Baby it's cold outside

Well, it's been a while since I've last done this. Whoops.

Yesterday I was on the phone with my mom. As per usual, the topic turned to the weather.

Mother: Has it snowed up there yet?

Me: (just a little bit indignant) Uh, no, it's still pretty warm here, It's not going to snow for a while.

Mother: Well, Detroit got a lot of snow lately.

Me: Yeah, well, it's not as cold here as it is on the other side of the Atlantic.

Well, either God had enlightened the woman or she had checked the weather report for tomorrow, because I woke up to a dusting of snow.

Sorry, mom. I was wrong.

Now it's 2 inches, and it's still falling. In Kiel. In November. What?!? At least it's better than rain. And now I have an excuse to binge on hot chocolate and read in bed for hours.

The strange thing about Kiel is that it is very far north but does not seem to be prepared in any way, shape, or form for actual winter weather. Case in point: the roads here are white. Not plowed, and definitely not salted. The one perk of not having salted roads is that my leather boots did not get ruined on my way to the library, but I think that perk is largely outweighed by the fact that I was skidding/falling the entire time on my bike. Even Texas, which is arguably the worst state in the continental US when it comes to winter (if it might snow the next day, good luck finding milk and bread at the stores), has plows out there. So this...indifference, we'll call it...strikes me as super odd.

And, dear Germany: Don't argue that you're all out of salt. I know you have extra.  I taste it in your soups. Maybe you could put it on your roads instead every once in a while. Less hypertension and fewer car accidents. Everyone wins!