Soak Up the Sun… If You Have Any

They always say winters in northern Europe are dark and dreary.  I have no idea who “they” are, but I can tell you this:

they are absolutely, 100% right.

Yesterday was the only day we’ve had blue skies ALL YEAR LONG.  The sun has peeked into the city a little here and there for a few minutes.  But that’s about it.  Otherwise, our skies are gray day in, day out.

Berlin even broke it’s record for the longest streak of days with no sunshine.  What a dreary winter!

I understand how seasonal depression could very well happen to people.

The first thing I see in outdoor photos on other blogs is all the sun and blue sky.  I get jealous.  What is that bright glowing glob thing?

I hardly every bring my camera with me, but I did on Tuesday.  This photo (taken around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon) is of a little path I discovered several kilometers from our house.  I often try to think of what this path might look like in the summer and what the sidewalk looks like under the layers of ice and sand.

The city seems to sleep in a landscape of black and white.  Everyone wears black, almost as if the dreary days are some sort of funeral procession.  Europe, you are not so charming in the winter.

So if you have sun today, I’d urge you to go outside, lift your head, and just soak it in.  Do it for all of us in Berlin and Germany.

As for those of us in gloomy places, we’re patiently waiting for summer.  We’ll have our moment!  I only fear we’ll all emerge from our houses and turn brighter than a Red Hot in .2 seconds because our skin won’t know what hit it.  And the sun won’t know who we are either.

“Hello, Sun.  Remember me?  Well… I’m Kevin now.”

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So, uh, how’s the weather in your parts?  It’s cloudy, right?  RIGHT?!  Do share.  Tips for surviving gray days?  Ways you avoid winter sun?  Whatever it is, something tells me you might have a few winter survival tips up your sleeves – the kind that involve mittens and hot chocolate, perhaps.

Don’t laugh too hard at this old post of flying over Canyon Lands National Park in the US with some German friends.  I believe my words went something like this: It’s kind of a badge of honor for Germans to go back home sunburned from a trip to America [...] I was determined to stay as white as possible.