I travel a lot, and to keep my hands free, I pack my things in backpacks. My current favorite is my orange Burkely backpack, which I bought on a whim on my way to the train station before a business meeting in Düsseldorf. The brightly orange color in the shop window stood out so vividly among all the gray, black, and dark bags that I couldn’t resist. On top of that, the price tag displayed prices for several countries in their respective currencies. The price for Germany was a third lower than the price in Switzerland.

Back then, the customs and VAT exemption limit was 300 CHF. This meant you could get the German VAT refunded and didn’t have to pay Swiss VAT. That made the backpack’s price unbeatable. I couldn’t resist, bought it, and never regretted it. I even got a “rain jacket” or rather a small rain cover for it, because the backpack is made of leather and is better protected from rain that way.

Today, I was on my way to Basel. When I got off the train in Zurich to catch my connection to Basel, the woman behind me said, “Your backpack is open; may I close it?” I turned around, saw a trustworthy, kind woman, and agreed.

This happens to me quite often, where someone points out that my backpack is open. The reason is simple: I also have a black backpack with a broken zipper. But it’s very practical, and if I’m not carrying anything valuable, I still use it. I get these kinds of comments regularly on my way.

Only once did something get stolen from my open backpack. I was on a day trip to Gibraltar, took the cable car up the “Rock of Gibraltar,” and walked down the mountain. The mountain is full of monkeys who are more than cheeky and appear everywhere. In my black backpack, I had a water bottle and an empty plastic bag that had previously held sandwiches. As I was walking, I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulders. One of the monkeys had jumped on my head from behind, pulled the empty plastic bag out of my backpack, and disappeared with it in a flash. I was startled, and I assume the monkey was very disappointed later.

Apart from this one “robbery,” I’ve otherwise experienced a kind world.

There was one more situation, though, where I was on the escalator in the subway. Someone behind me pressed uncomfortably close to me. I turned around and realized it wasn’t sexual harassment but an attempted theft, which I managed to prevent just in time. Since then, I always walk while on the escalator.