Hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) in water and at interfaces provides the mechanism for many processes of great importance for biological system. Recent experiments using x-ray and electron spectroscopy have raised the question whether we really understand the nature of H-bonding and the structure of liquid water. Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations we have demonstrated the appearance of specific spectral features that can be related to asymmetric H-bonding configurations. These can be seen at the surface of ice and in the liquid phase showing the existence of broken H-bonded local structures. The surprising result for the liquid phase is the large number of broken H-bonded species compared with the established wisdom based on molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. We find that most molecules in the liquid are in two-hydrogen-bonded configurations with one donor and one acceptor hydrogen bond compared to the four-hydrogen-bonded tetrahedral structure in ice. Measuring XAS spectra through x-ray Raman scattering (XRS), where inelastic scattered x-rays cause a core excitation, different samples can be studied in air using hard x-rays. This provides means to study water at various temperatures and pressures. From x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) studies of ice, providing information of the occupied orbitals projected onto the oxygen atoms, a deeper insight into molecular orbital rearrangements upon H-bonding could be obtained. The decrease in repulsive interaction through charge transfer and rehybridization is essential for a strong attractive electrostatic interaction. The new applications of x-ray spectroscopy (both XAS and XES) and PES to water based systems provides a unique opportunity to obtain new information that has not been accessible previously. A perspective of implications to interfaces will be given.