On the Alster
Because of the very cold winter this year, the Alster, the big lake in the center of Hamburg, is frozen. The ice is thick enough for people to walk on it. According to Wikipedia, the last time this happened was in 1997. Once the ice is thick enough, permission is granted to walk on the ice and a fair is held on the Alster. However, there hasn't been an official permission yet, which didn't stop tens of thousands of people to step onto the ice last weekend. On Saturday we had beautiful sunshine, but I was busy moving my stuff into my new apartment. On Sunday though, I found the time to join the spectacle (and I can easily walk to the Alster from my apartment). The weather was not as nice as on Saturday, with snow and rain alternating, but I managed to shoot some photos on the ice (make sure to see yesterday's picture as well).
Part of the reason why this event is to exciting is because you get a whole new perspective on the town, and new paths and connections open up. Large bodies of water violently divide the area in which they are located. The get from one side to the other, you would have to walk around the lake, which in case of the Alster is a long way as it is quite big. Interestingly, there are no subway lines or road tunnels under the Alster either.
On Sunday though, I crossed the lake from one side to the other by foot, which is quite an experience. After all, a couple of thousand years ago, you would become a Messiah with a trick like this. Oh wait, did I miss an important aspect here? Anyway, I really hope that the weather stays cold and snowy so I can do it all again next weekend.
In other news, another one of my photos is currently being shown at the website of Stern magazine in a picture gallery about street life photography. I nearly missed this since I was moving and I don't have internet in my apartment yet. See the photo here.
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