What may winter sound like? For me it is a question I have been longing to answer for years. How may the falling crystals of snow may be heard by the wind? How may the short lightness of the sun escape through with its hidden clouds?. It has all been an unsolved mystery for me, winter has only been a TV fantasy for me, an unwritten episode in my life, yet on this new year 2022, my fantasy encounters my reality, I finally got to live and hear the unforgettable sound of winter.
Travelling again after 2 years feels different, maybe it is the uncomfortableness of being on a plane again, or the excitement that was reassembled through weeks before our flight. It wasn’t a normal feeling that could be explained, though it followed me through the sky, into my journey to Germany. Landing in Frankfurt on December 25th, the plane arrived and as soon as I head to the doorway I feel the chilliness of a winter wonderland. Heading out of the airport I watched the small glimpse of the white crystals falling from the sky, my eyes couldn’t believe the crystals were snow!
The next days were only better, the German streets were slightly covered in white snow, as I walked through the ancient cathedrals with tops covered in slight snow and the smiling atmosphere of German people celebrating Christmas, it reminded me of Tchaikovsky’s winter composition, “The seasons,Op. 37 bis: December: Christmas week”. Though we were in Germany, the Russian winter composition filled the atmosphere, maybe it was the happiness that flew by the wind through everyone’s cheers, maybe it was the sound of the cold wind that was long forgotten by me. I finally understood the melody of “The seasons: December”, it wasn’t only about the crystals that flew over the sky, it was about the people, how Christmas brought people together in harmony.
In the same December week, our new adventure took us to “The Braunfels Castle”, the building from the Baroque period with some Romanticism traits. As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the castle, it felt as if you were going back in time, it was a white Christmas at the castle. I could hear how the atmosphere portrayed Bach’s “Cantatas, BWV 147: X. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”, the falling melody that followed me inside the castle in amazing daze, Baroque paintings and ancient objects surrounded the antique castle, it was a new history I have never seen before!.
image by : Abril
image by : Abril
The journey only began in Frankfurt, a few days later we arrived in Berlin, and it was when I finally encountered the true feeling of Christmas in German people. It was at the Christmas markets. The Christmas Market at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was surrounded by Christmas cheers, lots of German food that was the tastiest of all! The children were laughing and enjoying the winter season. I could feel it was Christmas. The mini stores told the story of the Nutcracker, reminding me of the melody of Tvchiscosky’s “Overture from the Nutcracker suite”, the Christmas toys in christmas colours that every children in the platz watched in an amazing gaze.
https://www.berlin.de/en/christmas-markets/
Our last day in Berlin was day one of 2022, the carnival of fireworks lightened the air the entire night, people clapping and cheering!The New Year’s concert was full of international artists that sang their hearts to the crowd, greeting everyone to the new year. Although the entire crowd was online, people gathered with their families, enjoyed the concert while eating their dinner together, you could hear the tears of happiness in everyone’s shiny eyes as they congratulated their families into the new year.
image by : Abril
Our journey ended in Frankfurt, with a long week full of adventures it became an unforgettable journey, though the ending may have been one of the most wonderful sights of all. On our last days the crystals came back and as the sun was trapped behind the cotton clouds, millions of crystals blew through the air as it said goodbye to 2021, and welcomed the city to the new year 2022. Maybe the crystals will come back again, with new sounds of joy and a new winter spirit, maybe it will come again and join the cold wind, Germany may see their winter wonderland again, and hear the whispers of their winter melody once again.
