That's what I was told when I got here: Oh, it rarely ever snows in Hamburg! It's too near the coast, blah, blah. Well guess what. It does snow in Hamburg. It's snowing right now. It's snowed here at least once a week since mid-December! It's nice actually, the north of Germany is strangely beautiful with grey skies and a blanket of snow over everything. It's like the entire world is a pencil sketch on a huge piece of white paper. The cold isn't that bad actually, but the wind is a killer. Luckily I have a pretty warm leather coat I wear all the time which, often coupled with a fleece jacket, does a pretty good job of keeping the wind at bay. I hope it stays cold for the next few weeks, as it looks like the Alster lake may freeze over. If the ice reaches 20cm thick over the whole surface the Alstereisvergnügen (website only in German, sorry) will be authorized and Hamburger will take to the ice for the first time in 16 years! Because it rarely occurs, people come from all over to get the experience. The city also allows an outdoor market to be set up on the ice as long as the merchants follow VERY strict rules about the setup of their stands. I hope you will all keep your fingers crossed for me^^ I am starting to miss the sun though... when the difference between night and day is merely a change in the shade of grey that the sky takes on, it is easy to lose track of time, to lose interest in doing ... pretty much anything. It is easy to retreat into one's self, become very introspective, and get somewhat depressed. Dr. Armstrong (my director while in the W&M choir) had a theory that this somewhat depressing, melancholy winter period was responsible for the depth of the Scandinavian soul and their propensity to write really complicated, abstract, dissonant music. I think there is something to this theory, especially as the scandinavian countries are also the birthplace of the darkest, most depressing heavy metal bands! (This unfortunately had a horrificsally violent side as well. See for instance the story of Varg Vikernes)
In any case, right now is a time in which I am especially glad that I am not living alone! While they are a bit more used to it than I am, we all feel the effects of winter and do our best to keep each other occupied and in good spirits. Unfortunately, my days in my WG are numbered. My landlords will be returning from New York sometime near the end of April, and I will need to find a new place to live for the last 3 months of my stay here in Hamburg. I am not so worried about this as I was at the beginning of the year as I am sure I want to continue living in Hamburg, I actually live IN the city now and visiting other places will not be such a hassle, and I have friends I can rely on to help me out if things go awry. I hope to continue living in approximately the same area, but wouldn't be totally opposed to getting to know a new district of the city, as long as it is relatively close to the main train station. Otherwise my commute would be made considerably longer, and waking up much earlier than I already do (6am) is not my cup of tea. But honestly, I am really not worried about it. That being said, wish me luck, but don't worry about me too much^^
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