Not Spring Yet

I was in the newspaper.. funny story--the kid in the red in the back was the ONLY kid in class not allowed to be in the photo.

Made in the DDR.

Hi again!  The winter came in a huge way to Germany this year.  From November till shortly after Christmas it has been cold, snowy, and icy.  It was cold on the playground at school, it was cold on the Straßenbahn, it was cold on runs, it was cold in the stairwell, and it was so cold even the laundry wouldn't dry well (hang dry here). I can tell that I've gotten used to it because what used to feel like an arctic blast is now a pleasant breeze. 

Salzburg at Christmas time.

For the first few warm days (30's to low 40's) I would bundle up and brace myself to jump out onto the street in the morning.  I would then pause as if something had caught me as I would say (out loud), "oh, why its quite warm out." (I promise I usually don't talk like I live in the 30s).  My time waiting for the Straßenbahn would then consist of loosening my scarf and jackets and removing one of my two pairs of gloves.  Needless to say, though, this heat wave, if I dare call it that, has been wonderful.  Not bundling up to run or just live is great.  I realized today that, perhaps, why I like it so much is it feels like winter at home in Oregon.  It also makes me feel a little weak for thinking it was cold in winter.  Oh, well!

Runnin' in the forest by my place.

A little thing I have noticed (and therefore retains the possibility of being completely incorrect) about Germany is that as it gets colder clothing becomes more earth toned.  Dresden in the spring was quite colorful (mostly a brand called Jack Wolfskin--more on that later) but as it gets colder the jackets get darker and the scarves cover up any kind of colorful collar. Walking around recently and seeing the Jack Wolfskin appearing again has also been a welcome surprise.  Im sure the heavy wool coats will come back in a week or so but Im going to enjoy this while it lasts.


My last few days have been spent looking at plane tickets and trying to figure out my plans for Winter break (yes, I get a winter break too.. this really is the best after graduation job ever).  The hard thing about having two weeks off in February is that it is in February.  Not exactly prime travel season.  I am hoping to escape the winter a little, so we'll see what turns up but Im not crossing my fingers. 

Ive included some pictures from my classes.  Note the backpacks--or are the jet-packs?--The pictures are all from one of the third grade classes.

Another side-note:  I went to Mass at the Cathedral last Sunday because I missed it in the morning.. Im accustomed to not catching every nuance (meaning word.. I don't catch every word) but this was particularly bad.  So bad I couldn't even place the language until I looked at the board outside: Polish. Touché, Germany, touché.