Sunday 19 December 2010

Snowbound; goodbye Vienna

Wild flurries of this ...




 all of Friday and Saturday 




have led to a large dumping of snow




that has caused travel chaos (various members of our family this weekend have been gridlocked on the M4, stuck twice in thick snow on smaller roads, helped several other people dig their cars out of similar predicaments, and had trains and tubes delayed, diverted and/or cancelled)


 

But worst of all, as Heathrow and Gatwick shut down, our holiday plans have turned to snowdust. At this moment we should be in Vienna, sipping gluhwein at a Christmas market under the spires of Stephansdom, dreaming of coffee and pastries at an elegant Viennese cafe in the morning ... I could weep with frustration. 



All alternative options have been tried and failed. Meanwhile we trudged to the store for provisions à pied, since nobody had the will to either dig out the car or attempt the hazardous drive ...


(images of the gulag?: inmates struggle to the supply store under leaden skies)

and some disconsolately made snow angels in an effort to cheer up



(child lies frozen to the wasted ground)



Yes, I know this is trivial and middle class as misfortunes go, and no doubt I will recover my Christmas spirit at some point, but for the meantime I need to rail loudly at  British  inadequacy in dealing with standard winter weather conditions, and  then perhaps take myself off with a glass or three of my current favourite Portuguese red (Crasto, Douro 2008) and the new book I've been wanting to start (the latest Le Carré) and have a bloody good sulk.



6 comments:

  1. England looks like a winter wonderland at the moment. Nothing like curling up with a good book to enjoy being snowed in!

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  2. Let me leave you a message to thank you for those fabulous snow scene photos ... perhaps the best snow angel I have ever seen. Also coincidentally, I have just begun reading Le Carre's Our Kind of Traitor.

    Now. Let me extend lots and and lots to sympathy to you on missing out on Vienna for Christmas. If I were in your shoes I would definitely have my emotions running full force, wondering just why the country has shut down.

    I grew up in Virginia, where any little snow also brought everything to a stop..snow was rare enough to stop governmental officials buying big snow clearing equipment. Now, living in New York, I am amazed by how quickly snow is dealt with. (You have to get out pretty quickly to make those snow angels!)

    xo

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  3. The bloody good sulk comment gave me a chuckle. Your snow scenes look wonderful from here. It snowed all day yesterday at my house and rained this morning. Strange weather for Utah, USA.
    Gina

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  4. It seems almost unfathomable that in this time and age
    a winter snowstorm can keep travelers homebound.
    I hoped against hope that you had managed to escape from snowed-in London and took off towards Vienna. I can't express how frustrated I feel for you, dang it!!!!!!!

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  5. So disappointing to miss your trip! Hope you can make it up in the New Year. If it's any consolation, your snow photos are lovely! It took one of my friends 16 hours Saturday (and Sunday) to drive from Manchester to London in the snow chaos! The Netherlands and France seem to be no better than the UK in dealing with heavy snowfall. Sigh. In any event, hope you manage to have a lovely Christmas at home and that the new year brings you many opportunities for travel to wonderful places.

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  6. I know it seems so far away, but Vienna in springtime is lovely!
    End of April into May, gorgeous.

    I wish you a wonderful Christmas, peace and happiness,
    Merisi

    ReplyDelete

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