What to Pack: Germany + The Alps Edition

The Hills are Aliiiiiiiiive…. with the Sound of Muuuuuusic! ** AaAaAaaAhhhh**

You’ve always dreamed of Do-Re-Meing your way through the streets of Salzburg, of wetting your whistle with a beer stein and a pretzel in Munich, and of admiring the picturesque spires of Old World Prague…But how does one pack adequately for such an experience (you may be asking yourself??)

Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered!!

Since we are heading there ourselves this very October, I’m going to focus this packing list on fall travel in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The weather is all fairly predictable, although there can definitely be pop ups of rain, with mild cooler temps in and around the mid 50s in the heat of the day to mid 40s in the evening.

When tackling a large task like packing, remember to pack light. Bring along layers versus large bulkier outerwear. Also keep in mind that you’ll be hauling your luggage all over the place, not just on the plane, so keep it simple!

My suggestion is always to condense your necessary items into a carry-on size bag if possible. This lowers the risk of your bag getting lost or delayed. You will just want to make sure the bag meets the dimension requirements for the airline you’re traveling with.

If you are traveling with us, you can read up on Delta’s dimension requirements here.

Here is a list of essential items you won’t want to forget to pack.

Travel Aids

·         Chewing gum

·         Meds for motion sickness and sleep

·         Travel Pillow

·         (The airplane will likely supply earplugs, headphones, and a sleep mask so you can leave those at home unless you are partial to your own).

Clothing and Accessories

·         Comfortable walking shoes

·         Shirts (short and long sleeved) Think layers!

·         Socks and underwear/bras

·         Watch

·         Jewelry

·         Pants/jeans

·         Pajamas

·         Glasses/contacts

·         Sunglasses

·         Belts

·         Dressier outfit

·         Raincoat and/or umbrella 

·         Jackets/Gloves/Scarves

·         Collapsible tote/duffel bag for dirty clothes, souvenirs (if only using a carry-on)

·         Luggage tags

·         Journal (if planning to document your trip)

·         Backpack or daybag

Toiletries

·         Toothbrush

·         Toothpaste

·         Floss

·         Mouthwash

·         Shampoo/conditioner

·         Soap

·         Deodorant

·         Hairbrush/comb

·         Hand sanitizer

·         Straightener/curling iron (If you have wattage converter- Germany and the Czech Republic use 230 Voltz, Austria 220V)

·         Hair styling products

·         Hair accessories

·         Cleanser

·         Moisturizer

·         Shaving Cream

·         Razor

·         Perfume/Cologne

·         Makeup

·         Makeup Remover

·         Feminine Hygiene Products (if applicable)

·         Nail clippers

·         Nail File

·         Hand wipes

·         Tweezers

·         Cotton swabs

·         Tissues

·         Lint Roller

·         First Aid Kit/Band Aids

·         Lip Balm

·         Washcloths (not standard in European hotels)

·         Any medications (in addition to a copy of any prescription)

·         Spare set of contact lenses/glasses (if applicable)

·         Saline Solution (if applicable)

Money

·         ATM card (Call your bank prior to departure to alert them of the trip; foreign purchases sometimes result in a hold on bank accounts.)

·         Personal credit card (also make sure to notify lender of your travel plans)

·         At least $50 converted to the currency of the first country that you’re visiting (Germany and Austria are on the Euro, while the Czech Republic is not. Their currency is the Czech Koruna. Make sure you take out currency for both types before departure).

·         Pouch for storing money and passport under clothing

Electronics/Technology

·         An alarm clock (Many hotel rooms won't have one.)

·         An adaptor/converter (While each country uses a variety of plug types, they all share the F type. More info here.)

·         Camera with extra batteries or charger

·         Cell phone and charger (external chargers are worth the investment too!)   

Documents

·         Passport—(Remember to leave one copy of it at home and bring a couple more copies on tour, in case your passport gets lost.)

·         Emergency contact information

·         A copy of your medical insurance card (and trip insurance if you’ve purchased it)

·         A copy of the tour itinerary

·         A list of important phone numbers 

·         Addresses to send postcards home

·         Copy of any prescriptions (Customs officials may want to verify that a container's contents match its label, so all medication should be carried in its original container.)

·         List of medications/prescriptions

Carry-on bag

Here’s a short list of things travelers might need on the first day of the trip. These should be packed in your carry-on in case your checked luggage is delayed:

·         Passport

·         Money

·         Money Belt

·         Airline boarding pass

·         Toothbrush and toothpaste (Check tsa.gov for current security requirements.)

·         Hairbrush

·         Contact lens case/glasses (to sleep comfortably on the plane)

·         A change of clothes (in case luggage is delayed)

·         Medication

·         Any valuables

Hopefully this helps ease the burden of knowing exactly what to pack. You know yourself and what you need so if you see something on the list you know you just won't need, skip it! Now that you're done packing, let's get back to our countdown! Here’s the itinerary once more so you can get pumped for our European extravaganza!! Germany, Austria + The Czech Republic.

So long

Farewell

Auf Wiedersehen

Goodbye!

My First Trip Abroad

I don’t know if it was the awe and wonder of my first time in Europe, or if Prague truly is an untouched gem, but it was an amazing city to have my first European experience in. The grandeur of the gothic spires that shot up along the skyline was overwhelming. I’d never seen the old world intermingled with new life before. Walking along the Charles Bridge and admiring local artists hard at work and weaving in and out of street vendor’s shops was something out of a fairy tale. I remember buying a hand-carved, wooden 3-way chess set from a man who greeted me in Japanese, and some Bohemian crystal in a shop I remember thinking I was too underdressed to be shopping in. The garnet and amber jewelry shops along the streets lured me in with their walls of red and gold glistening in the morning light. I climbed up to Prague Castle and looked out on the city below—finding it difficult to wrap my head around how vast and dramatic the landscape was compared to anything I’d ever seen before. I remember seeing a suit of armor on display in a torture museum and being blown away at how barbaric and harsh the world once was. I visited a university that ran an exchange teacher program. For the first time in my life I saw the possibility of living abroad--I saw life through a completely different lens than anything else I’d ever known. I took a “lift” instead of an elevator, I slept in down feather beds and ate foods whose names I couldn’t even pronounce. I saw a procession of Apostles parading themselves through an opening in a magnificent astronomical clock that was over 600 years old. The mere concept of a clock being so much older than my country was mind-blowing. I saw soldiers in uniform walking proudly amongst the streets. I saw a city untouched by the bombing of World War II, yet still impacted by its devastating effects. I saw resilience, and grit, and genuine kindness in the Czechs. I was truly sad to leave this city when it was time to move on.

From Prague I headed to Hungary. My stay in Budapest was very brief, but it lasted long enough for me to know I needed to return. The food, the aromas and the bustle of the city was invigorating. I spent three hours eating dinner—sharing stories, breaking bread and laughing with my new Hungarian friends. I saw extreme poverty—gypsies—discrimination and hardship—but also a lot of love and laughter.

I remember as I crossed the border from Hungary to Austria noting how interestingly and dramatically the landscape changed almost instantly. In both the Czech Republic and Hungary there had been fields of yellow wildflowers as far as the eye could see. In Austria I remember poppies--rows and rows of poppies--So red and vibrant that they almost didn’t seem real. Suddenly the rolling foothills transformed to enormous mountains that jutted into the heavens with beautiful blue green lakes nestled in between. There was something so quaint about it. I spent some of my time in a girl’s dormitory where I got to meet Austrian students that were my own age. How could it be that we lived worlds apart, yet had so much in common? It had only been just the year before when my English teacher had asked us to create a bucket list. “Write down things that may seem impossible, but that would make your heart soar,” she had said. The first item had been simple—“visit the set of The Sound of Music.” The film came alive as I walked through Mirabell Garden--recounting hours of singing Do-Re-Mi in my living room. I could envision the children clad in drapes hanging from the trees as I walked up to the palatial and intimidating home Maria would spend the next few years of her life—a moment I knew as if it was a scene from my own blurred childhood memories. I explored the Gazebo that Leisl escaped to in the night to be with Rolf as she rationalized life in a way only a sixteen-going-on-seventeen-year-old can. Checking something off my bucket list for the first time was indescribable—addictive, even. I just wanted to devour more experiences like this. We toured Salzburg, went into the depths of the Earth in a salt mine, and to the top of the world (it seemed) as we took a steam train up into the Alps, the very one the Von Trapp children had ridden on a day out with their new, fun governess. We saw Mozart’s home and stood in awe of instruments he himself practiced on. It was unreal to see all these things I had only ever read about coming to life. Suddenly I felt so small. My scope of reality was so microscopic compared to the vast infiniteness of humanity and my tiny, but somehow important role in it. I remember running my fingers over small one and two Euro coins---thinking how innovative and colorful European money was compared to dollars. For the first time I had to pay to use the bathroom. I remember thinking that the whole idea was unheard of and completely uncivilized, until I realized how much cleaner and nicer every bathroom in Austria had been compared to everywhere else, almost as if people appreciate things more when they’ve had to contribute to its upkeep. I started to change. I saw how I was starting to appreciate things—things that had never occurred to me before—like how effortlessly foreign speakers in my home country got by when I struggled so much here—sure, not everything they said was flawless, but I found myself overwhelmed with the graciousness the Czech, Hungarian and Austrian people had with my stammering, unapologetic lack of language. I thought about times where I hadn’t been so gracious and I suddenly became painfully aware of my inadequacies in past experiences. I vowed to change that.

There’s something so invigorating about travel. It unlocks things inside of you that you didn’t even know to look for. It can break your heart, it can make you sentimental, and it can rock your world view. I know for me personally, it has been one of the most transformative powers in my life and I am so grateful for each experience to view life through a different perspective.