that can be carried three different ways.  I like the fact that I can wear it on my back, over my shoulder, or carry it like a briefcase.  I also like the it comes in twelve colors.  I bought mine in bordeaux red.  Bill liked my bag so much that I bought him one for Christmas.

I also bought a Beanos Safari bag, a garment bag, an aviator bag, and and a Gator bag.  These bags don’t have wheels, which makes them lighter than spinners.  My old suitcase was huge and cumbersome and didn’t fit in the trunk of my MINI Cooper.  These bags are a lot easier to fit in the car and I find I don’t even come near the weight limit.

I had been wanting a pair of Bose headphones for a long time.  I sure was grateful to have them when Bill and I took our latest trip to Italy and Greece.  They were great for shutting out ambient sound and listening to music.  These headphones are very comfortable, too.  I wore them most of the way across the Atlantic and back.

The next item is not something I’ve taken on a trip yet.  Bill bought it for me on his latest business trip, which happened to end while the power was out last weekend.  It’s a backup battery for my iPhone, iPod, or iPad.  It really was a great thing to have as we waited for the power to come back on.  My phone was pretty much dead by the time Bill got home.

It’s small enough to be stowed anywhere and handy enough to be used when you’re stuck somewhere without an electrical outlet.

I actually carry an iPhone, iPad, and iPod when I travel.  I guess if I had to consolidate, I’d go with the phone, since it’s capable of doing so many things and takes up the least amount of space.  But I’m not one to travel light and all of my accessories are pretty full.  I have no room on my phone for music or videos.  I do like the iPad for a lot of things.  I wish it were easier to type on it, since I like to write.  But the iPad is great for games, movies, and books, as well as keeping in touch online.

The last item I like to travel with is a shawl I bought at the Miami airport.  It’s made of cashmere, so it’s warm, but lightweight.  It’s good to wrap up in on overnight flights, when the air might be a little chilly.  I probably paid too much for it, but it’s pretty and will probably last a long time.

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