Last weekend was the beginning of a cold snap.  I’ve heard that it’s
the coldest it’s been here in 50 years.  For those of you in the US, this is a
damp cold, and to give you some perspective, -20 C is equal to about -5 F, and
at night, it’s been averaging at least -20 C.  The high during the day has been
-4 C to -10 C.
It’s been cold cold.  I’ve affectionately nicknamed it the “berlin meat
locker.” Why? well, because it’s colder than most meat lockers that I’ve been
in, never before have I seen the mosture in the air freeze into little ice
crystals (they look like glitter suspended in mid air when you look at the
streetlights), or have I experienced actually it being painful to breathe.  As
you go outside to catch the bus, you witness everyone’s wrapped up with only
their little eyes peeking out.  It’s slightly amusing, until you are standing
there for about 5 minutes, wishing that either the wind would quit blowing, for
an extra pair of socks (when you’re already wearing 2), and maybe a hot
chocolate because you have roughly another hour to go outside. Even the locks
where the big ships pass through are frozen (see picture above). It’s rather
impressive.
Thing is, however, despite the 6 inches of snow, the freezing cold
weather, the hassle of not plowed streets/sidewalks there are some things of
beauty to be happy for.
What you ask?  Well, they’re three fold –
a) I still have heat in my apartment – despite the gas dispute between
Russia and Ukraine cutting German supplies to about 50%.  (many places in the
Eastern block simply have no heating gas – so they’re in the deep freeze with no
place to get warm.)
b) Despite the cold – the sun has come out every day for the last 2
weeks.  I haven’t wanted to be out more than I had to, but somehow, it still
makes me feel happy.  I’d rather cold, snow and sun than gray clouds and
mist.
c) As the first of the cold weather hit, and the snow started falling, I
made a trek to Berlin.  In the Tiergarten, they have 90 restored and working gas
lamps that illuminate the night.  Not only are the walkways romantic when it’s
summertime, but in the depths of winter, the warm yellow gas light reflects on
the snow and somehow the world is a little more magical…..

I guess, in the end, there is a beauty to it all – you just have
to know where to look.  *sigh* Why did we do away with these anyhow….
If you want to see more, there’s alot more up on my Flickr site in the Gas Lamp Walk Set.