Skating at the Rothaus

Yesterday we had the pleasure of taking the kids ice skating in front of the Rothaus (City Hall). Particularly striking was the contrast between a new world order consisting of skate rental, man made ice rink, 80's music (OK, not so "new world"), and refreshment stands, and the old historical buildings that framed us in on each side. My attention was being torn between watching my kids and staring at the amazing architecture. 

Lillian was a whiz on the rink. Matthew struggled but was happy to have a sister who would skate him around the rink. Aiden seemed to get better with each loop around the rink. The rink was quite extraordinary; it was actually two separate circular rinks connected by paths that ran around and behind each of the rinks. There was also a "kiddie" rink made of fake ice where parents could walk along side their kids as they held onto plastic penguins for balance. Matthew did his "training" here, as he called it. But when asked if he was getting good enough to get on the real ice rink he replied, "no, I'm getting worser." But minutes after this statement he proclaimed, "I'm good. I can skate." He has never been short on confidence.

The weather was spectacularly warm and we all had a good time. The photo above is my attempt to capture the contrast between new world and old world order. The building in the background is actually not the Rothaus. It is a famous theater that sits across the road from the skating rinks. It actually faces back toward the Rothaus.