7. The Sunny Weather
Think ice cold, freezing temperatures for months and months with the kind of grey clouds and ice biting wind that made me think this is like the inside of a freezer! Gefrierschrank in German. This is for months and months not an inkling of sun, never! Every single day its grey, cloudy, foggy and as Austin Powers says “It’s freaking FREEZIN!!!!” You have to cover every inch of yourself with warm coverups and clothing. That means don’t you dare leave the house without a hat (warm woolen, ski type that makes your head look like a crayon), scarf (warm, not too wooly or it will make you itch uncontrollably), gloves (wool will not cut it, the ice cold wind will breeze through the holes, they must be leather and fully lined!), at least 3 layers of clothing on top (start with thermal underwear, preferably cotton to breathe and not sweat too much, but it’ll happen anyways. Then a thick warm sweater, then top with German type ski jacket or down jacket, trust me these are great, they are lighter and will keep you warm! Make sure they’re pretty long covering your thighs at least, ¾ is even better!) Now on to lower extremities-start with cotton or silk thermal leggings, than top with anything warm, fleece pants, cords, jeans (can be too thin) or even ski pants. Wear wool or cashmere socks if you can afford them. Then winter boots, make sure they’re waterproof, warm and comfortable, you will be trekking snow, slush, slick ice, puddles, mud, slippery cobblestones and walking for hours carrying heavyweight bags full of groceries or other stuff! After dressing like an Eskimo, be warned you will begin to sweat and sweat. You will arrive in a warm restaurant with your 20 lbs of clothing weight and be forced to undress everything layer by layer as you sweat uncontrollably. Now this leads me to understand why...