Let It Snow

The new year has begun but the adventure isn't over just yet. I could hardly stop writing just because I've left France - and much of the last three weeks of 2009 was the most memorable, probably due to recency, but more likely due to all this white stuff lying around.

I left Caen, made a stop in London and then flew to Copenhagen, where upon stepping out of the plane saw for the first time snow falling from the sky. I'd seen some dirty leftovers in Seoul last year, and a tiny bit in Paris when I arrived, but this was the first REAL snow. It was floating down, and as I made my way out of the Copenhagen metro, I stood and watched as it settled on my bag and on the street.

I happened to be in town at the same time as some very important people with their big private jets who were discussing something about how warm it is, but I think they must not have been spending enough time outside, because it certainly wasn't warm where I was standing.

A few days later, on a train to Vejen near the German border, I saw more of it than I had imagined. The train journey was supposed to take 3 hours but it took 6, and all the changes along the way that annoyed everyone else were my opportunity to get outside and play in the stuff. It was causing havoc but it was also something out of a fairy tale.

The sound that snow makes when you crunch it under your boots is hard to describe and even harder to imagine - it's kind of squeaky and crunchy at the same time. I imagine if you could turn the sensation of chewing alfoil into a sound, it would be similarly entertaining, without the pain. You can kick the snow drifts and send puffs of white into the air. You can lie down in it and wave your arms and legs about or you can roll it up and throw it at people. You can eat it (but not the yellow parts as I'm told) or just look at it as it fall silently, making even the ugliest things beautiful. It's a highly versatile and entertaining substance, and to think, it's just water...

I was in Vejen to visit my very first friend Chris, who moved to Denmark about 3 years ago. He and his girlfriend Kristina have a very good backyard for playing in the snow, so that's what we did. We searched the garden shed for good sleds but all we found was a few plastic bags and some old skis that just sank in the powdery snow.

We shared some hygge (to be explained), a Christmas table, and a few snowballs, and as soon as it had begun, Denmark was over. I had a date with a fat man and some presents in Sweden...

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