Finally White
Though we have had some snow, we in Iowa finally got our our taste of winter over the weekend. Though it's certainly no record breaker, it finally looks and almost feels like the winters I remember walking to middle school in - with my friend Sarah and I taking turns walking backwards to avoid the freezing winds in our faces, and wondering if our numb toes had fallen off yet.
And in the midst of our winter storm yesterday, I had the joy of driving home from our department store's (slightly belated) Christmas party last night.
The party had been in danger of being cancelled because of the weather, but even Iowans can't be stopped by a silly winter storm and in the end the party was not called off. I was already at work all day yesterday so after we closed the department store for the evening my boss and I wading through snow to our cars, and made the trip over to the party location. It was only 6pm but the roads were slippery, not fully cleared of snow, and winds were gusting more falling snow, making for some white-knuckle driving.
I had been encouraged to come to the party for the free tote bags with tester perfumes (I haven't had to buy perfume in years because of gifts and samplers), which was partly my motivation for putting myself in possibly more danger by staying out when I could've started the 30-mi. drive home earlier. It was also fun to get to know some of my work colleagues better and so I stayed and ate, played the trivia game, but did indeed head out as soon as I got my bag and sampler, along with all the other opportunists.
As I jumped through drifts of snow to make it to my parked car, I knew it would be a slow drive home. And sure enough, I was quite the granny driver, going 35-40 mph on a 65 mph highway. I'm not one to take risks in bad weather and certainly not when an icy road is just waiting to hurl me into one of its ditches.... Needless to say, I was glad to be home safely!
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While I never did drive in Germany - in Berlin a car isn't necessary, and almost a nuisance - I certainly had my fair share of slipping and sliding, only this time on foot. Why? Because Berliners don't shovel their sidewalks! I guess maybe it's because no one feels responsible to shovel as most buildings are apartments, and when a business does get around to shovelling in front of their store, they do exactly the portion in front of the business, making for only a few non-snowy steps unless it's a whole street of shops.
I guess everyone figures that when it does snow, it's usually not very much and so hardly worth making a huge fuss about (unlike our southern Bavarian friends with all their snow turmoils). But even the 2 or 3 inches of snow Berlin might receive packs down hard and freezes, making for some downright dangerous paths. It's like: Come on, when it comes to downtown areas or well-traveled places, can't the city just kick it into gear and clear the sidewalks or squares instead of having hundreds of people skidding along their way? (Alexanderplatz in the winter is an unofficial skating rink...) I mean, have they even considered the little old ladies and their walkers? Of course, when it finally starts to melt, it leaves slushy wet snow for about 2 months when the temperatures are not quite cold enough to freeze. During this time, soaking wet shoes and socks are the norm. I do miss Berlin and its quirkiness quite often but this is not one of those times!
And in the midst of our winter storm yesterday, I had the joy of driving home from our department store's (slightly belated) Christmas party last night.
The party had been in danger of being cancelled because of the weather, but even Iowans can't be stopped by a silly winter storm and in the end the party was not called off. I was already at work all day yesterday so after we closed the department store for the evening my boss and I wading through snow to our cars, and made the trip over to the party location. It was only 6pm but the roads were slippery, not fully cleared of snow, and winds were gusting more falling snow, making for some white-knuckle driving.
I had been encouraged to come to the party for the free tote bags with tester perfumes (I haven't had to buy perfume in years because of gifts and samplers), which was partly my motivation for putting myself in possibly more danger by staying out when I could've started the 30-mi. drive home earlier. It was also fun to get to know some of my work colleagues better and so I stayed and ate, played the trivia game, but did indeed head out as soon as I got my bag and sampler, along with all the other opportunists.
As I jumped through drifts of snow to make it to my parked car, I knew it would be a slow drive home. And sure enough, I was quite the granny driver, going 35-40 mph on a 65 mph highway. I'm not one to take risks in bad weather and certainly not when an icy road is just waiting to hurl me into one of its ditches.... Needless to say, I was glad to be home safely!
______________________________________________________________
While I never did drive in Germany - in Berlin a car isn't necessary, and almost a nuisance - I certainly had my fair share of slipping and sliding, only this time on foot. Why? Because Berliners don't shovel their sidewalks! I guess maybe it's because no one feels responsible to shovel as most buildings are apartments, and when a business does get around to shovelling in front of their store, they do exactly the portion in front of the business, making for only a few non-snowy steps unless it's a whole street of shops.
I guess everyone figures that when it does snow, it's usually not very much and so hardly worth making a huge fuss about (unlike our southern Bavarian friends with all their snow turmoils). But even the 2 or 3 inches of snow Berlin might receive packs down hard and freezes, making for some downright dangerous paths. It's like: Come on, when it comes to downtown areas or well-traveled places, can't the city just kick it into gear and clear the sidewalks or squares instead of having hundreds of people skidding along their way? (Alexanderplatz in the winter is an unofficial skating rink...) I mean, have they even considered the little old ladies and their walkers? Of course, when it finally starts to melt, it leaves slushy wet snow for about 2 months when the temperatures are not quite cold enough to freeze. During this time, soaking wet shoes and socks are the norm. I do miss Berlin and its quirkiness quite often but this is not one of those times!
posted by Heidi at 5:55 PM
2 Comments:
I know, stupid no-deicing - I wonder about the poor old people or anyone who can't walk well either! Hamburg's the same way! Here it is allowed to put some salt on the roads by the Alster, but otherwise it's a NO - the environment is apparently more imp than the Volk! Miss ya, enjoy the snow - it's so warm here (mid-low 40s)!
Well it certainly wouldn't hurt the environment to shovel! :) Guess it's the same everywhere in Germany - don't remember in Freiburg because I don't think we got as much snow there. By the way, I loved your Sparkasse message!! Thanks Posch!
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