Student blog: Helen – “Winter in Tübingen (and how beautiful it is)”

A very late happy new year from Germany!

I thought I’d do a bit of a catch-up post from the frosty land of Tübingen, before I properly put my head down to revise for the second lot of exams (how exciting), and the topic today is how *enter exclamative here* cold it is here.
I’m not even kidding. The lowest it’s been (I think) was -12 celsius and these days it rarely gets much above freezing.
Whilst this is an absolute pain (literally, my face hurts from being outside), it’s quite refreshing to be somewhere the seasons are identifiable; I’ve seen proper snow for the first time in several years and it’s amazing.

Speaking of unusual sights in England, the Neckar has completely frozen over (much to my amusement), with a tributary (a smaller river flowing into the main river; I had to google it) containing a street sign.

On a side note, I want to gush about how great Tübingen is for a second.
I really think that once you’ve seen how beautiful a place is/can be (for example I came here for the first time in the middle of July and it was absolutely stunning), then you can never really lose sight of that- even by the train tracks. Every time I walk to my classes or just go on the Neckarinsel it reinforces how much I love the place, especially with a clear blue sky.

Keeping along this theme, one thing that I’ve seen a lot more here than in England is graffiti, especially the political kind (though I may be biased, I live near to a hippie-house). Whilst it certainly took a bit of getting used to, I think it really brightens up the city and can make you think about things you usually wouldn’t (and it also provides something to look at whilst waiting for the bus).

I’ll leave you with the newest addition to the hippie-house, and I guess we’ll talk soon?