Looking at Carter's gorgeous travel capsule and reading the thoughtful advice on her thread has been very helpful in trying to finalize my capsule for Germany. I am leaving soon, and the temps are expected to be 48-55 low, 65-75 high. I am aiming for semi-minimalist packing - on the one hand, I am traveling around by train so don't want heavy luggage, on the other hand, I am not planning to do laundry and would prefer not to re-wear tops. I am planning to take mostly lightweight tops with sleeves that would hopefully only need toppers in the evening.

The plan is for 5 days of work (conference and presentations, most likely smart casual is fine) and 5 days of travel/sightseeing, including a boat ride on the Rhine with some light hiking to castles and castle ruins. I also have to bring running shoes because the conference has an 8K planned - I will probably take really old shoes and throw them out afterward but I might also use them for hiking.

An earlier iteration of the capsule is here http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....or-germany

Also, a couple of nice finds - Kipling Europa bag is going to be my main travel bag (crossbody, lightweight, can fit lots of stuff in there); I also bought a couple of lightweight, packable Athleta pants made out of their "Featherweight" fabric - Prima capri and Andale ankle pants. My only concern is that these are cropped - not sure if that is a problem but I think the ankle pants might be good for the plane.

Bottoms: 2 pairs of Athleta pants in dark grey color; GAP real skinny black pants for "work days", VC tube skirt either in grey/black thin stripe or black/white rugby stripe. I want to bring one more pair of long pants and cannot decide between GAP grey khakis or GAP real straight jeans.

Tops: 2 cotton-silk shirts with long sleeves, 3 long-sleeved t-shirts, 2 short-sleeved t-shirts, 1 or 2 lightweight cotton sweaters, Icebreaker merino wool short-sleeved t-shirt.

Dresses: black dress with 3/4 sleeves and blue faux-wrap sleeveless dress with lightweight blue cardi. I am also tempted to bring a silk sleeveless top with a lightweight coral cardi - not sure if that is wise (I will post a photo in the evening).

Toppers: silver raincoat (can use it as an extra layer if it is really cold), blue quilted moto jacket, black knit blazer. Not sure if I need another topper - I wish I had a lightweight neutral jacket like the ones Parsley suggested on Carter's thread but I don't have anything like that (no utility jacket etc.).

Accessories: infinity scarf, probably another larger scarf that can serve as a wrap, crossbody bag. I am not taking any leather purses - I am wondering if I should bring a clutch in case I am having dinner out etc.

Shoes: Josef Seibel "Caspian" sneaker, running shoes, DV Giya black flats; maybe Born Arletta oxfords.