It’s of kind strange that I write so many posts based on weather, but somehow, weather is a big mood catalyzer for me: Spring provides me with so much new energy, summer is just my favorite season of the year, fall makes me nostalgic but also appreciative of the beauty of changes, and winter — well, winter is always tough.

Of course, I find winter beautiful from time to time. At least on those rare days with white powdery snow and blue skies. But most of the time, winter in Central Europe is just gray in gray with more gray. I tend to be depressed during those short winter days, and I hardly ever find a way to motivate myself to leave the house without a really good reason.

But I wanted to be less negative this winter. That’s why I challenge myself even more to take my camera out whenever there’s a hint of light and a blue sky. I need to force myself to go out, to open my eyes and really look for the beauty of winter — even if I sometimes struggle with seeing it in the first place. And yes, deliberately searching for the prettiness that lies in icicles hanging from red-tiled roofs, frozen fountains shimmering in the evening sun, and snow-covered cemetery statues from the 18th century did help me to accept winter a little more.

And if all else fails, I can still hide inside cute cafés with my coffee watching the snowflakes fall, and wait for winter to be over soon.

What’s your favorite image of winter beauty in Germany?
And how do you cope with gray winter days?