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| Cyclists braving the cold |
We all knew it was too good to be true, but deep down we hoped for a miracle, i.e. that we would get to the end of winter without experiencing any really cold spells. But this is Brrrrlin after all and sooner or later it was bound to happen.
The cold arrived about a week ago, at the end of January, and it doesn't look like it will leave us any time soon.
The temperature in the mornings oscillates between -10 and -14 degrees Celsius, then slowly creeps up and reaches -6 degrees or so during the "warmest" hours of the day.
I'm not complaining: it could be worse and it could have started a lot earlier. Two years ago it was much much worse. Plus I'm one of the lucky ones: I work from home so I don't need to leave the house when it's -14. I wait till it's at least -9 to pop out to the baker's and the greengrocer's!
I have to admit that Berliners are a tough lot. You still see them out on their bikes, even cycling through snow and ice. And they don't all hide indoors... the other night I was really surprised to see that the cinema Hackesche Hoefe in Mitte was packed. In this day and age of high tech, high def, high res, 3D, etc. it was refreshing to see a silent film in black and white like The Artist, but it was even more refreshing walking home from the tram stop with a temperature of -9.
