Monday, Monday.

Just another monday? What made my morning walk all along the riverside special? Or was it just an ordinary - maybe even boring - sunrise start of a first weekday? Well, it wasn’t especially the Red Fireball over the Brandenberg Forest that would inspire me today. It wasn’t the swift streaming riverwater as such. Nor was it the fact that this had to be my last view around here, last walk to visit the Weser Friends, for the coming weeks.

And it even wasn’t the joy that gave me this first all around walk. Down to the river, then from the West to the East, around the main turning & under the bridge. Finally alongside the Little Brook back high uphill homeward. Very refreshing this big round. But the inspiration today came from the cold eastern wind blowing right into my face and through my pullovers. It didn’t really bother me, because real winter is over now.

So there was no need to warm myself up with an extra layer of old newspaper. As we used to do during strong winter frost, mostly during ice skating. This morning I felt again how it was years ago: you could feel struggling against the strong and icy Northeastern Polar wind, skating on the frozen canals, far out all through the endless “polder” meadows. I could go and skate for hours, not caring about returning home at orderly time.

Bowing against that cutting headwind, your fists on your back, and making those long skating strokes, sliding right, left, right, left..On the rhythm of your breathing out and in, out and in.
“Long distance skating”: that was the feeling that made this morning walk alongside the river so special.

And, before I forget, the laughing, tingling, singing of the accelerating river stream, driven into whirling by the stony stream breakers. Unlike the deep metallic gong singing with skate scratch shuffles on natural ice. A different kind of music, but very well suiting my last winter walk through this marvellous Weser river valley.