Last fall I relocated to Berlin for September. For the first couple of weeks I rented an AirBnB in the northern part of the city.
And I slept like absolute crap.
Why? Because the down pillows they had were worse than nothing! I tried everything I could, like stacking them, rolling them up, swapping pillows for a towel roll, and not using pillows at all. No good. I slept terribly and woke up feeling like I’d been out in a night club all night pounding vodka and Red Bull. Note: had had NOT been out in a night club all night pounding vodka and Red Bull.
I went to a home furnishing store and bought a small couch pillow, hoping it would help. It did, but it wasn’t great. I still slept poorly, despite the improvement.
Fast forward to January 2026. I’m back in Berlin! This time I’m at a hotel. And they have the same, crappy, less than good for nothing down pillows. No, seriously – not only are they not doing anything good – they’re doing harm!
I happened to have a birthday during this trip, and the first present I got was a €100 gift card to a sporting goods store. I’d planned on picking up a new pair of tights, or maybe a replacement for my YakTrax that had broken.
Then I stumbled on the Backroll Recovery Pillow. It’s a travel-sized memory foam pilow, very similar to my Tempurpedic pillow I sleep on most nights. It comes with its own carrying case that lets you roll it up to the size of a large water bottle, so it easily fits in a suitcase.
I used it and the result was night and day different. My neck had been hurting for three days, as well as my teeth, which I’d been grinding, despite wearing a night guard. As soon as I lay down on the pillow, my neck felt better. No joke! I felt an immediate improvement. I woke up the next day significantly more refreshed and in less pain.
This is now part of my travel routine, and is going with me any time I’m not sleeping at home.