Delayed Entry

Hello everybody! I wrote this blog entry on thursday, after coming home from my hosting-institute (the HPI) Christmas Party, but then I forgot to press the "publish" button. (well it was late). -ANYWAY, better late than never: so here the delayed entry:

First Snow in Hamburg:

NO, its not the first snow EVER, but the first snow THIS WINTER!

before I go into detail, and as an explanation: Hamburg is situated in the north of Germany, and as such gets a glimpse of "oceanic climate" (the North Sea is close by), which means the Gulf Stream keeps ice and bitter cold away, at least usually:

It has been unusually cold the last couple of days, but not enough: Tonight-SNOW is falling!!! I have spent the evening at the Christmas party of the HPI-institute. (While attending the entertainment program outside the weather changes (yes, different from beautiful Southern California, actually Hamburg has WEATHER, means it CHANGES ALL THE TIME!!): It STARTS SNOWING, having lived here before I know already : trouble lingers tonight. Having to get up early tomorrow, I'm heading to the bus with two other early-takeoffs (shame on me), two of my lab-mates: Alex, my tech, and Magda a new technician in the lab. I am looking into an 8am mouse-appointment tomorrow, so I'm not up to late night drinking and dancing. The streets are icy and the cars move at about 5 km per hour. No bus. Usually they come every 5 minutes. Finally (after 20 minutes in the cold) a bus arrives. Halfway down the road the bus surprisingly turns into a side street. At the next intersection it turns back on the mainroad just to stop 50 meters down the road: "Final Stop" comments the driver through the speakers. COME ON!! its 11:30 and the bus stops halfway to its destination in the middle of nowhere!!! Guess that was an order form the boss. It seems, we have to get a cab! So much for winter services in Hamburg.

0.5 cm of snow and all traffic collapses, drivers get out of their cars hugging in tears facing such "unheard-of natural disaster", and the city is in paralysis. Finally we arrive in Altona. I wonder what happens if ever ¡helpusgod!, there might be 5cm(!) of fresh snow (a very common thing to happen in Bavaria for instance). Well the winter service is on the roll and salt is dispensed onto the frozen asphalt. Kind of insufficient. Not what would happen in Bavaria. It feels more like the guys from the cafeteria wander around with their little salt dipensers for the French Fries. It was the same 9 years ago when I left Hamburg. learning curve? I' say: There IS room for improvement here.

I wonder if I can make it to my mouse appointment tomorrow morning: I put my alarm to 6am.Will keep you posted! Goodnight for now!

(-actually, I made my 8am appointment! And the streets were clear, so not all bad. -added at time of posting. T.)