After an extended holiday in London, I'm heading back to the delights of Berlin. Having finally got used to the cold of Berlin, being in London has been not dissimilar to being in a tropical paradise... just without the palm trees, white sand and blue seas. Ok, maybe tropical paradise is a slight exaggeration, but it has been a darn sight warmer than Berlin, I can tell you that much.

It is with some trepidation that I'm returning to Berlin as I have yet to experience the full brunt of a German winter and, as many of my veteran Berlin friends gleefully tell me, I haven't seen anything yet. Despite reading blog articles on how to survive winter (Überlin, Slow Travel Berlin, and Finding Berlin) and stocking up on thermals in the sales, I'm still scared. Petrified, really.

Here are a few words that will help you to describe what you see and feel as you wipe the condensation from your window and stare out into grey Berlin with the look of utter fear on your face. Sadly, I missed the bout of snow before New Year's but I guess it just means that I'll have to dedicate a future blog to everything snow-related - giving me the perfect excuse to spend an afternoon snowman building and making angels.