Before coming to Berlin, I was tricked by my mother into believing that my chances of surviving the harshness of the German winter were close to zero. She misled me into thinking that I would either get frostbite and die or develop hypothermia and die, both of these instances, as you can see, result in my looming death. She told me every single horror story of her winters during her graduate school career at Purdue in Indiana. She even made comments of, "I hope you realize those boots won't do anything to help you this winter" (thanks, Mom!). But the most important thing she failed to mention? From my understanding, Midwest winters are far more severe and drastic than the German winter (or at least the German winter that I experienced). Yes, during the first month of being in Berlin, I was more often cold (okay, fine, freezing on certain occasions) than comfortable. I had to wear two pairs of leggings under my jeans/dresses/skirts, two pairs of socks with either my boots or (fake-)uggs, a sweater underneath my heavy wool coat, a scarf, a beanie, and gloves. But once I figured out the effectiveness of this clothing arrangement, I learned how to be "warm" when it was -8°C (or 17.6°F for all you Americans reading this blog) outside. I never had to worry about frostbite or hypothermia, like my mother had said. In actuality, I never had to worry about being cold (or freezing) for too long because there was always a heated bus, S/U-Bahn, building, club, or restaurant/bar waiting for me to enter it. And when there wasn't, there was the alcohol in my hand and the humor of my friends besides me to warm my heart and bones (
Titanic, anyone?). And, so, I learned to endure the winter, the winter that was not met with too many days of snow (or as many as I had originally imagined) and the winter that taught me how to "skate" (without skates, mind you) on the ice-covered (sometimes cobblestone) roads.
And, at the end, I made it through the Berlin winter. Frühlingszeit (or springtime) has finally arrived in Berlin. After nearly 4 months of constantly asking, "Wo is die Sonne?!" (or "Where is the sun?!") and cursing, "Scheiße! It's so freakin' cold!", the sun has appeared, and it has brought all of its glory, warmth, and beauty with its appearance. The days are longer, the animals are more chipper, and the land is greener. The Germans are even starting to leave their heavy winter coats at home (although I have spotted a few Germans who continue to wear their heavy coats despite the fact that it is now between 13-19°C [or in the 50s/60s])! The transformation of Berlin from its notorious gray nature to its equally notorious green summer appearance has begun.
The only sad part? I won't be able to enjoy most of it, because my departure date is quickly approaching and the flowers aren't blossoming fast enough.
