The light fades earlier, city lights turn on before the afternoon is over, and the wind bites the skin. During Scandinavian autumn and winter, people dress more warmly, and time slows down. I carry the memories and connections from summer longer than I should, still feeling them in my body. The longing for closeness and warmth is there, but it does not come easily. As everything around me changes, I do too.
Hillcrest Park opens at dawn and closes at 10 p.m., but for me, it has never been just a set of hours on a sign. I have walked this park in every light and season. Morning walks before the neighborhood stirs. Afternoon strolls when working from home. Evening circuits after dinner on weekdays. Weekend doubles, morning and evening both. And those in-between moments when restlessness or boredom sends me out the door once more. I know this place intimately.
It all happens so suddenly every year: one day you're out in the beer garden enjoying the seemingly endless, balmy nights, and the next you're huddling at a bus stop in drizzly weather, noticing that it's already dark at 4pm. The transition from the summer months to the autumn/winter long haul is one that takes getting used to in Germany, and you may find yourself developing some coping mechanisms to deal with the sudden shift.