To Pack: Copenhagen

I found that when it came to packing for 4 months abroad, it seems impossible to fit your whole life in just a few bags. I also couldn’t seem to really find any study abroad packing lists that seemed realistic for me. It has been a few weeks since I’ve left the States and I feel like my packing for Copenhagen was pretty sufficient! I only packed a large suitcase, a carry-on suitcase and my backpack which honestly, is not much room at all. So here it is: a realistic packing list including things I wish I brought, and things I wish I left home.

Clothes

• 4 Pairs of Jeans (dark wash, ripped, black, med wash)
• leggings (as many as you can fit)
• 2/3 Casual sweatshirts/ hoodies
• Denim jacket
• Rain coat
• 4 Sweaters
• 2-3 Cardigans
• 2-3 Tank tops
• 4 Long sleeve
• 2-3 Dresses
• 2 Bras (1 black, 1 tan/ white) & 2 Bralettes
• 1-2 sports bras
• Underwear (as many as you can pack- less is NOT more in this case)
• Socks (boot socks, no show socks, ankle socks, fuzzy socks- pack a variety and also as many as you can)
• 1 pair of joggers or wearable sweatpants
• 4 pajama shirts
• 4 pajama pants (2 shorts & 2 long)
• A winter coat (I wore mine on the plane but I brought my thin down winter coat so it will be easy to pack)

Accessories

• Jewelry (bring only stuff you know you’ll wear)
• A purse (a small cross body bag is what I’ve been using daily)
• Sunglasses
• Scarf
• Gloves
• Hat
• Belt
• Wallet

Shoes

• Casual white sneaker (I brought my Nike AF 1’s)
• Black slip on shoes (I brought my steve madden slip-ons)
• A sport/ athletic sneaker
• Black boots
• Flat/ mule/ dressier shoe
• Moccasins (this might not be an essential for some people- but I wear my slippers around the house 24/7)
• flip flops/ shower shoes

Toiletries

• razor(s) + razor blades (there’s a specific razor I like from home and wasn’t sure if I could buy it in Cope- you could definitely get razors here easily though)
• mousse/ any hair products you use daily (they have hair products here, but if you’re not willing to try new brands bring your favorites from home)
• make-up (if you love make-up like myself, you definitely do not need to bring your whole collection. Bring what you use on a daily basis!)
• brush + comb
• travel shampoo + conditioner bottles (TSA approved)
• makeup wipes
• tooth brush + paste (you could also get this in Copenhagen, but I figured I’d pack some just incase)
• vitamins
• prescriptions (you CANNOT send prescriptions over seas. Make sure to bring everything you need from home and more!)
• tylenol, advil, cold medicine, etc… (if you have any over the counter medicine that you take regularly, bring it! It is so hard to find/ obtain medicine in Denmark)
• perfume
• stick deodorant (they don’t sell it in Copenhagen!)

Technology

• laptop + charger
• iPhone charger
• airpods/ headphones
• polaroid camera + film
• disposable camera

Miscellaneous

• gum
• umbrella
• passport
• DIS documents (they will e-mail you these a few weeks before you leave)
• journal
• pictures from home
• chapstick
• shower cap
• backpack
• notebooks (they do not sell 5-star notebooks here… or any “normal” notebooks here… so if you like a specific kind, I recommend bringing them from home)
• highlighters/ pens from home (like the notebooks they don’t sell the brands you’re used to)
• Outlet convertors (US -> EU)

Things I Wish I Brought

• My hydroflask/ a reusable water bottle (I almost brought mine then didn’t and I’m kicking myself for it! I’ve spent so much money on buying water)
• A bluetooth speaker (something I also was going to bring then didn’t for some reason)
• A leather jacket- a lot of the Danes wear these out. This isn’t something that is essential, but you’ll fit in with the Danes if you have one.
• A pair of converse/ vans (I definitely could of brought more shoes with me)
• A robe
• My electric toothbrush
• A pillow- this might be unrealistic but DIS provides European pillows, which are square and not rectangular. It’s sufficient enough, but I miss my “American” pillow
• Another pair of jeans

Things I Wish I Left Home

• A rain coat- it’s been 2/3 weeks since I’ve gotten here and I wore my rain coat once. It’s nice to have I guess, but it doesn’t seem to downpour here often. An umbrella is enough
• Hat, gloves, scarf- it isn’t warm here, but it is definitely not as cold as I thought it’d be. In Syracuse, it’s constantly snowing and below freezing and I thought Copenhagen would be like that for some reason too? Well, it’s not.
• My “big purse”- I love my purse, but when traveling it’s not the most convenient thing to tote around

So far, I feel like my packing job was pretty good! Although I do miss some of the things I left behind (and American brand notebooks), you will ultimately find what you need even if it takes some extra searching. I am going to keep updating this list throughout the semester as I think of more things/ find more things unnecessary. It may seem impossible at first to fit your life in just a few bags- but I promise you that you CAN do it! Living like a minimalist has actually been quite refreshing!

If you have any questions, as always, feel free to leave a question or a comment below! Thank you so much for reading!

Xoxo,

Julia