New Years’s Eve in Berlin: 2 millions visitors, 3/4 of a million on the PartyMile stretching from Brandenburger Tor to the Siegessäule…and S-bahn Krise. But let’s proceed in order.
We were at the Gate in the late afternoon, after having left behind us a Sony Center which looked as if it was located in Gorkji. Snow helps in softening up the modern architecture’s edges.
A tour on the wheel provided the supporting evidence: it was cold and windy above the Tiergarten, even if it seemed that on the ground the temperature was comfortably zero. At sunset time we were back in our insular Schöneberg, enjoying the heavy snow fall and the first fireworks, stocking up on heat for the night out.
At around 10pm we headed back to Unter den Linden by U-bahn, the police was already checking that nobody with fireworks and glass bottles enter the PartyMile. We had an appointment with Eva at the Adlon at around 11pm but as soon as we approached Pariser Platz, the mood had shifted to high-security mode.
The entrance to the square was blocked and that was a bad surprise, spoiling the party. How come each time there is a party – the Mauerfall, Silvester – the poor Brandenburg gate is framed as an icon but sealed off? Maybe this time it was the fault of the American Embassy. Or the French and American together? It looks quite absurd that a measure like this be imposed by the Senat.
Anyway. Green police vans and uniforms in front of the Adlon. Frustrated crowd. This is not looking nice, and it’s 11pm already. We wished Guten Rutsch to Eva by phone, who was blocked at Gendarmenmarkt and with a brisk pace tried to get around the Gate under wet snow. At the Olocaust memorial the police was closing the…well, the checkpoint. Run along Wilhemstrasse to Leipziger Platz then.
Get behind Sony Center, avoiding Ebertstrasse. Probably our fastest périple ever on icy snow, 11 minutes.
Eventually we past through the Tiergarten checkpoint and that was the best part of the evening. Slowly trekking across the woods, moonlight reflecting on the thick snow, the noise of the PartyMile muffled down, the fireworks cracking softly above our heads.
At midnight big fireworks mimicked the Riesenrad on on Strasse den 17. Juni, seen from a clarière in the northern part of Tiergarten…
Snowing !!!! Here it’s raining…
a trek in the night across a forest with fireworks exploding over our heads…and from time to time, a polizeiman with a dog…quite an adventurous New Year’s Eve! we should have brought snow raquets!
very sporty, and worth it!