Of polar splits and slippery sidewalks
Back to complaining about a different kind of ice
After a brief interlude where the temps climbed above freezing and the snow and ice melted away, the cold returned again last week and with it the ice-covered streets, sidewalks, lakes and streams.
This January was Berlin’s coldest in 16 years, according to the German weather service, with the average temperatre just -1.9C. (That’s 28.6 Fahrenheit, FYI. It just always sounds more hardcore in Centigrade.)
Although such winter weather used to be much more common here, it seems Berlin has grown unaccustomed to dealing with long periods of ice. Doctors’ offices and hospitals reported record numbers of injuries from people slipping on frozen sidewalks and streets.
State law requires inidividual property owners to keep the public sidewalks in front of their properties free, but there seems to be almost no enforcement against those who don’t.
This year did seem particularly bad to me - the sections of sidewalk that were actually clear were few and far between. In previous years, it was the opposite - a few frozen spots here and there, but mostly navigable.
I did fall once when walking my dog, but that was in the middle of the grassy area at Wühlischplatz. (Park greenspaces, like lakes, are a proceed-at-own-risk situation - you can’t expect grass to be cleared of ice in the winter.)
Many residents complained to the city that, while roads were quickly salted, bike lanes and pedestrian paths were left at the mercy of Mother Nature.
It doesn’t help that residents are prohibited from spreading salt to melt the ice, which is what BSR uses to keep the streets clear. It seems salt is much more effective than the small gravel allowed on sidewalks.
The Berlin Administrative Court struck down the temporary city ordinance that would have allowed the use of road salt because it contaminates the soil and is harmful to street trees and local wildlife.
*FYI - Dog owners be careful to clean your dog’s paws if they are out in the snow around roads - the salt is very damaging to the skin and painful, also harmful if they lick it.*
I continue to be obsessed with people brave (or crazy) enough to skate on local lakes and canals - and even a large bay on the Spree River (see above).
You can see the police warning people to get off the Rummelsburger Bucht earlier this week, and also checking the depth of the ice in the pond at Schlosspark Charlottenburg.
I sent this Instagram reel (see below) to both my kids - though I am almost sure none of us would voluntarily go out on a frozen body of water. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. (The reel features a demonstration of what to do if you fall through the ice.)
According to the weather service, I should go ahead and invest in some shoe spikes, because this weather is not going away any time soon.
A “stratospheric warming event” predicted for mid-February will disrupt the polar vortex, pushing much colder air farther south in the northern hemisphere.
That could mean prolonged record cold temperatures even into March.
What I’m Reading: Berlin Substack Edition
The upside of the weather outside being so frightful, is that I’ve been spending more time indoors reading, which is delightful.
There are so many amazing Berlin writers telling the city’s stories in their own newsletters.
Here are some of the ones I read this week:
Josie Le Blond at Templehof Berlin brings us another installment of the saga of Jack O. Bennett, an American pilot studying aircraft construction in Berlin in the late 1930s, in the years just before World War II. This one covers Bennett’s time at Templehof just after the war ended.
The Berlin that Bennett had known was gone. Many of his pre-war friends were dead. It seemed like Tempelhof Airport, though badly damaged, was all that was left. The US troops were repairing the building, filling in bomb craters and laying a new runway.
The city outside was in a far worse state. As winter approached, the ruined streets around the airport took an eerie turn. Rape, starvation and suicide stalked the rubble. Bennett often heard shots, screams and the rattle of machine gun fire in the dark.
Isabelle and Luana at Späti Stories interview two pioneers of the city’s renowned club scene: DJ and producer Cinthie; and Michaela, the manager of Club der Visionäre.
Here, Cinthie describes how she builds her DJ sets for places like the Panorama Bar at Berghain:
I always try to find music that is very uplifting and positive. When people are leaving the club or going home after one of my sets, I want them to be in a positive mood—to be strong for the next week, for work, for whatever political stuff is going on in the world right now.
You need to make them strong for the week.”
Christian Näthler at LOL/SOS interviews Paul Gurner, the owner of St. George’s Bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg.
That Saint George’s has been flourishing for 23 years is remarkable if not miraculous. "We've been through a lot,” Paul says, recalling events of the last seven years. First, there was Brexit, which increased shipping prices by 400%. "Then right after Brexit Ukraine happened—well, no, that dickhead in Russia happened.” And on top of all that came the pandemic. Still, revenue held steady. "We have the best customers, I must say. It makes it very easy to run a bookshop. We have a very minor percentage of people who are a pain in the ass.”
And a bit beyond Berlin …
Jessica Guettler at Sprachmelodie is an American living in Heidelberg who writes about the connection between music, language and culture.
This latest article talks about Basti Stein’s pop song, Elefantastisch, a homage to the German children’s TV show of the same name.
While the song is clearly intended for an audience familiar with the various television references, the general sentiment rings true across cultures. Though the carefree days of childhood may feel far away, Basti still holds out hope for us grown-up children as he suggests that “nicht alle Märchen sind gelogen” (not all fairy tales are lies).
What have you guys read recently that moved you? Take a second and let me know in the comments!
I wish everyone a happy and safe weekend, and may it make you “strong for the week.”
Those shoe spikes sound like a good idea