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Munich whitewashed 慕尼黑變慕尼白

There seems to be only one topic of conversation at work this Monday and Tuesday (6th and 7th March). The classical excerpts include:
‘I haven’t seen this much snow for a while!’
‘I couldn’t drive to work today because I couldn’t move my car out of the snow.’
And for something slightly out of this world: ‘I parked my car somewhere on the street, and I couldn’t find where it is under the cover of snow!’

When the snow became the only ‘hot’ topic of the town, one can appreciate how heavy it has been. And for me, everything to do with snow still has a very high novelty factor. So when the snow stopped on Wednesday morning, the first thing I did was to look for photo opportunities around the place. I was glad I had seized the day, because the rain on Wednesday night had washed away a lot of the snow. Of course, the car-owners were also rejoicing over the end of their inconvenience!

The snow may look romantic from the warm indoors, but it’s a different story if one has to deal with or against it. When I was stumbling on the snow in the city on Tuesday morning to sort out government paperwork, I felt cross-country skiing was a much better option than walking. I was vindicated when I saw a man carrying (more precisely, dragging) her young daughter on a toboggan board instead of a pram (baby stroller). How clever was that man! The melting of snow on Thursday morning brought about another problem. The thin layer of ice left on the pavement made walking some many times more treacherous, and at some places ice-skating seems to be the only safe way of navigation. One of my colleagues told me that March and April were busy times for doctors and surgeons since the ice on the roads, formed after cycles of snowing and melting, would catch many people unawares. So watch your step!


本週一、二(3月6、7日),工作間最常聽到的說話,不外是:
「很久未見過這麼多雪!」
「下雪累得我不能駕車上班。」
更有甚者:「我把車泊在街上,一場雪後也認不出車在哪裡!」

一場大雪,成了全城傳媒和市民的「熱」門話題。雪景對我還是新奇事,所以週三早上一停雪,我便趁新鮮趕緊四處獵影留念。所謂花開堪折直須折,當晚一整夜雨把雪沖去不少,除了我興幸趕得及拍照外,各車主也樂見車輛終於解凍。

其實雪景這東西,躲在家中開着暖氣欣賞最自在寫意,上街時卻是另一種滋味。週二早上在市區冒着風雪趕辦理證件時,便恨不得可以用越野滑雪的方式前行,街上有個聰明人,索性把自己幼女放在小型滑雪板當嬰兒車用,大人和小朋友都真是寫意。在雪地行走還不算艱難,過兩天溶雪後,有些地面仍留下一層薄薄的冰,此時滑冰比走路更覺安全。有同事說,三、四月不停輪替下雪、溶雪,街道結冰會累得不少人要光顧醫生或手術師,上街時真的要「步步為營」了。



08-03-2006
Snow banking up on the side of the road
路邊堆積的雪



08-03-2006
Nice trees for Christmas!
看似聖誕樹嗎?



08-03-2006
This house may not pass safety inspections of the roof!
危樓四伏,當心屋脊積厚雪!



08-03-2006
Popular car-covers for winter ...
雪車的另一個解釋

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey Geoff,
I was expecting somthing similar in Canada but they're having a warm-one this year. I guess you guys pinched all the snow eh?

Dene

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