My Berlin: Mitte on Christmas Eve
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Hauptstadt,
no residents were stirring, not even a tourist …
Well, except me, that is …
It’s little surprise many find themselves where they’re supposed to be on Christmas Eve.
Ever since visiting Berlin the first time in 2002, I’ve always entertained the idea of photographing the German capital city during winter holidays. The city slows down, becomes quiet, and sits back as if to take a deep long breath.
Crammed train stations seem cold, emptied of all who normally stream through the halls. The usual sounds of the city are muted by diminished traffic on the day before Christmas and by the sound-diffusing and -absorbing property of falling snow. City fixtures and Christmas decorations cast bright spotlights down on the ground layer of snow while diffuse glow of colour is scattered up to the cloud deck overhead.
Under blizzard-like conditions and little street traffic, I cannot deny myself this beautiful photographic opportunity.
Empty, S Potsdamer Platz
Empty, S Potsdamer Platz
Where’d everybody go? Bahnhof Potsdamer Platz
Waiting – Bahnhof Potsdamer Platz
Light tree at the Sony Centre
Light tree at the Sony Centre
“Bahnhof”, Potsdamer Platz
“iPad-LO”, Potsdamer Platz
U Hausvogteiplatz
U Hausvogteiplatz
“Winter cover,” Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden | Under the lime trees
West to east
Schneefall | Snowfall
Geschenk | Gift
Weihnachtsbaum um Mitternacht | Christmas tree at midnight
I made the photos on Christmas Eve 2010. I also wrote about a solitary Christmas here. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-2Hp.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
21 Responses to “My Berlin: Mitte on Christmas Eve”
beautiful collection, henry. what’s all that white stuff on the ground?
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Hahaahahah! Well, when I happened to be out and about on that Christmas Eve evening, there were inches of the white fluff everywhere. Thanks, Stephen, for reading and for your comment!
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Amazing shots!
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Thanks, Jono, for stopping by! Hope you’re enjoying the Sydney summer; I miss being there in that great Australian metropolis!
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It’s 40 degrees right now 😉
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Hot diggity! I’ve been to Sydney a number of times, and most recently, I was in town from March to June. I seem to be around at all times *except* summer. Enjoy the sun and beach!
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Thanks for sharing such awesome photos! I remember walking by several of them just this past summer. Berlin looks even more gorgeous in snow. Wow!
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Hi, Mike & Viv, and thanks! For any place or city in the world that’s been memorable, I think it’s a lot of fun to go back (if/when possible) in the “opposite” season to see what it’s like. I hope to convey that I’ve got a very big fuzzy spot in me cold dark heart for the German capital city of Berlin. 😉 Thanks again for reading and for your kind comments!
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Beautiful prose – ” as if to take a deep long breath” I love that description for a space so energetic any day other than Xmas and the fact that you found it an irresistible environment to photograph resonates with me; the photos are rich and captured perfectly. I’ve always enjoyed public spaces at midnight or dawn when they feel as if they belong only to me.
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Hi, Maria. Thank you for your beautiful and most kind comments. You’ve expressed the kinds of emotions I precisely wanted to convey through those photographs, especially for those who’ve gained their own unique knowledge of the vast complexity and “internal beauty” that is Berlin. I also agree very much with you about being in public spaces very late at night or very early in the day; it’s the “ultimate in slow travel”. It’s also the reason why I love photographing Praha late at night or early in the morning. 🙂 Thank you again for reading and for your comments, Maria!
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[…] to Germany, here are some really lovely photos from a few years ago of Berlin at […]
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Thanks for linking to my post, Charlotte!
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These are truly beautiful photos. Berlin looks so peaceful. I really, really love the photos at the park.
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Hi, Ann – thank you for your very kind comments! I got the idea from one or more photography authors, and for me, it was easy motivation to photograph the city I love on a “quiet occasion”, even through the cold wind and whipping snow. Thanks again!
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Great photos – these make Berlin look so quiet and peaceful!! Thanks for stopping by our blog.
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Hi and thanks for your kind comment, Jessica. I view those photos as being in the right place and the right time, and also, an understanding of what those conditions and that situation would mean for the photography. Thanks for reading!
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[…] Additional photos from Christmas Eve evening in Berlin are found here. […]
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[…] Celebrating Berlin’s (Cölln) 775th anniversary • Christmas Eve: a calm city under a blanket of snow • ‘The Crier’, from Berlin Germany to Perth Australia • […]
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[…] My Berlin: Mitte on Christmas Eve (2010) • 2009 to 2010 • 2005 to […]
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It is beautiful how you captured the stillness of the city on a Christmas Eve. The families are all home and exchanging gifts as is the German tradition.
When I was still living in Berlin I experienced many of those quiet Christmas Eves. And when in this stillness the snow starts to fall ever to slowly than this stillness is even more accentuated.
Do you know the German Christmas song “Leise rieselt der Schnee…”? (Quitely the snow is descending)
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Hello, Peter – thank you for reading and for your kind comment! I saw that you and your family emigrated to Australia from Germany in the late-1950s. Because of how unusually and atypically quiet the city was, I enjoyed seeing what Berlin was like on Weihnachtsabend. What part of Australia do you now live? I’ve enjoyed the parts of Australia I’ve visited in the last few years.
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