I live in Germany since Jan/2016. 2 days after I’ve arrived in Berlin, I’ve had experienced snow for the second time in my life (being the first one in Turin - Italy). I remember how happy and fascinated I was in seeing how the streets turned white. How the trees, that before wouldn’t have any leaves, got covered by a thin and smooth layer of snow. In 2016 it didn’t snow a lot: but it was enough to make me happy and delighted.
My 2021 started (a little bit) similar. But this time, with a lot more snow! On January 2nd, I went to the Rhön mountains, together with my boyfriend and his family. I had no idea about the place beforehand: I only knew I would (hopefully) see some snow on that day.
Being used to the warm and constant weather from Fortaleza, my hometown, of course anything that comes close to snow instantly grabs my attention :D
So there it was: mountains, snow and kids sliding down mountain slopes. The views were breathtaking and I think that was the best way to start the year and truthfully enjoy the cold months around here.
On the same day I was coming back to Berlin and ready to start the year. The weeks were passing by and all I could see through my apartment window were days filled with cloudy skies.
But last week was different. Temperatures started to drop (even more!) and yes, snow was coming! We were also presented with a lot of sun and blue skies. My lunch breaks were filled with walks around my neighborhood, where I could enjoy the views of the Panke canal and the Humboldthain Park.
After about a week of negative temperatures, some of the nearby lakes started to freeze. Last weekend I went to Heiliger See, in Potsdam. It was amazing to see that, the very same lake I went inside for the first time on my birthday (that is during summer), was completely frozen!
To be honest I was a little bit scared. Who knows what could happen? What if the frozen surface breaks down and I fell into the lake, like in the movies?
After checking that it seemed relatively safe, I decided to go. And I think it was amazing! I saw a lot of people ice skating and even some improvised ice hockey fields.
On Sunday I went to Weißer See, a lake relatively close to where I live. This one seemed even more frozen than the one in Potsdam - it is also a smaller one. Again I’ve seen a lot of people having fun and even some “sliding paths” that were built spontaneously.
This was the best gift I could receive in the last weeks. I live here for 5 years and I never expected to see Berlin covered by snow and its lakes being frozen like that!
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