What to wear in Germany in the summer?

We are leaving for Germany and Austria on July 31st for 11 days. We will be traveling in Giessen, Rothenburg, Salzburg, Munich and Mittenwald. It will probably be warm and we want to be comfortable so we were planning bring a combination of pants and shorts to wear. My question is - Do Germans wear shorts in the cities during the summer time? We don%26#39;t want really want to stick out like tourists so I%26#39;d appreciate any advice on this. Thanks.

|||

I am from OZ (and so used to hot climates) and during my stay in Germany during the summer of %26#39;06 I really felt the heat and often went out wearing t-shirt and shorts, no problem whatsover.

|||

It hardly matters what you wear as almost anything goes these days. Some of it depends on age. An old guy with short-shorts on looks funny of course. The clothes are NOT always what gives people away as tourists, so don%26#39;t worry about it. Germany does not have pick-pockets like in some of the other tourist hot-spots. About the only place you are going to without tons of tourists is Giessen, and even then, truly it will not matter. Wear what is comfortable to you.

|||

Thank you, this is very helpful!

|||

Quick follow-up on weather - The forecasts I%26#39;ve been reading for Frankfurt and Munich for the past week and upcoming week indicate some rain - is this typical of the area in summer? Should we pack umbrellas and raincoats? If it is just brief showers here and there, we would prefer to not pack too much since we are traveling by train. Thanks.

|||

We lived in Germany for 6 years and always traveled with rain gear. Now that we are returning, we just wait and see. We also travel by train.

We have been able to find an umbrella (Regenschirm) for 5-10 euros if needed. Of course if you are caught in an expensive department store and it is raining, you will pay more.

Regards, Gary

|||

The German drug store chain Schlecker has folding umbrellas for as little as 2.50€ which should last you through your trip if you are a little bit careful.

One thing about shorts, until very recently, the only people I%26#39;ve seen wearing shorter shorts are tourists. For men, something like Bermudas would be more acceptable unless actually engaged in a sports activity.

|||

Thanks everyone for your great advice!