Ice Watching

I never thought watching ice could be so mesmerizing or fun. Sunday afternoon, the German and I had a wonderful outside adventure despite the frigid weather. I think yesterday's high was around -6° C which is around 21°F. Plus, it's Hamburg, so there was wind. We set off for the Alster Lake until we couldn't feel our cheeks or ears. It was definitely past the high temperature of the day at this point. We noticed some smoke in the distance in the direction of the harbor and though that perhaps a cruise ship was on it's way in.

Just then we happened to see a bus heading in that directions, so we hopped on. Not only, did the bus provide warmth and transportation, but it also offered me a nice little sightseeing tour. Once we made it to Hafen City, we realized there was no cruise ship.

Instead, we picked up some hot chocolate and watched the Elbe River as chunks of ice floating down stream. We weren't the only ones taking part, but we were part of the more sane crowd who did it from indoors. The sun was shining, the water and ice were flowing, and the hot chocolate was the most chocolately hot chocolate I've tasted in Germany. It was glorious.

The picture truly doesn't capture how awesome this was.