A tale of two cities

From Berlin General

It's been a while since my last post. Indeed, anyone pondering my whereabouts could be forgiven for assuming I'd gone into hibernation. The past few months have been hard, cold and barren. Grey skies dulled out the sunlight, inhospitable temperatures dissuaded many from venturing outside, and the streets I know so well were replaced by an icy tundra which negated most forms of travel not involving the use of grappling hooks. This was winter in Berlin.

Complaining about the weather is a great British tradition renowned the world over, and while I'm not usually one to indulge clichés, old habits do sometimes die hard. I've now lived in Berlin for a total of twelve months of two periods. For the majority of that time I have rarely experienced anything but sun, joy and a vibrant city. On any given night or day, throngs of people from all around the world who have made this their home could be seen enjoying the culinary and cultural charms on offer, not to mention the nightlife. The past 3 of those months, however, have been an entirely different experience.

It began one weekend towards the end of November. Temperatures had been dropping for a while, but no-one expected the sudden snow storm that fell on weekend revellers in the early hours of that Sunday morning. These warning signs were quickly forgotten in the rush to the Christmas period and the festivities of the New Year, though this only served to make the change seem more sudden. Once the last firework had faded, it left behind a monotone sky smothered with a seemingly impenetrable quilt of brooding cloud. The clouds brought with them snow, the initial joy of which disguised the troublesome icy landscape that was to be its legacy. Despite their best attempts, the authorities failed to deal sufficiently with this menace. The grey in the heavens seemed to drain the colour from the people and the streets below, robbing the city of its very lifeblood. This was not the Berlin I knew.

I soon began to realise just how much my joy at living in Berlin relied on being outside. No longer could I ride my bike gleefully around the parks and sights; even if the ground had been more suitable, the monuments and greenery seemed to have taken on a deathly hue which robbed them of any aesthetic value. The depression seemed to have got to everyone. Bar rush hour and the Saturday shopping crowds, the city had become nothing short of a ghost town. Those who did tread the streets did so out of necessity, not due to any voluntary decision. But even the S-Bahns these winter zombies piled onto seemed more empty than ever. The phone lines were as good as dead - even if there was somebody still alive, there was little use us trying to persuade each other to venture outside.

It seemed to last for years, but then suddenly, as quickly as it had come, the gloom was gone. A ray of sunlight tentatively pierced the cloud cover, almost as if it were afraid of burning the faces of the undead below who had become so unaccustomed to it. The gaps in the cloud quickly filled with blue and, in the space of a weekend, the winter was gone. Traces of its icy touches remained for a couple of weeks, but the golden rays from above had brought with them home, and we knew it was almost over. People rushed from their homes to claim back their city from the forces of nature which had lain siege to it. Restaurants and cafés reinstated their outdoor seating, and slowly it began to fill with the hungry once more. People hungry not just for the fare on offer, but for life as they once knew it. The grey skies and biting winds began to seem like a fading nightmare, a bad dream which paled in the daylight.

The daylight has now regained its hold on Berlin, though for my part I shall find it hard to banish the foreboding memories of my first winter in the city. Whilst I had expected a colder climate to that in which I grew up, nothing could have prepared me for the complete change which swept across the capital, draining its vibrance and that of its inhabitants. Twelve months, and this city continues to surprise me.

But that, of course, is exactly why I love living here.



Thanks to Bella for photos! http://nordicflames.blogspot.com http://berlinleben.blogspot.com