Bottesford

Yes rounding the crest of the peak now before the freefall begins. The swifts leave in 2-3 weeks as do the post 9pm sunsets - always a sad time knowing how long it'll be till they grace us again. Just wish I could slow the season down a bit! Although maybe not as that'd extend the dark part likewise.. which already feels unending as it stands!

Gladly, much how the endless gloom of winter drags on & on & on & on, the lovely long days are around for a good while yet!

And boy did we feel it! Quite a weekend of heat that was, never felt anything like it. Gladly this city is surrounded in lakes so perfect for cooling off!

Bedroom 25.5c outside 20.5c at almost midnight. So far ok.. Nice breeze on too should help air the place out a bit before sleeping. Only need a little air movement and it's all ok.

In my current apartment I can't have the bedroom windows open at night as although it is mostly quiet it only takes one person to drop a pin in the courtyard and it sounds like a machine gun has gone off. It's a small yard surrounded completely by tall buildings so echo is crazy. Also cigarette smoke tends to waft its way up here too so windows firmly closed at night sadly. I am keeping the blinds closed in the day on the hotter days and using a small fan during the night. Then just wear nothing and lie still. Had some toasty nights here but certainly it hasn't stopped me sleeping.

You are correct - winters are extremely dull here and snow is not that common as it doesn't rain much. Borderline cold is right - it sticks around -1c to 3c for weeks on end under slate grey skies for a lot of the time in the Nov-Jan period. Last winter we got a few snow events but a lot of it was wet snow. But the previous winter we got a weekend of lows of -13c with maxes of -10c under clear skies - lovely! And was far less dull overall so was fooled a bit thinking it wasn't too bad here.. Until this past winter. Ugh.... saps you of everything it does. Summer deffo far far better. Outdoor events/bars etc are the norm here as its more reliable. Plus the low cloud cack is quickly vaporised during late Feb - unlike that North Sea stuff! If you can grit your teeth for a few months through the winter, I much much prefer the climate here.

It's far drier in winter but we make up for it during summer from storms - most (although certainly not all) rain falls in summer. Atlantic fronts either don't make it here or are greatly reduced in power so those days where it just rains all day seem a lot rarer. We possibly fare similarly to the drier parts of Eastern England perhaps but compared to summers in back home Nottingham.. well no contest!

And some input from the continent.. Also mostly cool although certainly better than the UK in general. We've had two 25c+ days and maybe 60% of days reach around average (19c) with the odd warmer one but quite a few cooler ones. Saturday was wet and barely made it to 14c, Sunday little better but today is 21c & sunny. Rain isn't very common here compared to the UK - its just the cold wind that has made this month much less summery than last year. But I think the main issue has been that all the best weather has tended to focus on working days (both 25c+ days were a Tuesday) and the worst has fallen at weekends or on the holidays. It sure makes it seem worse when it works that way round!

My preference for summer has remained my whole life - as a kid you could be out on your bike after school and playing in the garden rather than watching crap on tv like in colder weather. And now I love it still as much - for sitting outside with a beer (like last night) and for my more recent hobby - gardening. I think I notice how 'solar powered' I am - the more sun the better given its unreliability in the UK. Since moving to Berlin and living in a warmer house I've found the extreme cold more interesting/tolerable but grown even more tired of low cloud that dominates here in the winter (but at least it buggers off in spring unlike that awful North Sea stuff that Nottingham 'enjoyed' right up till June sometimes). I love high humidity - it creates such a nice thick atmosphere and keeps it lovely & warm into the evening. Throw in one of the frequent summer storms we get here and perfect!

I find myself drawn to those dates too.. I certainly find June 21st-Sept 21st as 'summer' to be wrong as that only accounts for the warmest 3 month period totally ignoring the light situation. Same goes for winter - no way December 15th feels like anything other than winter despite it being milder than early March (sometimes). My views on this have skewed a little since moving to Berlin... November certainly feels like winter - it's dark, endlessly gloomy & Christmas is coming. Winters here are colder & gloomier than the UK but we make a far faster recovery in spring. It's the core Nov-Jan period that feels most like winter as sunshine is rare under endless low cloud and temps hover around -1c to 4c the whole time. The city is pretty glum in this period bar the bit round xmas as entertainment choices are limited to smoky bars & staying at home drinking cheap beer... Feb, especially later in the month feels springlike as the low cloud lifts and birds start singing again. Thoughts turn to the coming season in the garden too. Things rapidly warm & turn very sunny into spring with far fewer of the cold damp days like back home (although they do happen). Coldest max this month was 14c so you know it isn't yet true summer but for large parts of the time it's as good as. Summer feels longer here and is far more reliable - the city is happy and there are endless outdoor events, parties & things to do. But even so - the light changes in late August so although its still warm (and still warm into Sept) you can feel the vice beginning to tighten as the long evenings start to fade.. Overall probably the meteorological definitions are a good system although maybe i'd extend winter back to mid Nov and summer back to mid May.

Agree 100% - now till July is my favourite time of the year. Longest days and still plenty more fun to come.. and the horror of months like November & January seem at their most remote thankfully!

The feeling of freedom this time of year brings is just wonderful. Being able to finish work at 6 and get somewhere to do stuff with still daylight to play with. Feels like you've gained so much extra time!

Sunset is now after 7:30pm! Glory - it's back where it belongs!

Yes its light far too early given how early it still gets dark. Deffo the clock change should be a month earlier! Although I admit its nice getting up with the sun well into the sky instead of at or below the horizon!

I think that's the only really really needed change - get back on BST in early March. Would save so much electricity!

4c at just before 10am could easily be early spring under sunny skies - the season of large diurnal ranges remember!

A sunny day today and for the first time this year I finished work and it wasn't quite dark yet! Definitely feeling the weight of winter lifting now.

Turning all springy over here according to the forecasts with lots of clear skies and temps 8/9c by day and -1/0c by night. Sounds super!

It should come as no surprise that people are 'hellbent on the arrival of spring' as we go into February. As cheese stated - you can feel the change in light and that's just as powerful (or sometimes more powerful) than it being a few degrees colder or warmer. In mid August you notice it isn't light at 9pm anymore and your tomato plants (and others) are beginning to look tired and leggy - you're noticing the approaching change - the 'vice is beginning to tighten' as I feel it is!. In Feb you notice that finally the grip of endless gloom and darkness is at last loosening and you can start to look forward to the freedom of the outdoors and longer days again. I know winter is popular on here but for many its tough season that really begins to outstay its welcome by this time of year so of course people begin to think about spring. You should maybe check when the autumn thread starts on here too - in July I think!

Yes I think that's one change we should certainly make- go back to BST earlier. Far more people are awake and need light at 6:30pm than 6am.

Today is my first post 5pm sunset too! 1701 today. Funny how sunset times are almost identical here to the UK although of course actually 1 hour earlier.

Summer is also just as short in the UK and certainly there wasn't 8 months of it! A 15c muggy day in November is nothing to do with having a long summer season in the same way as a light frost in May is not making it a long winter. If you define true winter as only days below 0c (7c below average for England in January) then you must define true summer as days >28c (7c above average in July) - a very small number indeed!

2013 was far too cold. I liked March but by the end of it we needed some warmth but still the cold dragged on. Put the garden almost a month behind and even the (mostly) lovely July didn't get it to catch up! Very tricky season it was. I've only experienced one spring so far over here but they seem briefer than back home probably because they start colder and end warmer so week by week you really notice the change. Last year was almost always sunny & dry with just a feel chilly episodes (and when they chill came boy did you notice it!). Mixed springs are good but by May I'm done with anything cold.

Being high is great - I'm 5 floors up and get to see some great sunrises over the Berlin TV Tower. Even better view when I go up on the roof - saw a great sunset over Teufelsberg spy station (Cold War era) last year! Here it is: It does give good access to whatever sun you get in winter (not much admittedly!) and a vast improvement to my dark little Nottingham place that was surrounded in hills, trees and massive Victorian houses.

We're now out of the darkest 3 months, sunrise is now well before 8am and sunset will shortly move after 5pm. Back in the UK when I finished work at 5 it was always a good barrier to cross (and then again when I could finally ditch the bike lights a couple of weeks later) but now I finish at 6 so got a bit longer to wait! Feb is definitely my favourite winter month - light levels are improving but it is still very cold and often the most snowy. Generally it's drier too and with the sun that bit higher there's more chance of burning off the constant Berlin murky low cloud!