Sunday, October 28, 2012

Introduction to an Alpine Winter

As my last post mentioned, Salzburg was expecting some snow.  We saw our first taste of it last night before we went to bed, and this morning, we opened up the curtains together and saw our tree saturated with snow.


It's always sort of magical to see the first snow of the season, especially in a new place.  When we spent our first year in Oswego County, I remember looking at the tree in our backyard and thinking about how it would be covered in snow in a few short months.  Little did we know what an Oswego winter entailed, or about the massive icicles that would hang from our balcony.  Let's just see what an Alpine winter has in store for us.


Birds fly overhead.  We made sure that the windows in our building are closed, otherwise I bet we would have another visit from that little bird seen here.


This is a snow skull created by Ben, sitting atop one of the recycling bins.  (Wait until you see the recycling situation here!  I already had a problem with people not recycling in the States, but Austrians take it to a whole other level.  Being environmentally friendly is going to be one practice that we bring back with us.  EVERYONE is going to have a compost pile, so pick a nice corner of your backyards!)  Ben used found materials to create this abrasive social commentary on the weather's disastrous effect on fronds and foliage. (or something like that :) )



Snow attaches itself to spiderwebs.  






Bikes line the pathways of our complex, another show of Austrian's commitment to being green.  You will notice that while the bikes are covered in snow, the tiles underneath are completely clear.  Good job, Austrian engineering!  I have a phobia of getting hurt, particularly of slipping and falling.  Getting on and off buses on rainy days is scary (there are railings, of course), and I think I've avoided skiing for this long because of my fear that my bones will just break.  These tiles, however, give my tortured mind a break.  I'm not going to be running on them, Dad, so don't worry, but I won't have to worry so much!

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