Pack-Up · the list · the realities Nine days · six stops · one bag

Nine days,one bag.

Everything the trip actually asks you to bring, sorted by the thing that asks for it — the clubs, the Ring, the Wiesn, the car. Tap an item to tick it. Then the realities that bite if you forget them: the 3-litre Wiesn bag limit that gets people turned away at the gate, and the legal kit a German rental has to be carrying before you drive it off the lot.

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/ Checklist

The Pack List.

Eight groups — swipe the stack, tap to tick.
01 · Papers

Documents & money

Half of this is cash. Germany still runs on it.

  • Passport — valid 6 months past 20 Sep
  • Schengen visa — non-EU/US/UK passports only
  • Driver's licence — the IDP is worthless without it
  • International Driving Permit — AAA, $20, in person. Drivers only
  • Credit cards, no FX fee — travel-noticed before you fly
  • Debit card for ATM cash
  • €200–300 cash — Pistenklause, the brauhäuser and the Wiesn queues take nothing else
  • Travel insurance card + policy number
  • Printed backup itinerary + hotel confirmations
  • Passport photo on your phone and on paper
  • Sixt reference — Audi A6 Estate, Stresemannstr. 364
0 / 11 packed
02 · Tech

Power & signal

There is no outlet at Brünnchen, and none in a Wiesn tent.

  • Type F (Schuko) adapters ×2 — Germany is 230V
  • USB-C charger, 65W, multi-port
  • Power bank, 10,000 mAh+ — the Ring and the Wiesn are all-day, off-grid
  • Cables: USB-C, Lightning, one spare
  • eSIM activated before you fly — Airalo, ~€15 for 10 days
  • Offline maps: Berlin · Hamburg · Eifel · Moselle · München
  • Car phone mount + 12V charger — three days of driving
  • Camera + spare battery + SD card
  • Headphones
  • AirTag in the checked bag
0 / 10 packed
03 · Clothing

The everyday

September in the Eifel is not September at home.

  • Layered jacket — the Eifel drops to ~8°C overnight
  • Rain shell — Eifel and Moselle, both wet
  • Fleece or midlayer
  • Jeans / trousers ×3
  • T-shirts / base layers ×5
  • Underwear + socks ×9
  • Comfortable walking shoes — Berlin loop, Hamburg, Dachau, the Wiesn
  • Light scarf
  • Something decent for Pistenklause + the winery dinner
  • Sunglasses — the autobahn runs south into the sun
0 / 10 packed
04 · The big nights

Berghain & the Kiez

Sat 12 Berlin · Mon 14 Reeperbahn.

  • One all-black fit — plain, no logos, no sportswear
  • Berghain: dress down, look bored, say little. Phone cameras get taped over at the door
  • Shoes you can stand in for six hours
  • Earplugs — you will want them by 03:00
  • Cash for the door and the bar
  • No big bag — the cloakroom queue is the enemy
  • Nothing you would mind losing
0 / 7 packed
05 · Ring day · Wed 16

Standing in a forest

Spectating, not driving. Hours outdoors, no shelter.

  • Warm layers — you are stationary in Eifel forest for hours
  • Waterproof boots — the Brünnchen bank is grass and mud
  • Rain jacket
  • Binoculars — you are watching prototypes across a valley
  • Snacks and water — there is nothing at the viewing banks
  • Do not wave a camera. The Industry Pool bans photography
  • Cash for Pistenklause — cash only
0 / 7 packed
06 · Wiesn · Sat 19

The 3-litre rule

Measured at the gate. There are no exceptions.

  • Bag under 3 litres — max 20 × 15 × 10 cm. Security measures it at every entrance and turns you away
  • Anything bigger goes to luggage storage at the P1 / P5 / P8 / P10 entrances — €5
  • The crew's real bags go to Hbf Schließfächer or Bounce that morning
  • Closed-toe shoes — the tent floors are wet and there is glass
  • Lederhosen / Dirndl — Bavarian Outfitters, pick up the Friday before
  • Cash — a Maß is €15+ and the queues do not take cards
  • No glass bottles. No large camera bag
0 / 7 packed
07 · Health

The aftermath

Two very big Saturdays, eight days apart.

  • Earplugs — clubs, tents, and whoever snores
  • Eye mask
  • Ibuprofen / paracetamol
  • Electrolyte tabs — Berlin Saturday and Wiesn Saturday both need them
  • Antacids
  • Blister plasters — this trip walks a long way
  • Hand sanitiser + tissues — plenty of WCs charge €0.50
  • Reusable water bottle
  • Snacks for the car days
  • Laundry bag
0 / 10 packed
08 · At the Sixt counter

The legal kit

German law, not Sixt policy. Check before you drive off.

  • Warnweste — hi-vis vest. One per car is the law; bring one per seat. It must be in the cabin, not the boot
  • Warndreieck — warning triangle. Check it is actually there and it opens
  • Verbandkasten — first-aid kit, DIN 13164, in date. The 2022 standard adds two face masks
  • Umweltplakette — the green sticker on the windscreen. Without it you cannot legally enter the low-emission zones in Berlin, Köln or München
  • Automatic, not manual — German rentals default to stick. Confirm at the counter
  • Photograph the car all round before you leave the lot
0 / 6 packed
/ Risk

The Realities.

What bites if you forget it — swipe the stack.
Risk 01 · Wiesn

The 3-litre gate

Bags over 3 litres — bigger than 20 × 15 × 10 cm — are refused at every Theresienwiese entrance, and security measures them. A normal day pack does not get in. Luggage storage at P1/P5/P8/P10 is €5.

Sat 19 Sep
Risk 02 · Driving

The legal kit

Every German car must carry a warning triangle, an in-date first-aid kit and a hi-vis vest, and the low-emission zones need the green Umweltplakette. Rentals normally have all of it — but it is the driver who gets fined, so check the actual car.

Tue 15 Sep · Sixt
Risk 03 · The Ring

I-Pool etiquette

Wednesday is an Industry Pool day, not a spectator event. The manufacturers own the track 09:00–18:00 and photography is officially not permitted. The viewing banks are informal. Watch; don't wave a camera at a camouflaged prototype.

Wed 16 Sep
Risk 04 · Money

Cash-only Germany

Pistenklause, most brauhäuser and every Wiesn beer queue take cash and nothing else. Hold €200 minimum, per person. Many public WCs want €0.50 in coins.

All trip
Risk 05 · Documents

The IDP

Every rental counter wants the International Driving Permit alongside the licence. $20 from AAA, in person, and it cannot be done from Germany. Drivers only — but if the named driver forgets it, the car does not move.

Before you fly
Risk 06 · Weather

Eifel cold

September in the Eifel hits 8°C overnight and it rains. Wednesday you are standing still in forest for hours. This is the one day the layers actually matter.

Wed 16 Sep
Risk 07 · Rental

Manual by default

German rentals are stick unless automatic is specified at booking. Both wagons are booked — pickups Tue 15 Sep at Stresemannstr. 364 (08:30) and Hamburg City Centre (09:00), both back at Munich Hbf Thu 17 at 21:00.

Tue 15 Sep
Risk 08 · Rental

One-way drop fee

Hamburg → München one-way runs €350–650 depending on category, on each of the two estate wagons. It is not a surprise if you read it now.

Tue → Thu
Risk 09 · Beds

Wiesn surge

Munich hotels run 2–3× on opening weekend and the trains cap out on the Saturday. Munich is booked. Köln is booked — KONCEPT, Altstadt-Süd — so every bed on the trip is locked.

Köln · Tue 15
Risk 10 · The drive

Tuesday is 600 km

Hamburg 08:30, Autostadt 11:30–15:00, Köln around 19:00. Six hours behind the wheel with a museum in the middle. Rotate the sober DD in each wagon and take a real rest stop — this is the longest driving day of the trip.

Tue 15 Sep