Plucky Survivors See Europe: Weathering the Weather

Dramatic news from across the pond this morning as a heat wave has settled into most of Western Europe.  London broke temperature records this week, hitting an all-time high for May of 95 degrees, beating the previous record set the day before of 94.6 degrees.  The annual average for May is usually 63 degrees for a high.  France has been similarly sweating, and southern Spain is expected to get up to 104 this week.

I’m starting in Berlin, which is not as affected right now, and the extended forecast is showing low to mid 70s during the days and high 50s at night.  I’d prefer it to be a few degrees warmer than that.  The older I get the more I become my mother, who was always convinced she was sitting under an air conditioning vent even when there wasn’t one around.  To me, anything under 80 degrees is sweater weather.

I’m going to be traveling in the northern-ish parts of Europe (Berlin, Amsterdam, and London) all the way down to the southern parts (Rome, Gibraltar, Lisbon).  Looking at the annual averages shows that the typical temps will range from the 70s to the 90s, but those are just averages that don’t mean anything – ask anyone in London right now.

So, how does one pack for that?  Most of the clothes I’m taking are for warmer weather – casual lightweight short-sleeve shirts, light pants, shorts, and the like.  But I’m also going to be bringing some slightly heavier long-sleeved knit shirts and a couple of jackets.

I’m also bringing some nicer stuff for the nights out – a couple of dressier shirts and a jacket that should suffice at the dinner shows I’m seeing that expect you to look somewhat fancier.

What I’m going to try to do when I get down to the actual packing is remember that I’m not traveling to some untamed wilderness that will force me to fashion a pair of pants out of palm fronds and reeds.  If I need something I don’t have, like a heavier coat for some unexpected ice age, I can just buy it.

Part of me wants to get an entirely new wardrobe every week so I don’t have to do laundry but that might be overkill.

I’m choosing to believe that it will not rain while I’m in Europe, but I’ve got a compact travel umbrella and non-canvas shoes standing by just in case.

Of course, you all know that I seem to attract bad weather so don’t be surprised if you see news of a hurricane hitting Italy this summer.

80 degrees with a light breeze every single day for 10 weeks.  That’s not asking too much, is it?