What to pack for Berlin in December

Lows around 34°F. Goes under the shell when the wind picks up.

Wear one, dry one. Cotton stays wet all week here.

The layer you'll wear more than any other.

Lows reach 34°F and wind gusts to 19 km/h, so a hat covers the head heat loss that matters most.

Five degrees below freezing with wind chill makes bare fingers go numb within minutes.

Check ankles and, if there's a dog, paws and ears every night.

Twelve rain days mean slips on wet pavement and minor cuts happen in a city.

This country runs on Type C or F. Get one with USB-C so you're not fighting over the single outlet.

Seven hours of daylight means you'll use your phone's light and drain the battery fast.

Set it up before you land. Signal drops for long stretches outside cities.

Dark by 4:50pm. Every campsite chore after that is a two-hands job.

Daily museum visits and market browsing mean you need a pack that fits airline overhead bins.

Museums and markets stay open in daylight hours, so a small pack works for daily walks.

Fits the overhead on every airline that matters. Skip the checked-bag line entirely.

For the passport, the chargers, and the one dry pair of socks.

For the mornings and the nights.

Neck skin is thin and exposed; the gap between hat and coat collar is where cold wins.

Wet feet in 34°F air turn a day into a misery you can't recover from.

Tap water is safe here, so a bottle saves money and plastic waste.

One brick charges the laptop, phone, and camera.

Hotel and cafe wifi is shared with everyone else in the building. A VPN keeps your banking and email to yourself.

International travel to a major city puts your cards and documents at higher risk.

Crowded Christmas markets and transit stations make bags easy targets for theft.

Twelve days of layering clothes for cold means your bag becomes a jumbled mess fast.

Lows around 34°F. One blanket that packs small covers the car, the campsite and the beach at sunset.

High humidity at 88% traps moisture and bacteria on your hands throughout the day.

One outlet in a room charges nothing, so cables that reach from wall to bed matter.

A few phrases go a long way. Ten minutes a day before you leave is plenty.

Border checks and hotel registration require your passport; keep it separate from your wallet.

Shared hostels and checked luggage on international flights need locks that actually work.

Humidity at 88 percent causes mildew in damp toiletries, so hanging storage keeps them away from your clothes.