Sn akesin

Reflections ofawhite winterinGermany

,BY SHAMPA \.J BHATTAC':fARYA

BRUWELEIT

Thethought of falling snowflakes iothe context of today's South Australian climateis rather f:U"fetched.Snowin theheight of summer?!Nevertheless,I havechosen this antipodal topic withintent.The temperatures aresoaring and therehave been bushfires acrossour stares.So,for ashonwhile,1 escapewithmy thoughts to the coldclimesof the northern hemisphere,anddwell on the memory of my first frozen winterin Europeneatlytwo decades ago. Perhaps,mymusings willacton you likeamentaltreat of ice cream,helpingto chillouc fromthe heat, albeit fora fleeting moment!

As the newyear of 1997 approached,I set out in a car with three Germans fora short year-end holiday in theeastern partof Germany.Wemotored southwardsfromDresden, the beautifulcapitalof the state of Saxony, into the snow-laden terrain of theErzgebirge.These gentlerangesareknownin English as the OreMountains. Our descinationwasa srnall resort called'Schellerhau' inthese mountains, closeto theCzech border. Iris here chatmyfirst encounter withsnowflakesrook place.

Outside the temperaturewas minus 17 degrees,and at that lace afternoonhour allwasquiet and still,exceptfor the cars passing nowand then.However, the frozen scenery appealedtomy lndianeyes immensely;the lines of rail, snow-ribbedevergreen treeszigzaggingwithsnow-topped mountainslopes,and theneat littlehouseswithsnow-covered slanting roofs, their lace-curtained windowstwinkling,vith Christmas lights, presenteda picturesque scene straight outof theseason's greeting cards.

Itwasmyfirstwinter in Germany.Iwas far away from thewarmcliinesof western India whichwas then our home ]\[)' husbandandI had spenttheearlier partof our vacationinwestern Germany, in aquaint historic town on tl1eriverRhine.Despitethe favourable forecasts for snow, to our utter disappointment, the heavens refusedto partwith their niveous supply and denied usa white Christmas.The expected snowfall did not materialise in the followingdays either, evenwhile the thermometerdroppedlower in rhe minusrange.

Buefinally,afterhurtlingdown theAutobahneastwards across the countryforhalf aday and picking up our two companions enroute, here1was upintheOre Mountains,witha feast of snow all around for theeyes to behold, the feetrofrolic upon and tl1e heart to thrillabout.The biting coldcouldnot dampenmyspirits wereachedour destination and stepped out on acarpet of sno,v several inches deep,just before nightfall. \Ve lodgedin the small but comfortablehouse of aretired elderly couplewho supplemented theirincome bytakingin ronrists.

Iwas even moreenchanted when my eyesbeheldthepristine whitepanoramaof the mountains thefollowingmorning.More snowhad fallenduringthenight, andthetranslucentsky above promisedmore to come.The daylight that managedto filter infromabove bouncedoff from every surface, castingan eerie glow.The branchesof tl1e evergreen trees stolidly held up their tl1ickwhite burden,while smaUer busheswer transformedinto nn figures.Overnight, acquiredthe look of i frosted cake for achildren' Thiswasmyfirst forayinro 'Snowland',and it felt so good, especiallywhenI could stand in the open andcatch somefalling Rakes!

For thenextfourdayswe traversed upand down the white countrysideto visit nearby villages, shoutingout greetings to travellerswho crossedour path, as if wewere lost in some remote frazenwilderness andwere glad to comeacrossocher human faces. Thesewerestillearly clays of the German reunification, andwe were deepinerstwhile communist territory, so Iwas uncertain of local attitudes to aforeignface, butthecamaraderiewhichgreeted uswasdeeplyheartening.The slopes thatwediligentlynavigated in thicksnowshoeswereeasy, though slipperysometimes, and we couldcoverlongdistances withnot toornuchdifficulty.W/e came uponseveralrestaurants witl1interiorse.."\'.udi.ngoldworld charm,whereour sromachs fared very wellon the robustGerman cuisine,washeddownwiththe equally robustlocalbeverages. Thesno,vunderfootwas sometimes soft andcrunchy, sometimes hardandicy,so that themere act of walking became a sport.1 couldfeelevery part of my body bracing to cope withtl1e temperatureeachtime westeppedoutdoors,and itwas a relief co start moving.There was nowind, fornmately,and the mercurydroppedno further than minus20degreesduring our visit. The air had a keenedge to it,with afreshness that acted like tonic uponmy body. Any kindof open-air physicalactivity was invigorating, and you could understand ,,,hy thisrelatively unchallengingterrainwasdotted withhealthresorts thattourists Hockedto in the height of winter. Weletgo of allrestraintsto enjoythesheerexhilaration of accelerating downtheslopes on sleighs,seated cosilydouble on thesmaUcontraption. \V/e watchedthe skiers in thedistance, marvellingat their swaying, daring movements.lcarer,littlechildren romped happily in the snow,free from their schoolroutine,and sometimes therbigpet dogs joinedin the fun. There had been no freshsnowfall,andtl1esky remainedclearandblue,letcing theweakwinter sunwarmonly ourheartsand nothingelse.

Myfirst sojourninthesnowy mountains ended all too soon. However,namre's white blanket was nowspreadallalong our 600kilometre-long route back home,with only the Autobahn remainingclear throughhuman intervention.Atone placewe drove through gently fallingRakes, much to myfascination, even as my better half cursed from behind the,vheel.Reachinghomeat midnight,wehadro shoveloff all theaccumulatedsnowfrom the gravel beforewecould drive into the garage. An activity thatothers might considera boring chore, but broughtmemuch delighteven at that hour!

Theenchantment of my first encounterwithsnowhas remainedfirmlyetchedinmy memory even afterthe passage of many years. I confess there's something inthis soft, white, woolly stuff that appeals to the childinme,as reAectedin thelinesthat crystallisedin my mind, shortlyafter a particularly spectacular downpour in Dresden some years later,when itsnowed nor in Rakesor sheets, but in thick billowing blankets:

Thes110111_fal!swithsttchmq.jesticmight, Ukecascadingfoldso stalactite, Beholdthisheovm(ydelugei11JlJhite! I trulymissedthe snow in the NewYear seasonsfollowingour landi11ginAdelaide.Ultimately, I found a degree of consolation by stickingself-made paper snowflakes on mywindow panes at Christmas.These remain in placeduringthehotmonthsthat follow; Ir isaheartwarmingsight, andacooling onefor theeyes as well!