Vienna sits at a relatively northern latitude compared to what we were used to at home (similar to southern Maine, rather than northern Virginia, where we’re from).  We get more daylight at the height of summer (over an hour more) and less daylight in the middle of winter (over an hour less).  In the summer, our earliest sunrise is before 5:00 a.m., and our earliest sunset in the winter is at 4:00 p.m., and the sun sets as late as 9:00 in summer and doesn’t come up until almost 8:00 in the morning in the winter.  It’s definitely a change.

But also, with the maximum and minimums being more extreme than at home, the rate at which the amount of daylight changes can be pretty shocking.  We lose about a minute more daylight per day than we did at home right now, and during this part of the year, we lose more light per day than any other time.

We noticed it last year, too, but right now, we’re being particularly thrown off by it.  We went on vacation, for just 2 1/2 weeks, and everything changed while we were gone.  Before our trip, it was light until about 8 in the evening, but now that we’re back, I have all the lights in the house on before Dan gets home from work and it’s nearly dark by the time we sit down to dinner.

The other night, I went out for my first coffee hour since we’d been back.  Before we left for the UK, I was getting home while it was still light out — but this time, when I left to go out it was already almost dark.

We’re still on the advantageous side of the daylight though — we are still getting a few more minutes per day than they are back at home, but only for a few more days.  Starting Monday, we get less light per day than we would have at home, and on Tuesday, we start to spend more of our day in the dark than in the light.