Jetzt geht's bergauf!

"It's uphill from here" ... how many times have I heard adults saying this throughout my childhood, mostly joyously, sometimes with a sigh of relief, sometimes with a lot of hope but always as something really positive? As I grew older I started saying it, too, never thinking much of it. It's one of those idioms that you just accept because you are brought up with them.

My mum would say it every year in early December, marking the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. I knew that she meant that the days were getting longer from then on and long cold dark winter nights were numbered.

Mum in summer 1953

I floundered when I translated this sentence into English and said it the other day. I got blank faces and funny looks. All of the sudden I realised that it is an odd saying. In English "uphill" usually means 'it's getting harder'. There is the "It's all downhill from here", which sometimes describes a good thing but more often it's used in a negative context, too (I turned 36. It's all downhill from here and that the same in either language, German and English!) ... so why is "uphill" such a good thing in German?

It's obviously not derived from the cycling world where uphill is dreaded by most and downhill is the welcome reprieve! I'm sure it's the same for Germans, even for Jens Voigt.

Anyway, the days are getting longer again for us now - not that it is noticeable, yet - and that's a good thing.

Maybe the Germans are onto something and uphill is indeed not such a bad thing, even as a cyclist? I'll put it to the test and seek hills tomorrow. Because it's uphill from here ...