HOW TO PACK FOR WINTER IN EUROPE?Tips from a Swiss local expat! 🇨🇭

Hi guys, welcome back to the channel and in today's video I will be sharing my top tips for packing for a winter holiday to Switzerland Packing for a holiday is already a very difficult chore But to pack for a winter holiday is even more stressful in my opinion because there's just so many things to pack We have our chunky boots, heavy knit sweaters, our scarves, our hats and by just putting a down coat inside your luggage It already takes up so much space That's why in this video I will be sharing some of my tips on how I pack or what are the top essential items for a winter holiday so that you stay dry and comfortable and also fashionable for your vacation Before I actually get ready with all my packing list The first thing that I would do is first understand and decide on what are the activities that I will be doing during my holiday For example, are you going for skiing or doing snowboarding or are you going for a hike? Are you spending most of your time in the city because that way you know What exactly are the activities that you'll be doing during your holiday and you can pack accordingly so you don't over pack Or under pack also check the weather of the destination that you're going to So a great way that I always go is just to check on the weather app on my iphone or another way is I will go to the local weather website And this one I feel personally that it gives a more accurate local weather forecast If you're intending to go up to the mountains for an excursion, say you're going to Jungfraujoch or you're going to winter walk for example It's great to first check the weather camera on the website because it gives you live footage of how The weather is like at the top of the mountains whether it's cloudy rainy or sunny and that way you are able to pack And dress according to the temperature up there last general tip I have is to always wear your bulkiest item when you're boarding the plane So for instance like this very chunky sweater I have obviously i'm not going to pack this into the luggage because it's going to take up A lot of space same thing goes for my boots instead I will always wear this on when I go on my flight and this will help to save space in your luggage The first thing I will pack in is my thermals so these are the ones that I have from Uniqlo They are so so good and affordable and yet of high quality And it really makes a whole lot of difference to keep you warm during winter So this is the heattech ultra warm leggings and this one is the regular like the the crew neck t-shirt It's very soft and it's very lightweight, but it really helps to trap Your internal body heat and I always bring about two to three pairs of this and I just lay it underneath my sweater Next up what I will pack are my long sleeve sweaters So the tip I have for you is to try to pick colors that are neutral like cream gray brown or black So I know that it's very tempting You know to choose an outfit that is very bright or very with a lot of patterns like this one Maybe you can just bring like one of this like for festive occasions But no more than one and just try to stick to neutral ones So this is the one from Uniqlo and this one is like a wool sweater I find that this just helps you to make it easier to to mix and match With your other outfits and it just gives you more mileage for it for your outfits assuming you're going to switzerland for 10 days I will pack about four to five Sweaters or cardigans. I find that this is normally sufficient because it's winter You're not gonna sweat and your your clothes are not gonna get like stinky anyway So you can wear re-wear them and maybe just air dry them in your hotel After you come back and if you happen to stay in an apartment where there is a washing machine That's even better another great item to pack in your luggage would be a fleece jacket I find that this is incredibly useful for a few reasons first It's super soft and it's wrinkle free and you can just always just easily toss it into your day bag and most importantly because They are so it's like additional cloth material for you to pack your more fragile items Say you're gonna buy wine and you need something to wrap around your fragile items So this would be a good one And also there's always bound to be that one person in your in your group where who forgot to pack well Or forgot their jacket and then this would be a great item to lend to them during emergency So yeah, definitely get a fleece jacket very important item on the list would be a good quality down jacket This is the one I got back in singapore At Uniqlo when it was on sale. It was such a good deal was less than 150 dollars I think and it has served me well for more than three years already And I liked it because it's waterproof and it also a windproof So when it gets really really cold and there's strong winds in the mountains I'm still warm and toasty in my winter jacket If you want to avoid standing out like a sore thumb or looking like a tourist try not to go for colors that are bright For your winter jackets like I don't know red pink yellow They're just very uncommon in switzerland. I think the locals here tend to go for Neutral colors again like black gray blue. So these are the safer colors to go for For your winter jackets and also it just makes it easier again to mix and match If you have reached this part of the video and you found my information here helpful Do support the channel by giving this video a thumbs up and also the click on the subscribe button It will really help out my channel a lot and I will appreciate it so much Let's get back into the video next up on the list are pants So I usually pack no more than three pair of pants for my trip So the first one I have is a regular pair of denims this is the one that I got from H&M usually I get it in the lighter denim color because I feel that it's easier to match and it's also it helps to give my outfit a more casual look Then the next one I have would be a pair of black leather Pants because this one I will usually keep it for night time when you want to have a more formal chic look Then this one would be really handy However, if you are going for snow activities like sledding skiing or snowboarding Those pair of pants are not going to work for you. You will need this set of ski pants This is the one that I got from decathlon It's not expensive at all But this is better for snow activities because they are waterproof and they also have like an internal Additional layer so that it helps to trap heat and keep you warm So definitely consider getting a good pair of ski pants if you're doing winter sports Next up we have footwear and a very common mistake that I see tourists making when they come to switzerland is that They wear sports shoes and they go up the mountains. I'm like, no you can't do that I mean in the case that you're just in the cities, you're not just walking about yes, it's possible You can you should still bring one good pair of sneakers or sports shoes But when you're considering going up the mountains I really don't recommend that because first when you're walking through snow The boots the shoes just don't have enough grip and you may fall and especially if you're going to places like ice palace For example the floor are very slippery and you really may fall so you really need a good quality pair of boots and for that I have my timberland boots here Actually, they are not really snow boots They're just regular hiking boots, but I double up and wear them during winter as well And as you can see, they have very good sole. So it really gives me Support when i'm walking through snow and some of you might find that okay I'm only wearing boots very very rarely, especially if you come from singapore where wearing boots is just not a normal thing to do but my general advice is that you should try to invest in a good pair of boots because In the event that you go for future trips It will already come in handy and they can also double up as your hiking boots as well Another type of boots that I have here is like this kind of like regular black boots This one I would wear it more when i'm in the city and i'm just walking about because these are easy to match With the rest of my outfit. Actually, I find that this is a bit dressy You can also get those chunky ones that are a bit bulkier You could also get that but this one is just a staple that I wear almost every day Some people may ask if it's more practical and if it's less expensive to get boots directly when you come to switzerland The answer is yes, you can do so I don't think though there is a major price difference as compared to if you were to get it from singapore It's probably just the case that you may have a wider option And if you're trying to look for Places where they sell boots a good outlet would be this brand called tozen bug It is like a multi-brand Shop where they have all different types of sports brand there and then you can easily find boots And especially if you're buying for kids for children because anyway, they outgrow their shoe sizes very quickly So you don't want to buy something that's too expensive for boots for kids And tozen bug is a good place to go just to buy boots for kids Next up on the list we have long wooly socks Try to get the ones that are longer that cover up to your shins and definitely Don't get the ones that are like regular ankle socks that you wear in singapore They are not going to help with insulation and they are always gonna get wet in the snow So yeah, go for longer socks Always a good idea to just pack along with you a pair of flip-flops doesn't have to be a very bulky one Just a simple cheap pair Sometimes in the hotels they might provide you with a pair of slippers and I find that it's nice to just have something To protect against the floor. It can be quite cold during winter But if in the case that your hotel doesn't provide you with that Then it's a good idea to just bring along one during your trip And also if you were to go for swimming or going to the thermal baths, this will definitely come in handy Next up we have accessories and starting off we have hats I think these are so important to make sure that your head is well covered during winter And there are two types of hats that I like to go for the first one is like this sort of like french beret it's actually more for fashion than for practicality, but I just like that it gives a Like a nice french twist to my outfit So this is just for fashion and then when it really comes to like the weather getting super cold I like to get this sort of beanies because they help to cover the ears like this Yeah, so just make sure that your ears are well covered because it can get really really painful for the ears when they're not When they're exposed to the elements So make sure you get a good beanie. Next up on the list very important is your scarves I think this is a lot of people miss out on how important it is to keep your neck warm during winter And for me scarves I have so many of them because I find that they are A great way for me to just add color to my outfit. This is the one I got For christmas from my sister-in-law It's really festive like it's green and red and it really just adds a nice touch of christmas out to my outfit and then I also have this one which is um from india is from my friend and I love the All the different colors and the embellishments on it a very important item, which is your pair of gloves I made this huge mistake once when I went up to And I completely forgot about my gloves and I almost died because my hands was literally getting frostbite It was so cold and my hands were all cracked and dry. It was very painful So from then onwards, I never forgot to bring a pair of gloves whenever I go out It's good to find those that are touchscreen That way you don't have to take on and off your gloves when you're typing on the phone or when you're searching For directions on your phone and if you are going for snow activities say for skiing or snowboarding You have to get a different set of gloves, which is this kind of larger kinds Which is waterproof and it's also thicker because your regular kind like your leather ones wouldn't work You need this waterproof ones and just to take note that when you go for ski lessons While you can rent the equipment from the ski school say the ski poles, etc. But for this sort of gloves From my experience. I have not rented gloves from the ski schools before they probably have it, but it's more expensive So it's just best to get your own before you come so that it's all based on your own size. Next up We have sunglasses. This is very important during winter because the sun will be shining directly on your face Especially if you're high up in the alps and you want to protect your eyes against the glaring sun If you're going for skiing then you need something different You need ski goggles because with your ordinary sunglasses chances are they're going to fly out So you need this sort where there's this strap behind that you attach to. I'm not gonna wear it because it's gonna screw up my face It's like this. So you should get this if you're going for snow activities Next up on the list is microfiber towels or quick dry towels. These are so so convenient and so helpful when it comes During winter when you kind of get wet or from the rain from the snow and you just want to dry up yourself This is so handy You just put it into your day pack and it doesn't take up much much space at all and it also dries out really fast So really convenient Apart from your regular toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoos, which you're definitely going to bring There's just a few items that I think are really essential but may be forgotten by people. The first up would be hand cream It's so common during winter for your hands to be dry and cracking and I find that having Just a small bottle of hand cream would really help to keep your hands moisturized that way it stays hydrated Second item that I would recommend is Just a small lip balm. The one that I use is from Burt's Bees and also another one from Nukes It's very common in winter to have dry cracking lips and it also gets very painful So just have one a small one along with you in your bag So when you feel that your lips are dry, you can just get them have a little gloss over it I think important would be your hydrating masks for your face I always have at least three to five of this facial sheet mask with myself so that on flights I can just put it on And after a long day at a hotel if I still have the energy I would use like this Origins hydrating mask because I can just leave it overnight. I don't have to wash my face So this is really handy during winter. For hair care, I think it's super important to bring Like hair oil Not the big bottle. I don't have it with me right now But it's still small pew form of hair oil that you can just break apart and then you apply it on your hair I don't think a lot of people know about this but the water in switzerland is very hard I think you will definitely tell the difference once you get out of shower And you compare your hair back in singapore and in switzerland, you will find that it's very very dry here And yeah, it's just very difficult to brush So just having like small hair oil to just apply on your hair after you get up from the shower It just helps you to be able to comb your hair more easily It's always so important to have a few Spare pieces of ziploc bags. I think these are so helpful when you have like smelly wet socks or just wet pieces of clothing And you know those silicone gel that you have When you buy stuff or electronics or food and then you know those small pack of silicone gel Don't throw them away keep them and when you have like a smelly sock or a wet sock Just put it inside your ziploc bag and seal it with the silicone gel and in After a day, it will all soak up all the moisture in it and then your clothing would be dry So that's a great great Tip that I found out when I was packing for winter A great way also to save space in your luggage is to pack your bulky items inside this sort of vacuum bags You don't even really need a vacuum to Suck up all the air. In fact, you can just sit on the back after you have packed in all your clothes And then the air will slowly squeeze out But this really really helps to save space in your luggage from like a size like this It can just compress and squeeze out all the air and it saves so much space in your luggage Next great item to pack for winter would be this thermo flask This is great when you're out in the mountains and it's cold and you can still have your beverages or your drinks hot Because it keeps the temperature inside warm and there's no need to get bottled water in Switzerland. You can just refill water everywhere In the fountains along the streams and they're fresh mountain water. So why not? And that's the end of today's video I hope you found this tips for packing helpful Let me know in the comments down below if you have any other ideas or suggestions on what to pack for a holiday in winter And also let me know too if you have other topics that you would like me to cover in my upcoming videos If you would like a copy of my winter packing checklist then remember to click on the link down below You will be able to receive this copy in pdf right away in your inbox Thanks a lot, and I will see you in my next video. Bye