In A New City.........<Part 1>

Part 1: Welcoming winter...........

Winter has come!!! 

No ..no...it's not GOT tagline....winter has actually come.

My long-awaited dream to witness the first snowfall through my window while holding a warm cup of coffee has come true today. Those few leftover lifeless leaves of the tree outside my window are trying hard to hold those snowy flakes while I know these leaves can survive a few more days only. Those clean roads are slowly changing color from grey to white while gracefully getting converted to a white carpet. Watching all these transformations while relaxing on a cozy couch and warm room looks perfect...all thanks to the room heater. For a person like me coming from a country that is widely dominated by the tropical climate, this experience is certainly new and exciting.

Though my first few minutes were exciting, it was not late for me to realize that these scenes are not as exciting as it looks on the silver screen back in my country. For us Indians, snow-clad mountains and white streets signify a romantic mood where the newlywed couples in India generally proceed for honeymoons. Underestimating the actual winter also is a repercussion of watching Yashraj movies where the female lead effortlessly shakes her legs to the beats, wearing just only a thin layer of cloth amidst the snow-clad mountains. Their hard work never made me realize the degree of torture they had to go through to entertain us and hence it justifies their huge pay.

2 days back when I first landed in this city and was searching for my AIRBNB being in the cab, I realized that it will not be as easy for me to adapt to the lifestyle change and this dipping temperature. Moving alone to a new country during the cold winters needs a lot of preparation and effort. Your body needs to adapt to the drop in temperature from 30°c to -3°c within 2 days. Your sleep cycle needs to reset. While I had evaluated all the cons of moving to Berlin during mid of November, I was not prepared to miss the beautiful Christmas month if it was a lil later after January. Not to forget, roaming on the white streets on Christmas week was also a long-awaited dream for me.

Anyways, with this self-realization, I also realized that I need to share my experience with my family back home and hence quickly called my sister on WhatsApp. After a few rings, she picked up the phone and I quickly moved my camera towards the window to show her the beautiful snowfall. All thanks to whatsapp, for helping me do all these without spending a penny on ISD phone calls and also thanks to my apartment owner for that good internet speed. In India, it is still a dream to get good wifi available 24*7. The super excited me tried to show her all possible corners of the outside world through my window, while the least excited her was nodding her head with a fake smile with all her focus on her brunch. That's my usual sister who can't even fake for a moment just to make me smile, and that is what I love the most about her. Realizing her disinterest, I quickly moved towards my unpacked bags to take out some additional shawls to cover myself. The next few minutes we spoke about my day in my new apartment while she told about her struggle with her domestic help. Before we hung up she suggested I give a call for my colleague to accompany me for a small stroll down the neighborhood and to help me in getting acquainted with the place. 

After the call, I immediately looked outside the window to find out the snowing has stopped and a few locals are already strolling out. It was still bright outside and the weather seems good for a good walk.

Based on my earlier study of this place on Google, the sun can go down as early as 4 pm during winters which gave me an approx time window of 30 mins before the sunset. From my messy unpacked bag, I quickly grabbed a jacket, a muffler, and a decent scarf for my necks. Next, I picked my wallet and also that umbrella which my mom had included last minute in my packing. I opened the door and as soon as I put the first step outside I froze. The single layer of clothes I was putting on was not enough for me to withstand the temperature of this new city. I think I underestimated again, the winter in Berlin is not the same as the winter in Bangalore. This time I am more closer to the north pole, so I need more layers closer to my body. Immediately I stepped inside the room and closed the door. I went straight towards the room heater to warm up myself and also to think of what to wear. After a few moments of analysis, I took out the

 heavy jacket, winter socks, and gloves that I had just bought before leaving India. In a few minutes, I was completely packed from head to toe leaving no gaps for the air to enter. The feeling and weight were no less than an astronaut, who was ready to enter space.

I opened the door and put my first steps outside.

This time the freezing air was not able to enter in and yes I was ready for my very first stroll in the beautiful evening in that new city.......