Russian winter is coming...

Today when I arrived home, I casually said "Как холодно сегодня!" (It's cold today!) to the guard at the door. Whilst still trying to warm up from the snow flurry and subzero temperatures (-4!) outside, I got a scary, yet familiar answer - "Да девушка, русская зима приближается!" (Yes girl, Russian winter is coming!") - the key word there being coming. It hasn't gotten above -1 today, it's been snowing for about 5 hours straight and even with gloves on I could hardly feel my hands by the time I got home, but winter is still coming - it's apparently still autumn! Granted, there hasn't been much snow and it hasn't really got down below -5 in the day, but the dryness of the cold is what kills. The wind is so sharp and icy - leaving any exposed skin burning within minutes. It's actually quite strange - it's so dry that you don't get frost here, and when it snows, the snow isn't all slushy and wet, it's powdery and almost looks fake, which means you don't get wet when it snows! Basically, cold here feels so much colder than at home - so I'm intrigued to see what -10 here will be like! Well, I've rambled enough for now, so I thought I'd treat you to some snaps taken during the last few days - enjoy!