Berlin Winter 2012

The other week I wrote about the ice crystals that formed on my studio windows. This week I ventured out into the subzero temperatures to see the people frolicking on the ice of the frozen canal nearby. It is a world away from the balmy Summer evenings I spent there with friends and a bottle of wine watching the sunset and people paddling about in their canoes, who were also intent on enjoying the atmosphere with friends and an alcoholic beverage.

So, some six months later, where there were once small water craft were people cavorting on the ice. Some dusted off their ice skates, others took to walking, I took my bicycle. There was adequate snow cover on the ice that I could get traction. It is an interesting to be standing where you normally can’t and to look at everything from a new perspective. It is also interesting to see how people use this new found public space.

There were small ice hockey areas, along with a few strips where you run and then take a slide. However, perhaps strangest of all was the sounds of Summer that had returned to this spot. Someone had hired a small truck and driven it into the park that borders the canal and set up a sound system, a grill with sausages and hot mulled wine. All of this was then completed with a disco ball and people gathered for the beats. However, to my observation, I think most of the movement was more to keep warm than any real form of dancing.