When we got back late on Sunday night after an exhausting day of train travel, the incident with the bike wheel was almost the final straw to have both of us lose our cool.  We were beyond tired from all the stress.  Yet we remained calm.  It was actually quite a simple problem, really, and easily solved the next day at the bike shop:  just buy another quick release.  

It took a few days later to realize the insane benefits of minimalism.  There was virtually nothing to unpack after the trip!  At a time when it could have added a lot more stress and frustration, there was nothing to add.  My stuff was simply taken out from the backpack and placed in the room.  It took less than 5 minutes, then we all chilled out and had a nice sleep.  How cool is that?

So much of the stress of trip packing and unpacking could be avoided with a minimalist outlook, and this was more than enough convincing evidence to keep this up for a lifestime.