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It is always wonderful and uplifting to visit Sweden, to see relatives and friends, in particular my two grandchildren. They give so much joy, but also unpleasant reminders. I seem to catch one cold or other every time I see them. They are used to, and possibly immune to, a wide range of germs, bugs and bacteria, but I am not. Their nurseries are like crucibles of everything contagious. The children act like little middle men, like bridges, like carrier pigeons of colds and other curses. It took me over two weeks to get rid of this last nasty cold. And this came at a time when I work more hours than I normally do.
Outside it does not look like Christmas anymore. The snow has gone and we had 12 degrees today. It is dark, wet and windy. The extra light reflected off the snow has been replaced by some dark matter, which does not lift your soul exactly.
On the other hand I have just received a belated birthday and Christmas present from my wife. I ordered it from Amazon in the UK, but since it has to go through the military sorting office in London, it normally takes another five days to get here. It is a third lens for my Nikon camera, a Sigma 300 mm lens, which is both heavy and looong. I will be needing my tripod for it when it is fully extended in order to get sharp images. This is particularly important since there is no built-in vibration reduction (anti-shake) mechanism.
I am hoping to be able to take better close-ups of for instance birds, and also to experiment with macro photography. It is possible to achieve pictures with great detail. So hopefully I can show some examples of that once I have practised a little. I just need to hold my breath and steady my hands.
Signing off with two pictures of days now long gone.
All of a sudden we had the first snow, on the last day of November, and then much more today.
Since it got cold I have noticed the birds having a greater appetite. Add snow to that and they start getting more aggressive, in particular the Greenfinches.
The Great Tit had to wait for its turn. But this Blue Tit was luckier, the female Spotted Woodpecker had her own food supply. Is that the same Great Tit waiting up there?
Some flowers had not even had time to fall off the shrubs before the snow settled.
I could not resist posting this before I take a week-long break from blogging. This fluffy, feathery ball is a male bullfinch trying to save energy and keep warm. (Taken yesterday in our garden.)
The snow has all but gone now, so I thought I'd better put this picture up to represent the unusually long spell of wintry weather we've had here.
Many of the children in particular have never seen so much snow before, and not just for a brief spell, but for a prolonged period. There was more earlier, but most of it disappeared before we had this top-up.
Children have made snowmen and igloos in many gardens. They have had snowball fights on their way to, and especially coming from school, our Italian neighbour mum exchanging snowballs with her oldest son, both laughing and shouting, ducking and diving.
People have actually started wearing proper winter clothes, yes, even Brits! But many of them are still reluctant to treat their cars with winter respect. Some still pour hot water down their windscreens; others nip out midway through their morning routines to start the car engine and leave it running to do the snow and ice clearing job for them. They'll do anything to avoid clearing the ice and snow with scraper and brush. So it's not unusual to see people on their way to work in "igloos" with a little peep hole to look out through. Dangerous!
Otherwise I think this picture is one of tranquility. That soft white snow mutes all sounds and brightens up the landscape and it also creates natural harmony and beauty, even in our somewhat monotonous neighbourhood.
I am still fascinated by the lack of knowledge and understanding of all things wintry and cold among some Brits.
First I have to defend and excuse people in the UK for not being winter-wise, since most winters there are relatively mild and free of snow. However they do happen, and most adults ought to have experienced sub-zero temperatures and snow in their lives.
It has to be said that the authorities are much better prepared these days. There are snow ploughs, gritting lorries etc., but perhaps not enough of them. Neither is there any "winter tyre culture", most people use the same low-profile, shallow-groove tyres all year. Also the rubber on those tyres are less effective below 7degrees C even on a dry surface.
On the UK news you can see desperate drivers trying to get out of some snow, just letting the wheels spin wildly, slowly packing the snow harder and harder. No technique to ease their way out of it.
You also see news reporters walking down a snow-covered pavement, not even thick enough to make the shoes disappear, talking about "treacherous conditions". Rather pathetic.
And people don't even put gloves and hats on. No wonder they feel cold.
Then of course we have the old housing stock, which does not seem to be fit for purpose in the winter; single window panes, those draughty sash windows, lack of insulation and central heating. The list could be made much longer.
And to economise, some people, especially old and fragile people, are in the habit of turning off the heating in some rooms, not realising that that is not very cost-efficient.
Watching the BBC Breakfast show this morning, another striking example of lack of understanding of basic principles made my jaw drop.
Sian Williams (the female presenter), who normally gives a very sharp and intelligent impression, questioned the idea of placing radiators below the window, since "all the heat just disappears straight out through the window" as she put it. I nearly sent a text message to explain, but several others got there before me.
A few minutes later she quoted one of them, explaining how the rising heat creates a protective wall preventing the cold coming in from the outside. "I suppose we have to trust him, he's got a PhD" she added.
So there is still hope.
The snow keeps coming down, and will continue tomorrow according to the weather forecast. The other day when we were returning from a refreshing walk we saw some lights moving slowly in the distance. I guessed it was a tractor, but the light was too faint (or my eyes too bad) to establish what it was. I could not resist the temptation to hone my low-light photo skills though and got the camera out.
It was not until I got home and transferred the photos to my PC that I realised what the spectacle had been. It turned out to be an unusual tractor-cade; a farmer on a tractor pulling four toboggans or sledges. Who said Germans don't have a sense of humour and fun? Great fun!
What a lovely holiday we had! But it was the wintriest journey and stay I can remember. The first, short leg to Bremen took over four hours instead of three, and Bremen to Malmö, including the ferry between Germany and Denmark, took nearly seven long hours, all due to snow and -10 degrees C. The gritters and snow ploughs ganged up on us, cars, coaches and lorries coming off the ferry, and blocked the motorway driving at 50 kph (30 mph) for about 20 kilometres. Not everybody was happy about that!
The return journey was even worse, close to disastrous, twelve hours and forty minutes! Just before the Danish ferry port the snow started to come down faster than I have ever experienced before . All motorists were very cautious, but about a kilometer from the actual ferry terminal an articulated lorry spun round, jackknifed and ended up the wrong way in the snow-covered field, luckily without personal injuries to the driver. We saw him jump out of the cab with the windscreen wipers still trying to keep off the persistent snow.
When we reached the check-in, the snow fall (some would have called it a blizzard) had intensified and you could hardly see more than thirty metres. The whole waiting area was soon covered in thick snow. Everybody stayed in their vehicles, engines and wipers running. Only some, desperate for the toilets, man and dog alike, braved the conditions and walked, ran or jumped in a rather comical fashion to relieve themselves.
After one and a half hours of waiting in the car, we finally found shelter on the ferry. Most drivers left ample space to the one in front in order to clear the snow blanket, 20 centimetres thick. The cars looked like igloos! Less than an hour later we rolled off to encounter even more winter.
The remainder of the journey was extremely slow, sometimes just crawling on the icy, snow-covered autobahn in heavy snow fall. Other times you tried to see through the slushy spray from the car in front.
When we finally got home after midnight I found my reward in the drinks fridge!
But between these troublesome journeys we had a wonderful time in Sweden. We celebrated Christmas with family and met up with friends, some of whom I had not seen for sixteen years. Southern Sweden was wintry white, but welcoming.
I leave you for now with some pictures.
What I am on about? Just look at them!
And then look at these!
The bolts are too long!
I have just had the winter tyres fitted by the garage. They store the set of tyres not in use, and also switch them at a reasonable price. Since last year we have got a new car, but of the very same make and model. And then the hub caps won't fit. How is that possible?
I was so drowsy early in the morning (Germans start early) that I didn't protest or question the situation, but my wife told me off at lunchtime for having been too compliant and soft. Thinking about it in retrospect I agree. Where is the logic? Another trick to squeeze money out of you?
The thing is that I think the naked winter tyre looks so ugly, I insist on having hub caps although most people don't seem to be bothered.
So I had to ring them back this afternoon and spoke to the sales guy, who promised to speak with the service people. I want new hub caps "kostenlos" as the Germans say.
To make it worse, when I checked the car afterwards I could not find the special key for the lock nuts. The young mechanic, who got a little embarrassed and nervous about the nuts-and-bolts situation, had forgotten to put it back in the car. Although I hope never having to use it for a flat tyre, it needs to be in place just in case.
So now they have to send a driver tomorrow to deliver the special key to me.
BTW - I laughed, just like last year, at the little sticker they put on the dashboard saying not to exceed 210 kph ( 130 miles per hour!). Remember, we are talking German motorways here, with sometimes no speed limit. Vrooom!
Today was most likely our last chance this winter to go for a proper winter walk at the weekend. The forecast is for slightly less cold weather, only freezing at night. So we just had to get our walking boots on! It was almost as beautiful as yesterday, and I cannot help myself, I have to show you two pictures from today's walk. On the frozen lake in the forest we spotted these two lost geese. They seemed confused, not understanding what had happened to *their* lake. Funny two-legged creatures were moving around them dangerously. Where to go?
Then on the way back we came upon these deer. In the dying light I managed to get some decent pictures. What a sight it was. They did not expect any people around, so all five of them (one is obscured) ventured out into the open field to forage for food under the white cover. A memorable moment.
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