This week - Walking on ice...

This week was a very exciting one as Obama got inaugurated, police found the missing engine of the crashed plane in the Hudson and the economic downturn got worse with billions of losses for almost any company reporting their 4th quarter and 2008 full year results...
It was a short working week thanks to Martin Luther King day (public holiday on Monday) and a couple of evening work outs in the gym, something I didn't do for quite some time thanks to having many other, nicer things to do.
And it was a cold but sunny week, after a weekend with inches of snow coming down on us. I must say I really love winter in NY. It can be freeeeezing cold out there, but the sun is almost always shining. That makes life much more easy and gives you more energy, although some people here disagree, I know. But for a Dutchie, who is used to the cold, grey, rainy days typical for Dutch winter, the difference of the sun being there makes it great!

Walking through Central Park on one of these winter days, I wondered if New Yorkers would be trying to stand, walk and maybe skate on the ice of the different ponds and lakes. I found out pretty fast, that is rarely the case. Standing next to a lake in the middle of the park I couldn't stop myself testing the ice by kicking it firmly to wait and see what would happen, according to Dutch tradition. The ice appeared to be strong enough, it didn't give a crack. I decided to stand on it, looking around for people that potentially could rescue me, if needed. The ice was snowed under, you couldn't see it, which is always tricky, that's another Dutch tradition...
Once standing on the ice it gave me the feeling of a small but glorious victory, I walked around a little bit and went back on main land again. What a great experience!

Walking a little more through the snow I was amazed by the number of people that are still running their rounds in these cold and slippery circumstances, although some changed their running shoes for cross country skis!?

Click here to see how beautiful Central Park can be in winter shape and the squirrel that posed for me...