Winter Wonderland

I've decided to interrupt the recap of my Christmas vacation with an observation about the difference between snow storms in the US and in Germany.

I don't really feel like we've had any snow storms here.  It's been more like days upon days of snow.  I think places like Buffalo or Minnesota get snow like this, but most places I have lived get a singular snow storm, which freaks everyone out, and then spend a week trying to get back to "normal."  This is normal here.  I think we're going on 5 days right now - with a day long break in the middle somewhere. Early in December we had a few days of constant flurries, where nothing stuck, but there was white stuff floating down from the sky, but now we've got actual snow, and the temperatures have not gotten above freezing in a couple of weeks.  However, for all the constant snow, we have only gotten about 6-8 inches total, or at least that's the amount that is sitting on top of the picnic tables outside my academic building.

You might be wondering how people react to the snow here.  Well, unlike in the US, there are no people rushing to the grocery store to purchase milk and toilet paper.  Nothing has closed down, but again we only have about 6 inches of snow.  Only the major streets have been plowed with regularity.  The sidewalks are plowed occasionally.  In the old part of town with the cobblestones, it's every man for himself.  Every so often a street sweeper will come through and "sweep" the snow so that there's a thin layer of mushy brown slush everywhere.  It's not so much a Winter Wonderland as it is a slippery brown slushy nightmare.

Oh well.  At least we're getting a break and some above freezing temperatures!