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Summer in Germany is beautiful – it’s all about relaxing in biergartens, visiting castles, wandering in leafy green forests, and exploring half-timbered towns. Of course, the weather varies from one end of this large country to the other. If you’re up north in Hamburg, you can expect temperatures around 17ºC-22ºC (63ºF-68ºF), but down south in Heidelberg, it gets up to 30ºC-32ºC (86ºF-90ºF). If you’re planning on visiting a few places in Germany, you will definitely need layers. That’s why my Germany packing list works pretty well as a Europe packing list too.
Heidelberg Castle
When we travel in Germany or head into France, Italy or Switzerland in the summer, I pack a capsule wardrobe of dresses, cardigans, leggings, sandals, and scarves, with a packable rain jacket for surprise showers. I am definitely a dress person, and I will let you into my secret for wearing dresses with no tights as a woman whose thighs touch (no matter what size I’ve been, they’ve always done that, just the way I’m built!). I admit I’m pretty minimal when it comes to my colour palette, so most of my clothes are black. This makes it easy to build a small capsule wardrobe though.
Our European travel tends towards historic sites, city visits, museums, markets, and easy forest walks. If you’re doing some hiking, your list will be a bit different!
Castles on the Rhine
One week Summer Germany (or Europe) packing list
- Three dresses
- One midi skirt – either plain or a bit flashy, ASOS is a great source for this length. I like midi skirts for travel as they give you more coverage in case you are visiting religious sites, or end up clambering into tour boats, or sitting on stone walls
- One pair of stretchy skinny jeans
- Two cardigans
- Two t-shirts and a sleeveless top (I like H&M for these basics)
- One pair of leggings
- Packable rain jacket
If you’re planning to swim, bring a quick-dry suit, flip flops, and a large quick-dry towel.
For accessories:
- Two scarves
- Two pairs of earrings
- Two necklaces
- Three pairs of slipshorts (these are my secret to wearing dresses with bare legs!)
- Cotton underwear
- Sunglasses!
- Apple Watch
Can you believe these are Birkenstocks?
Shoes
I bring two pairs of sandals if I’m traveling in the summer: one pair with a small wedge, and a very flat pair. Both of my sandals are very practical Birkenstocks, but they aren’t their standard styles. If you’re keen on having a closed toe trainer, I would suggest a stream-lined white or grey shoe that won’t look out of place with summer dresses. Personally I love Italian Supergras, I have a silver hightop pair I love.
- One pair of flat sandals
- One pair of small wedge sandals
My excellent camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag
Bags
I am very aware of my belongings, many years of living in a big city like London will do that to you, so I don’t carry money belts or special bags or anything like that. I used to bring too many bags, but I now realize that I will always have my camera bag with me so there’s no point bringing another purse because I won’t use it. This is why I invested in a camera bag that looks like a regular bag, not one of those hyper-technical things. I wrote a whole post when I was researching a stylish-looking camera bag! I do bring my small laptop backpack if I am bringing my computer, as it allows me to keep all the cables and bits with me. If I’m on train, I will stow my suitcase and then I have my laptop there ready to go. If you’re not bringing a camera bag, I suggest a medium-sized cross body bag so you’ve got your hands free. Though do wear it fashionably pulled forward in front to discourage pickpockets.
- Gatta camera bag or cross-body satchel, like my favourite Cambridge Satchel Company bags
- Felt backpack
Cosmetics and toiletries
I keep my cosmetics pretty streamlined in general, so when I travel there’s nothing really different than my usual routine. I do often opt for make-up remover wipes, and throw a bunch of cotton pads in a zip-top bag with my favourite exfoliator squirted all over them. But that’s it!
- Make up (foundation, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, brow pencil)
- Make-up remover wipes like these
- Ziptop bag with cotton pads soaked in Pixi Glow Tonic
- Medicines
Charging infrastructure
This is our family name for all the cables, chargers, and whatnot required to keep everything plugged in and charged while we’re away. Mine is a bit different as I have to bring my CPAP machine with me (a device with a mask I need to wear when I sleep, it’s to deal with sleep apnea), so I bring a surge-protected power bar with built-in USB ports for plugging in my devices. But my husband brings just a plug-in USB charging block, that has the brightest light on it ever, so it functions as a nightlight as well. We’re also adding a couple of universal plug adapters to our infrastructure as well.
Did I miss any of your must-pack items?
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