Europe in Winter. Jackets?

[bubbletoes]

Hey!

I am going to Europe at the end of december until mid feb and i'm from australia so i don't know if i can handle the cold. I'm going to London, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland and Belgium. I don't have a jacket yet and was wondering is it a good idea to wait until i get to London to buy one because in Australia we don't really sell many especially since it's coming into summer, and well, because it doesn't get cold here. Also with shoes would i survive with waterproof sneakers if they had a good grip? And i'm backpacking and have heard people say jeans are bad to bring... is this true? How many pair of pants should i bring because i was thinking three but i just don't know if it would be enough.

Thankyou!

Oh, and does anyone know anywhere in London that would be good to buy a jacket?

[Jules80]

you'll definately need a good jacket, you may want to wait till london but you'll need something when you arrive. london is not really cold (canadian point of view here, bear that in mind), but it is always damp so it feels about 10 deg colder than it acutally is. i'm a big fan of layering. i spend my winters (up to -40) in a heavy weight polar fleece and gore tex shell. mostly cause i end up using one or the other most of the year... gore tex is water proof so i use it all year cause its just a shell. however, most department stores in the uk you should be able to find something decent. marks and spencer might be a good start (brits can chime in with something better). H&M you may find stuff as well and that tend to be reasonably inexpensive. also don't forget to buy hat, mittens, and a scarf! very very necessary! your waterproof sneakers will probably be fine in terms of not falling on your butt! however, depends on how much of a wimp you are when it comes to cold. i can deal with sneakers till about -20... however i have no idea how much snow germany, switzerland or austria really get and then its not an issue of cold but rather snow getting in your shoes. so yeah... that's my rambly post about coldness in europe.
julie

[LHR02]

Bubbletoes,
Where in Germany are you going? If Bavaria you should expect and dress for snow...same with Austria and Switzerland. Western and more northern Germany you are not generally going to see snow...at least not all the time. Just me.....I'd say forget the sneakers and invest in a good pair of hiking boots. Since some of your winter stops are in areas that are likely to be snowy and icy...I'd say sneakers of any kind will not be a good choice.
Agree with Jules....I love M&S in England! But not sure I would want to wait until after arrival to get a coat! It could be pretty darn cold when you get off that plane!

ging

[bubbletoes]

thankyou for the advice! i'm not too sure if i'm going to snowy parts, i'm going to vienna, berlin, you know the big touristy cities and in switzerland to the lake area on the french side, but i guess i'll look into boots as well!!!