The time of my birthday is usually the coldest time in the Middle-European winter. But not this year. I made the boat winterproof in December, when there were actually some minus degrees. But now it is at times + 14 °C, while -14 °C would be seasonally possible. The next 10 days forecast also stays above zero. So then, if no cold snap surprises us, winter here is over. Well, it helps the gas bills as also the heating season is mild like I cannot remember it from before.

My birthday, this year, I went to my birth town and visited the hospital in which it all started back in 1966, during a snow storm. It’s the Brüderhaus St. Josef in Koblenz located in Kardinal-Krementz-Straße. This hospital was founded in 1899 by Brother Peter Friedhofen, who before started the Catholic congregation of Barmherzigen Brüder von Maria Hilf in 1850. My short visit this year was on a rainy day, not a snowstorm at all.

Of course, people debate whether this weather change is in the context of man made climate change. Seems very likely, yes. But in any case, I decided, perhaps prematurely, to wave winter goodbye and start spring time. After Covid and war in Ukraine, with all it’s implications, it’s good to have some light in 2023.