Cali Girl & the Winter Wonderland

I am a California girl through and through. Many stereotypes go along with that name. Some are down right ridiculous, but many aren't far from the truth. Most people think of the beach when they think of my home state. The California coast is 840 miles long, which I admit is a lot. But, you need to put that in perspective with the rest of the state which is 163,707 square miles. That's a lot of state! And we have one of the most diverse states out of the fifty. Mountains, lakes, deserts, an ocean, forests, rivers, and so many other things fill up the Golden State. But before I start sounding like a promoter for California tourism, let me get to my point. Much like California, I am full of the expected and unexpected. 

Growing up as Southern California girl has defined me in a lot of ways. And true to So Cal girl form, I'm not the biggest fan of being cold or enduring Winter. We don't really have Winter, you see. It's not that I don't like the romanticized idea of wearing lots of cute layered clothes, playing around in the snow with friends, going on sleigh rides... the list could go on and on. But the reality is, I hate wearing too many layers because I get all hot and claustrophobic. And playing in the snow is all fun and swell until you get snow in every crevice and discover how wet and miserable you are. And sleigh rides just go and mess up your hair with all the wind whipping around. Not at all whimsical and wintery. Now of course Winter can be magical. I just like it in very, very small doses. Like a weekend trip up to Lake Arrowhead, or evening spent bundled up walking around Naples (in Long Beach) caroling to the unsuspecting homeowners, or even a nice afternoon of ice skating at the local ice skating rink. That's about all I need of winter, and I'm totally content.

I must admit, I was mortified about the idea of having to rough it through a "German Winter." Mortified. But as November rolled around, and then December, I realized that I had been worrying for no reason. Because I got freaking lucky. This year is considered to be the driest European Winter in fifty years. Now, that doesn't mean it is like 70 degrees and I'm tanning on the balcony. Nooo. It's been really cold (like between the 20's and 40's), cloudy, and raining. It was sunny the other day and I just about had a heart attack because I hadn't seen the sun in so long. I'm getting paler by the second. 

Because of the dry conditions, there hasn't been much snow. Not that there hasn't been snow. From the pictures I've seen, I would classify it as lots of snow in other parts of Germany. But I'm biased. Any snow is a lot of snow to me. But Karlsruhe is "the warmest city in the country" (as I've been told countless times), so we have seen a lot less snow here than the rest of Germany. It's really only technically snowed here three times, but it was like really wimpy. Even by my standards. But today changed that! It has officially snowed. And I must say I was (and still am) quite excited.

Last night, when I went to bed, it was snowing. So when I woke up this morning, I uncharacteristically bounced out of bed to see if the snow had managed to stick around. When I opened my blinds I was greeted with rooftops coated in a soft white powder. I giggled delightedly and got ready real quick. There was no way I was spending the morning inside.

View from my bedroom window.

Some snow on my window!

Not much later I found myself standing out on my street surrounded by all sorts of white covered objects. (The cars made me laugh the most, they just looked so ridiculous). One step into the street and I knew I was in trouble. It was coated in ice. Being the klutz of the century, I immediately put my arms out (air plane style) and tread as slowly across the street as I could. Thus, making a fool of myself in front of all the people who were out walking on this glorious morning. But I didn't mind. My child-like excitement was more concerned about snow than people. 

Me and the snow... such a rare sight to behold.

All morning I frolicked about in the park near my house. Most of that time was spent giggling evilly as I made tracks in untouched snow, basked in weak sunlight, and tried not to fall on my ass. 

Walking down the park pathway.

Playground area of the park.

My footprints.

After my park adventure, I needed to go into the city center to get some birthday cards. (February is quite the month for birthdays!) So I made the trek to a store called Ernhardt's, which has a fabulous selection of cards. Once I bought my cards, I wandered around and enjoyed all the snow on the rooftops. The snow on the ground had been cleared in most spots, but it was still a lovely sight to see.

I made it back to the house, quite grateful to have survived. Yes, I know, I'm such a drama queen. But as I said, this Cali girl doesn't do the whole "Winter" thing. Now, you are probably wondering why I was so excited about snow today if I don't like it. Well you see, I have a love/hate relationship with snow. It's gorgeous, and a blast to play in. But it's cold, and will eventually get me all wet, cold, and mushy. Or it will turn into ice and have me fall on my ass for the world to see. Snow. So fun, yet so evil. Point being, I like it in small doses, just like I like my Winter. And waking up to it this morning was just so lovely and wonderful and whimsical that I couldn't help but be excited. I also couldn't help being so excited that I acted like I five year old most of the morning. What made the day good was that I didn't fall and I kept dry and warm. And most importantly, I didn't get snow in my boots (long traumatic childhood story attached to that haha). 

So my verdict on Winter? Well, it hasn't changed. It can be magical. As long as it stays out of my boots.