I must be one of the few people in Hannover to own three pairs of snow boots, not to mention ski gloves, skis and ice skates. I came from Minnesota. These things are necessary (and I like boots).
I don't get to use them very often here, because snow is pretty rare and doesn't last long. In fact, the cross country skis are still wrapped in the packaging that the movers put on them. I am very glad I didn't bring a sled.
Kids in Hannover want to go sledding. They really do. But that's hard to do when you live in the flattest place outside of North Dakota. There's not even a man-made hill or a ditch to slide down. Sledding means that Mutti or Papi drags little Lara or little Lars around slowly on a toboggan. It's like the sled dog race of Germany. Lara and Lars are in the back with a whip yelling "mush".
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| With no hills in town, this poor mom is getting a workout. |
Much like with other toys, American kids have flashy-looking plasticky sleds, colorful saucers or inflatable snow tubes. German kids have hand-crafted wooden toboggans that look like they'd last forever.
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| The preschoolers have all but given up on pulling each other. |
I can't complain about the winter here. In Saint Paul it's -16 Farenheit right now. In Celsius it's -26, which sounds even worse. I do feel bad for the German kids who don't know what they are missing, though. I feel worse for their parents with the sore arms.
And as the snow turns into sloppy slushy puddles along the curb, I look at my skis all wrapped up and shrug. Then I pull out another pair of boots.
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