As I sit here typing this, a winter storm is moving in from the North-West that is going to blanket most of Germany in snow. We’re only supposed to get a couple of inches but other places will get almost a foot. And in this region, that’s pretty much unheard of. We’ve been here in Germany for 9 years now, always around Frankfurt, and I don’t think we’ve had as much snow all of those previous years combined as we’ve had so far this winter. It’s just crazy. And they say our biggest concern should be global warming…hah!
Now if you look at the headlines of the most read (and most sensational) newspaper in Germany, Bild — the paper of the people, you might think that the world is about to end here in Germany:
“Weather warning for almost every area….Snow Storm Darkens Germany”
Deh, deh, deh…cue the ominous music.
I have to admit that over the last hour or so, it has gotten considerably darker, the wind is picking up (I actually just went outside to do a Hof check to make sure there’s not anything that can become a flying weapon in the predicted 65kmh (40mph) winds — might have gotten frost bite on my fingers because it’s just that cold out there but whatever) and the snow should be starting at any minute.
Once it starts snowing it’s supposed to keep going until about midnight…and then we will have more light snow off and on until next TUESDAY!
Um, what?
I mean this is what our weather warnings look like on the map of Germany:
There’s only one other color above red…and that’s purple. Which I guess means you’re in serious trouble because I don’t think we’ve ever seen that one yet.
Seriously. In other parts of Germany, this is pretty normal. In Bavaria for example, they get snow by the truckloads. And when I lived in Virginia they would close school if even one flake fell because it probably meant we were about to get 3 feet and the buses couldn’t get up and down the mountain to bring kids home. But having this much snow here near Frankfurt would be like having a foot of snow in MIAMI! People there pull out their big bubble jackets when it drops below 70°F. Trust me, I’ve seen them while I was at The U.
To be honest, after Friday it can snow all it wants. Stefan will be on vacation and he won’t need to drive the 30 km twice daily to work. We can go take Mack sledding and build more snow penguins and snow gators…maybe we’ll finally even have a white Christmas. But while Stefan is at work, it would just be better if he doesn’t have to drive with all those maniacs in his evening commute!
Here’s a fun fact: You might think your German neighbors are just being courteous when they get out there and shovel the snow off the sidewalk. But it’s actually a law! Yep. From 8am until 8pm, people must keep their sidewalks clear of ice and snow. If someone should fall on your stretch of sidewalk and injure themselves, you are responsible for their medical bills. So all you housewives, Omas and kids, don’t think you can wait until someone else comes homes to take care of the snow pile up! I have had to sweep and shovel snow more times than I’d like to count already this year…but it’s a great workout and it has to be done. Just remember: if less people have walked through it, it’s a whole lot easier to get off the sidewalk! It will turn into a compact ice patch if you wait too long!!
Want to know something else about German laws? All cars driving during the winter must be fitted with winter tires. Fines have been bumped up from €20 to €40 if you get caught driving without them (they’re clearly marked with a little “M+S” marking which stands for Matsch und Schnee (slush and snow)).
On one hand it’s a great boost for tire and wheel manufacturers. Because a lot of people still don’t have them (it’s not like this hasn’t been a law they’ve talked about for a while but I guess people were in denial), there was a big shortage of winter tires this year and prices tripled for some cars. Obviously the companies that mount the tires and/or store your summer tires for you are also benefiting from all this too. Wait, storage of your tires? Oh yes. If you don’t feel like schlepping those dirty summer tires home to stack up somewhere or just don’t have a place for them, they can be stored for you…for a fee of course. And when you get your summer tires put back on next year, they’ll store the winter ones for you.
But to be honest, when it’s icy out there, winter tires make your car hug the road a whole lot better. Especially if the roads look like this:
Which is pretty much what it looked like about a week ago when it snowed here and there were no plows out for hours.
As I mentioned, I lived in Virginia…I learned how to drive there. I not only know how to drive in snow but I also downright enjoy it most of the time. But I also drive a Defender now which might as well be a tank. And it is painfully clear that most of the other people on the road are terrified and have no clue what they are doing. Which brings up back to the headlines above which boast of snow panic and “snow storms that bring darkness to Germany.”
What you think about the current weather where you are? Do the winters seem to be getting a bit more harsh lately or is it just me??
I live in southern West Virginia and am currently watching snow come down outside my office window. On the drive in (25 miles) this morning I saw no pavement at all, just snow. I fully expect it to be packed, icy snow on the way home. FabHub is a middle school math teacher and is out of school for the 3rd day this week, tomorrow will be too probably. Last week was out two days. Last year they didn’t even get their 180 days in. Yes, the winters have been more harsh than normal. I grew up in Minnesota so doesn’t bother me much, but the biggest problem for people besides driving in this stuff is clothing. I might be generalizing some, but the stores just don’t sell the under 20 degree (Fahrenheit) clothing here. Not at a decent price anyway. They are stocked for more like 30 to 40 which is more normal. The saddest part is that kids don’t have good snow boots or suits so they can’t get out and play in it too well either. Those days playing in the snow are some of my best farm memories.
Thanks for asking, good memories, back to work. 🙂
Thanks for chiming in, Sandy! When I lived in Virginia I also don’t remember it being SO cold. I mean freezing sure…in the 20’s maybe a few days. But last year we had -18°C (-4°F) for TWO weeks…it was just crazy. They’re predicting temps of -25°C over Christmas. Ayla is definitely not getting walked in those temperatures!!
I have to agree that reasonably priced kids clothing that actually keeps them warm isn’t always easy to find. Yes, you can get lots of expensive stuff (that isn’t always going to keep them warm) and the cheap stuff that you just don’t know about…but for the most part it just seems like your best bet is tons of layers. I’m happened to pick up a pair of fleece-lined snow pants and sheep-wool-lined snow boots for Mack before the season started (online) and am SO thankful. She wears the pants every time we step outside. They seem to do pretty well at keeping her warm and dry…and the boots are big but so practical. Now if I could find her some gloves that actually keep her hands warm…and that she’ll keep on!
Ok, this post was making me laugh! It’s like watching people try to drive in snow here in Tennessee – they don’t have a clue how to do it. Peter was passing the folks on the four-lane road who were going 20 MPH. When he got to work, one of his co-workers was talking about this “nut” who was passed him on the way to work…yep, that would be Peter who was going all of 45 MPH or so on the SALTED roads!! Hahahaha!! Looks like you might get a white Christmas though – that’s what I’m hoping for! As for the tickets for tires and sidewalks – well, I have some conservative thoughts about that which I will keep to myself. 😉
The weather in Heidelberg is similar to the weather in Frankfurt, cold and snowy.
In response to your comment on tires, I’m not sure if you know this or not but some vehicles, especially if you shipped your vehicle from the States come with all-weather tires which are acceptable in Germany. My Subaru has them and so I don’t have to change the tires. We bought them for our Ford in Germany so it has them too. From what I’m told you can buy all-weather tires for almost any vehicle. Of course they probably are not as good in the snow as pure winter tires but I haven’t had a problem. If you rarely HAVE to get out in the snow anyway, then you might try and buy all-weather tires and save yourself the hassle of changing them twice a year.
Good point! I have all weather tires on my Defender and have never had any trouble driving it in the snow. My husband’s BMW is a whole other story unfortunately. He just bought it recently and it only had summer tires…so unfortunately we’ve had to shell out the cash for new ones.
Hi Tiffany.
Nice blog and i think you hit the nail on the head except that where i live in Neuss NRW i’ve been changing my tyres summer/winter and back for a number of years and they always cost. Depending on your car make from 60-100 euros X 2 (winter-summer).
I’ve just got interested in blogging and wonder if you have any suggestions for me.
I use winter tires and they definitely make a difference, even on my Saab which was built for the snow 😉
LOL
I used to live in the Sierra Nevadas in a town called Quincy California for a few years as a kid and Plumas County NEVER closed school for snow.
I had my own personal delays getting to school during heavy snowfalls which were excused but it wasn’t a problem with the school.
I don’t have lived there for a long time but I check up on the little news they get every now and then and last March they got 2 feet in one weeek. ONE WEEK!
There wasn’t even talk of schools closing! The collage did closed for ONE DAY but the schools were all on time prompt!
Obviously Virginia needs to learn something here.
They were just always poorly equipped for the snow, I guess. The buses couldn’t get up Blue Mountain, which would completely ice over in bad weather. And since the buses couldn’t get up to where everyone lived, it was a matter of the kids sliding down the ice or their parents trying to drive them down the ice.
Perhaps if they’d been better maintained and more de-icing skills were had by the county, it wouldn’t have been an issue. But I sure wasn’t complaining about the number of snow days 🙂
I DO understand that most of the kids in Quincy walked to school so that may be why West Virginia closes over the slightest flurry?
The mountains of Virginia look like NOTHING compared to the Sierras. I tried to be impressed looking at the Virgina mountains and they are all right but they CANNOT even BEGIN comparing to the roughness of the Sierra Nevadas.
Virginia mountains are puny and not the slighest bit difficult to navigate compared to the Sierra Nevada highways.
I honestly don’t know what Virginia’s excuses are unless most of the students are bussed far away.
Seriously: If you have never been to the Sierra Nevada’s you don’t know the meaning of the word *Mountain*
Sorry for the triple diple posts but I failed to mention I drove on street view thru some of those back roads in Virginia and they look nothing even CLOSE to the Sierra Nevada’s
Boone NC at 3K starts getting into the first letter R of the Sierra Nevada range but most of Virgina hardly passes the S.