Spring has officially sprung this week, the forsythia and plum trees are blooming, bulbs are up, birds are chirping…so what?!

Spring has become my favorite season here living in northern Europe for many reasons. People (and birds!) finally can be found doing things outside besides just getting from point A to point B. All that rain finally stops, if even for just a little. All that gray finally turns into green. Thoughts migrate toward plans for summer, vacations, time connecting with friends and family, so in short:

Spring IS Hope.

Spring us always a new, fresh start, for plants, wildlife, and for us all. Such a positive and refreshing time of the year!

As much as people here like to complain about the weather (and how clique that is), it is worth discussing how weather that is different from what you are used to also plays a role in your life as an expat! The landscape here looks very much like home, with flat fields and trees lining the roads, yet the climate is a bit different. The temperature range is literally some years between 45 and 70°F, making it very mild. Quite different from sub-zero temps with many feet of snow and summers so hot you sweat just sitting outside like I was accustomed to!

My first fall here was a bit shocking and hard. I arrived in Hamburg about mid August and enjoyed about a week of dry weather before seeing rain for what felt like daily until spring. Gray upon gray and no waking up to a room lighter than the day before because of the sun reflecting blindingly off of piles of snow.

I had to readjust my “normal” to survive.

While I don’t miss the bitter cold, the kind where your nose hairs freeze just being outside for a few minutes, I do miss the feeling of having 4 distinct seasons. This was so normal for me that I didn’t really think about it much. But here there are rarely heaps of snow and cold to suffer through, no hot hot heat to make you long for some crisp and clear fall air (which is also rare here). That’s another reason why I like spring – it’s pretty much the same as “back home”. Warmer temps, some rain but also some sun, etc.

In short, spring here reminds me of home.

I’ve found my peace with the climate here. A sunny day during the winter us now more of a surprise than anything else (“something is weird about today, oh, the sun is out!”) and I have also come to regard a drizzle as “high humidity” or “liquid sun” as a few friends have said, nothing to warrant even taking an umbrella along when going out. Side note: this does wonders if you always wanted more curly hair. Downside: the need for frizz control hair products, stuff I never needed stateside!

This makes me more grateful when I’m actually able to catch some rays or take the kids outside without dressing them in their rain aka combat gear (which often takes more time to put on than is actually spent outside then, right?!).

So just as you can’t live in the “what ifs”, you also can’t live expecting things to be what they never can be. Flexibility is required, adaptation a must, and being positive essential. Life as an expat puts things in perspective!