Romania Travel Answers

I think the egg crate is a great idea. I'd just cut the crate down so you're just bringing one compartment (with the lid side as well), put the egg in, insert the thing into a couple pairs of socks for cushioning, and put it in your carryon?

Hi Melissa Painted eggs make fantastic souvenirs and we've brought back a couple of dozen from various trips over the years. We just pack them into ordinary egg boxes and (hold thumbs) haven't broken a single one ... yet!!! You can either buy a box of eggs and use/discard the contents in Romania, or, more reliably, bring your own boxes with you. I'd recommend bringing a couple of the six egg boxes, as these are more flexible to pack than the larger boxes, and then pack them tightly into a case (preferably a hard shell or semi rigid one) using your dirty laundry as packing to keep them cushioned and protected - for once, dirty laundry is your friend! You could tape the boxes closed if that would help to constrain your blood pressure within acceptable limits and if you feel extra cautious, then bring some bubblewrap too (although we've never needed this), but just bear in mind that if you use this inside the compartments of the egg box, it will limit the size of egg that you can fit into the box. More expensive eggs are usually packed into custom designed boxes at the point of purchase. This is particularly useful when considering non-standard sized eggs such as goose or duck eggs, such as the ones we bought in Hungary. The beauty of collecting painted eggs is that you have a legitimate reason to display them - try creating an Easter branch as is common across Central Europe. However, I am so besotted with our collection that I have been known to sneak them onto the Christmas tree too ... but then I'm no purist! Regards Cathy

Thank you both for your advice. It's good to know my instincts are good! I didn't even think about the eggs might be different sizes (chicken vs duck vs ostrich) - COOL! I'm not a purist either - I'm sure some will make their way onto my travel Christmas tree and in my curio cabinet for year-round display. :-)

So happy to be of assistance! My most treasured eggs come from our 'babymoon' in Budapest just before our daughter was born. My prize possesion was bought on Easter Sunday 2003 and was a midnight blue dyed goose egg from the folk museum outside Szentendre that was then hand carved to expose the original ivory colour of the egg as we watched. I assure you that Faberge didn't have anything on that egg!!! It was then subsequently stored in our attic and due to negligence on our part, it was destroyed by rats ... this prompted me to completely revise my opinion on pest control (those little b*stards deserve everything they get). The Easter branch is a really special European tradition - take the twiggiest branch you can find and garnish it with anything that has the most tenuous link to Easter! Regards Cathy