Remember in the Spring and Summer months last year, when life was all bicycle rides, reading in parks, falling in love and eating cake with friends at cute cafes? Yeah, I miss those months. They were great, weren't they. Now that we're in the depths of Winter, whilst admittedly a mild one, it seems as though all the romanticism that I know life has to offer, has dissipated and left only the dregs to cling to.
Each and every morning (in all honesty, I use the term 'morning' very loosely here), I find myself struggling more and more, to throw back the duvet and force myself out of bed and into the frosty antarctic, that has become the Berlin apartment I inhabit. When I eventually do manage to encourage myself to peel away the layers, I then face the somewhat gruesome battle of the bathroom. Stripping my clothes off and hopping in the shower, provokes intense wincing and I equally grimace every time I go to get dressed, finding myself pulling on the same damn pair of DM's, I've been sporting for the past two years now. Did I happen to mention how much I loathe Winter? Because I do, I really, really do.
I admire anyone who is able to thrive in this environment. Those that embrace the cold and are able to find sartorial comfort. Unfortunately, the majority of my wardrobe is currently made up of thin sheer blouses, loose fitting T-shirts and vintage leather running shorts. This does not a winter ensemble make and thus, I am finding the perpetual uniform of boots, jeans and sweaters achingly dire and misery inducing.
I am attempting to make the most of these grim dark days though, honestly I am. For starters, I've invested in lots of deliciously scented candles (found for a mere few cents down at Rossmann), which are helping to give my bedroom a cosy, softly lit atmosphere, in the evening, as I usually huddle for dear life next to the radiator, wrapped up in my pyjamas. I also bought a few more pens for my Mandala colouring book, because as far as I'm concerned, spending evenings listening to jazz whilst colouring in, is perfectly acceptable as you approach thirty. I also received a much appreciated care package, from Mère and G this week, which included a couple of my favourite DVDs - A Single Man and Amélie. So, nights in are pretty prepped.
As far as venturing out though, I have been forcing myself to do that more too, as I know how much of a hermit I have a tendency to become in the Winter and really, whilst it's perfectly acceptable and even indeed, somewhat necessary at times to take a back seat and enjoy some solitude, I think there is a limit and after the quietude of Christmas, I was certainly reaching crisis point when it came to my own company!
Thus, on top of my usual yoga schedule (which I have tried not to get too fanatical about), this past week I have: made friends and gone for falafel with a bearded vegan New Yorker from yoga, taken a trip to Markthalle Nuen's Thursday Street Food Market, to indulge in my favourite Bao Burger, with a cute German man shape for company, taken strolls around Friedrichshain with my Australian friend, happily stumbling across an awesome new cupcake cafe on Krossener Straße in the process, which happens to offer a plethora of vegan options to rival the Cupcake Cafe in Margate (if you haven't been yet, you really should) and, after exchanging emails during last summer, finally met and made friends with my fellow Brit, now Berlin neighbour and editor of the dope ass Shlur magazine, over a glass of wasser in one of our many local bars.
This weekend is looking to be equally as packed, as I am continually attempting to find new things to do, in order to stop myself stagnating indoors.
What about you guys, got any plans?
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