A slippery joy

Comfortable seats!!

According to my friends, one thing you apparently have to do in winter time is to go ice skating. To be honest I have never been somebody who enjoyed this so much. Until this year! Again, one of my friends persuaded me to try my best on the ice... And I have to admit that it was truly fun! We went to the Eisbahn Wallanlagen, which is located in the park Planten un Blomen, not very far from the U3 station St. Pauli. After a five minute walk you can already see the lights of Europe's biggest open air ice rink. To make it even more attractive, they decided to renovate the whole recreation area around the ice. Now you can find stylish white wooden benches with snuggy blankets, a bar where you can get hot and cold drinks and also a little snack to restore your energy after showing your talent on the ice. There is also an area that provides benches in a heated room, so you can warm yourself up again, in case you had a unpleasan encounter with the ice or just want to sit and chat for a while because the staff is renewing the surface of the ice.

Colorful lights accompany you in the ice

As a hint I am telling you that the best time to go there is probably from Monday until Friday during the day, until Friday evening. Then, the place becomes crowded with a huge number of visitors, especially a lot of children. Also, during the weekend it is more crowded, of course, but I figured I'd try and go there on a Friday evening. Although  we really had to watch out for the children, because most of them interpret ice skating as playing human dominos, which includes not only them but everybody passing by, who is not capable of dodging them, after 8 pm the place got less crowded, there where also fewer children and we could still enjoy ice skating until 10 pm! This is also a big advantage of the ice rink Wallanlagen, it closes really late. What is also worth mentioning is the "Ice Disco" on friday evenings. There is a DJ playing all the recent hits, but also the songs you ask him to put on, and the ice surface is illuminated by a colorful lightshow.
Another tip why you should go between Monday and Friday is the discount for students, which only applies on these days. On the one hand the discount is only €1, but when you start liking it, like I did, you will be able to borrow your skates "for free", because this costs exactly €5. So you see, you really do not need to worry about anything, just go there and they will provide you with everything, starting with the skates, a locker, food, drinks and a warm room to relax in between your rounds on the ice.

And before I end this article and you run off to the Wallanlagen, let me give you one last suggestion: Take a pair of gloves with you, your hands will be thankful in case you trip (which of course I am sure you won't...)!!