Week 22: First Day of spring, Schnee

Apr 8

Before you think the title of this blog has a typo, ”Schnee” means snow in German.

March 20

Yesterday marked 5 months in Austria, the first day of Spring, and the 6th straight day of snow. Flashback to September 2020 before we relocated, we reached out to our Austrian landlord and asked him if it snowed much by the mountains and lake. His response was “not too much as it mostly stayed up in the mountains.”

The snow makes the mountains look beautiful and Instagram agreed. I took a picture of the Traunstein and it was reposted to the Gmunden IG page!

Hiking trails were covered, so no hikes this week. Eric’s finger is still healing from his break back on December 31, so skiing was not an option. Instead, we stayed at home and hung-out with our neighbors playing in the snow.

To me, snow is childlike and whimsical, fleeting and transitional. Snow engages all five senses. You can taste it, smell it, see it, hear it and feel it. My favorite part is you can make things with it like a snowman or snowballs. Snow reminds me school nights wishing for a snowy morning. Waking up and sitting in front of the TV listening to the news anchor read off which schools were closed. “Jefferson County Public Schools, go back to bed” was like winning the kid lottery! In Kentucky, we had at least a week of snow days every year. Memories of running down to our basement and pulling out the ski pants, snow boots, and gloves. Remembering where we left the sleds from the previous winter season and waddling out to our backyard. Meeting up with our neighborhood friends and sledding down the hill only to have to run back up the hill and do it again and again.

Just like childhood–snow is fleeting. Eventually the sun comes out, melts the snow away, turns into water to fill rivers and streams, and we move on to the next season. While I loved this week’s snowy neighbor bonding and being reminded of being a kid again, I am equally excited for it to melt, get warmer, and visit the hundreds of ”Wasserfalls” Austria has to offer.

But until then, I will enjoy this transitional season.