Postcards from Germany: Winter Weather Blues

We've all seen them at craft fairs and on colleague's desks: the horses' or cows' behinds with tails made from sections of rope that predict the Oklahoma weather. "If the rope is wet, it's raining. If the rope is moving, it's windy. If you don't like the weather, wait fifteen minutes and it's sure to change." I wasn't in Germany long before I realized that if in no other way, this is how Bayreuth, the city where I live, is like Guymon. In one winter day I have seen it all: rain, hail and intense sunshine followed by a barrage of snow that left four foot drifts in its wake. And that was during last year's relatively warm winter. This January has been one of the coldest many can remember. With temperatures ranging from around 5-14 degrees Fahrenheit, suddenly 32 degrees becomes something to celebrate. Gloves come off; goose down coats are replaced with wool ones; there's a kind of frenzy in people's eyes as they try to soak up the "warm" while it lasts.

I suppose the situation isn't much different in the spring and summer. Rain clouds come from nowhere and suddenly you're pelted with freezing mountain rains in the middle of the area's warmest months. I actually had to dig out my wool socks and jackets last summer to make it through July.

While all of this paints a pretty dim picture of the quality of life in this area of Germany, the strange weather does have its perks. The grass stays green almost all year long thanks to the large amounts of precipitation, and that same moisture makes this area a paradise -- and welcome challenge -- for gardeners. It also makes you truly appreciate the sun. I never fully understood the term "sun worshippers" before I came here, but I can now say that I am a proud member of the clan. When the sun's out, I invariably am, too.

This is also not to say that the rest of Germany experiences similar meteorological eccentricities. Geographically, Bayreuth is located near the exact center of Europe and is longitudinally in the center of Germany. We're not as far north as the iciest regions of the northwest and we're a far cry from the relatively warmer climes of the Rhine and Moselle River areas, which are closer to France and which house one of the country's most productive wine regions. If you were in North America, Bayreuth would be at around the exact same place as the city of Winnipeg, Canada, which is just north of the border between Minnesota and North Dakota. This can mean only one thing: "Brrrr!" is one expression that doesn't get lost in translation between countries or cultures.

Questions, comments or suggestions: guymongirl1@gmail.com

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Apparently we're not the only ones with a sardonically humorous view of our meteorological plight. This German "Weather Brick" reads like the ones most of us are familiar with: "If the brick is dry, it’s sunny. If the brick is wet, it's rainy." It goes on to say, "If the brick is dark, it's nighttime. If the brick is missing, it's been stolen."

tags: winter  weather  germany  deutschland