What am I forgetting?

An English/German Dictionary. A reason for leaving.

Wanna trade places? I’m going to Cali in a few days for winter break but I’d rather be in Germany than home in California.

Electric converter. Pillow. Never leave home without your comfy pillow. Have fun!

some good American toilet paper.

An actual camera not in a cellphone, an electronic translator, DVDs fot the laptop for that long flight, find someone to feed the fish.

Photocopies of all your important documents.

And our wishes for a great trip!

Maybe some benadryl or a sleeping pill to help you relax on your flight. Copies of your passport and other documents to be left in the U.S. with a responsible person, should you lose them. Take a photo of your phone number with your camera and/or cell phone (and leave it on there) just in case those items become separated from you, whoever finds them can look at that photo and call you. Ear plugs just in case there is a crying baby on your flight. Some snacks for your purse. Your phone number taped inside all of your bags, just in case those items become separated from you.

Have fun and enjoy Christmas in Germany : )

The chicken !

You may find Germany is warmer than you think; not weather-wise, but people-wise. Be open to new experiences and new friends. Take along your own Southern California Gemutlichkeit and a smile!

A tolerance for alcohol. Their mugs are about the size of most pitchers in the US. They have some great beer and wine, so you should be prepared to sample some.

Did you tell your credit card company that there would be European charges?
Did you get some euros from your bank?
Do you have a spare pair of glasses and/or your prescription information?

Have a wonderful time. Please come back here and tell us that you did. Fröhliche Weihnachten.

Xanax. I never get on a plane without it. It is the only time I take any mind altering substances.

Chargers for everything electrical you are taking and one of those things (the name of which is eluding me at the moment) that takes electricity from 220 down to the 110 American appliances use.

My lappy doesn’t have enough battery power for extended flights so I load movies onto my iPod and watch on there. Use the laptop for computer stuff.

And everything @Jeruba says, especially about the call your credit card company.

(I see you are taking running gear, are you all better again??? I love to run in new places. Do you have a hand held gps, I like to have that when running in strange surroundings.)

And I want to second what @Likeradar said. When I was in Europe one of my traveling buddies lost their Passport. We went to the American Embassy and it was much easier to get it replaced with a photocopy. Look into a moneybelt. Mine looked like a normal belt but I was able to store photocopies of my documents and 1K in travelers checks in it. This came in handy since my Debit card stopped working in Italy and it took a few days to get it fixed.

And don’t lug around unnecessary crap. You can buy stuff to shave and shampoo there.

Travelers checks?? Does anybody use those things anymore??

To be optimistic!

Don’t forget Basil Fawlty’s funny Hitler walk. Sure to go down a treat :¬)

Debit card to use to get money from ATMs. Bank of America has an agreement with one bank in each European country that it will not charge fees for ATM withdrawal. Worth looking into.

Definitely photocopies of your important documents. I was pickpocketed many times my last Europe trip. I also bought myself bank gift cards which I left where I was staying. They were very useful while I was waiting for my new bank card to be fedexed over.

When I travel abroad, I like to take one, balance-free, high-limited credit card with my photo on it for emergency spending.

A backpack might come in handy. I would also recommend a belt pouch for storing passport ,credit card and cash. Germany is probably not as bad as some other countries, but it doesn’t hurt to take precautions.

Thanks guys. I am mostly drunk in JFK airport. Wheeeee…

Oh, and very important: don’t forget to board your plane.

Your student ID perhaps? You’ll get great discounts for all the great museums. My brother lives in Berlin.

You’ll love it. Even in winter.