Hi,

I'm planning to go to a festival in Delitzsch (Germany) in July (I'm English, so I'll be coming from the UK), and I'll be travelling alone. I'm looking to Fly into Berlin-Schönefeld late on Thursday night (landing at 22:45 local time), get a train to the festival early Friday, then fly back Monday in the late afternoon.

The problem I have is that I'd rather not risk leaving my plane tickets, and more importantly my passport, in my tent while I'm off enjoying myself. So, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of possible places which I could store my valuables for 3 nights?

I’ll be flying in and flying out from Berlin-Schönefeld, as well as going via Berlin Hauptbahnhof on the Thursday night (heading to the hotel), Friday morning (heading the festival), and Monday (on my way back to the airport). I'm aware that there's a left luggage office, as well as luggage lockers at airport, and there's a left luggage office at train station. Does anyone have experience with these and can recommend either way?

If anyone thinks that me leaving such valuable items in locker/luggage office is a really really bad idea, please tell me - because I’d really rather not find this out the hard way.

Thanks,

Andrew

Buy one of those pouches that you wear under your clothes, I would never let my passport out of my sight. I prefer the sort that goes around my waist and tucks into my knickers, but there are also ones you wear around your neck.
On no account leave your passport in a tent. It is a requirement that you take every reasonable precaution to keep the passport safe so don,t leave it anywhere where someone could steal it. Having your identity stolen is a huge problem, the issues are not resolved for years, I probably sound like your mother but we aren,t just talking a piece of paper here!

There are lockers at the most important train stations in Berlin (except for Hauptbahnhof). They are quite inexpensive (2 - or 3 Euros a day), but you cannot store luggage in there for more than 72 hours (the locker will be opened and the content removed and placed at a left luggage office). There is a left-luggage office at the Hauptbahnhof, where you could store luggage for a longer time, I think it is 4 Euros a day. Both ways are quite safe and I'm frequently storing valuable things in lockers at stations. I am just wondering about the plane tickets, who issues paper tickets nowadays? You're not talking about your self printout boarding card?

Anyways, I guess that it would also be ok to take your passport to the festival. It's a good idea to make a copy of it and leave that one in the tent. I'd rather take the passport with me, when not in the tent. There might even be some place where you can lock your documents at Delitzsch station or at the festival site.

Hi,

Thank you for your information about the lockers. The main reason I was thinking about putting my passport into left-luggage office was because I felt that it would be safer to leave it there than carry it all around Germany with me when I wouldn't really need it. I was planning to take a coloured copy of it, plus I'd have my UK driving licence with me as well, so I was hoping that would be enough ID.

Another reason I was thinking of leaving my passport behind was that I thought that the left-luggage place would be relatively secure (and dry), compared to me carrying my passport around and risk misplacing it, having it stolen, or it getting wet. Would you really advocate that I should keep my passport with me?

When I said "plane tickets", I really meant my print out of my electronic booking (reference numbers and such) that I wouldn't really need while at the festival, but would be handy to have when I got to the airport. Plus, I'd leave a spare cash card in there, so that if I lost my wallet, I could get some cash when I got back to Berlin.

Thanks,

Andrew

You should really carry the passport with you at all times, unless you did leave it in a locker for a few hours while at the festival. In Germany people have to carry identification documents and we have a passport as our only identity document. I still think those pouches are great, I carry spare cash, airtickets and spare credit card and passport in mine, just have a look in the travel goods of a department store. I have also noticed men use a zippered pocket in a jacket but if the weather is warm you are unlikely to be wearing one.
There is a blackmarket for stolen passports, I have heard of them selling for $60,000.

It's a common misbelief (even among Germans) that you have to have your ID card or passport with you all the time in Germany. There is an obligation by law that all Germans (!) need to have a valid ID card when they are older than 15. However, no obligation to take it with you all the time.

Wow...60.000 quid for a passport...I think I should 'lose' mine, too ;-)