Winter Can be Cool
A week of snow and ice makes magic (and just a little mayhem)
Powdery snowdrifts crunched under my feet as I trudged along a busy Goethestraße in Charlottenburg last night. Soft flakes blurred my vision and collected in the folds of my coat and messenger bag. Strangely, the new surge of winter weather lightened my mood.
Earlier that afternoon, I had been struggle-stomping my way to an appointment along those same ice covered streets, trying to avoid slipping and falling, cursing the lack of enforcement of the Räumen- und Streuenpflict (clearing and ‘gritting’ obligation).
Somehow the new-fallen snow added some traction and walking became less like unexpected ice skating and more like walking on a sandy beach - if a very cold and dark sandy beach.
Instead of studying the ground in front of me for every step, I could look up and appreciate the scene - snowcapped roofs, bright shop windows, people pulling their young children and/or th…
