The first outdoor beers of the year are a sign of spring to equal the golf in Augusta or the yellow fields of Brandenburg. Normally we find ourselves at the Prater Garten in Prenzlauer Berg, but this year we toasted the onset of good weather at the beach bar in Weißensee before a stroll around the lake. Finding a spot in the sunshine with a view across the water it was easy to forget that the city and one of the major roads out of the north of Berlin were just on the other side of the trees.

Drinkers dangled bare feet into the water, and a few foolhardy souls braved the depths to swim out to the fountain, swimming between the rowing boats that moved lazily back and forth. These are the moments Berliners wait the whole long winter for, as we know that, with the first beers under a brilliant blue sky, summer is just around the corner…

Words & Pictures: Paul Scraton