When you think of backpacking through Europe in your early 20s, you probably picture wild hostel stories or budget airlines. But for my partner and me, this trip was a little different.
At 22 with classic PKU, we decided to take on the crazy goal of traveling through 32 countries in Europe—all in 139 days. It was ambitious, exhilarating, exhausting... and unforgettable. But here’s the catch: we didn’t just carry backpacks full of clothes and travel gear—we also hauled around 15kg of PKU protein substitute, sachets, a vital medication I needed 3 times a day.
Carrying that much medication through that many countries? Yeah, not exactly what most people deal with on a Eurotrip.
To make things work, we split the PKU protein substitute sachets between the two of us and packed them across four different bags—two of them were our main backpacking packs and the other two were our carry-ons. Each bag containing the same letter explaining what we were carrying and why from the medical team. It was necessity move, just in case anything got lost or delayed. That letter became our golden ticket. It made customs smoother, helped explain things at airports if needed, and honestly gave us peace of mind.
There were definitely some nervous moments— potentially having the constant “what if we lose a bag?” running in the back of our minds. But we made it. Not only that—we thrived. We saw sunrises in Croatia, to the sun-soaked beaches of the Mediterranean, from the alpine villages of Switzerland to the bustling streets of Istanbul, each country added a new layer of meaning to our journey. Traveling with PKU protein substitute sachets became part of our rhythm—careful packing, monitoring dosages, and staying organised in our packing cubes.
Carrying medical supplies doesn’t mean you have to put your life on pause. It just means being a little more prepared, a little more creative, and a whole lot more determined. If there’s one thing this trip taught us, it’s that limitations don’t have to stop you from living your story—they just shape it in a way that makes it uniquely yours.
Would I do it all over again, bags full of meds and all? In a heartbeat.
