Following a distinctly spring-like festive period, where temperatures hovered around 8-10 degrees, the sun insisted on shining and the birds chirped melodically – and perhaps confusedly – from the leafless trees, winter finally arrived in early January.
For a couple of days the mercury plummeted to -10 and the feared, fanged ‘Berlin Winter’ of yore returned to remind of us years gone by. With the freezing temperatures came the snow, along with a fair bit of wind, creating some fairly intense blizzard-like conditions.
Given snow has been such a rare occurrence in recent years (it used to be reliably present) I took the opportunity to wrap up and head out, taking a few long walks to try and capture the atmosphere wrought by these not-so-humane conditions.
During the worst parts the streets were almost empty, and the few people around were reduced to walking bundles of clothing, heads down, teeth chattering, powering through the weather to get home or to the nearest cosy cafe or bar.
During the quieter parts though the city was quite beautiful. The thick layers of snow were crisp and fresh and provided a blanket for the new year celebration debris scattered across the streets, squares and parks. It’s not always easy to walk in the snow of course, and certainly not a near-blizzard, let alone take photos.
But I’m glad I did it, both for the personal experience of battling the elements in my own city and capturing an almost fairy-tale aesthetic that these days is so sadly short-lived.
You can see the photos from these walks, along with others from previous snowy meanders, in this gallery.
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