Snow, at last - this winter's first snow in Simmering, Vienna.
Today I woke up shortly after six o'clock. A great, red sunrise was threatening, so I got up quickly and went out on my bycicle - took some great shots, too. It had rained through the night but had stopped at the time for a while and I just got home in time before it started raining again.
Well, I thought, no chance of us getting snow in the flatter regions of Vienna (as was promised by meteorologists yesterday). But not so.
Against all odds, the temperature sank - and it began snowing at two degrees Celsius, very wet snow at first, but later it grew colder still and the snow finally could settle on earth. Snow did fall for about two or three hours, in thick snowflakes. But around noon it began to start raining again, and by the time I write this almost all of today's snow is gone. There should be some more though in the days to come, according to the weather forecast.
Whereas in Vienna this couldn't be more than a prelude to winter (don't matter how much snow we'll see the following week, none of it is going to stay till december), in the higher regions of Austria winter has truly settled and the loads of snow they've already accumulated might even last until march, april 2008.
It is rather unusual for winter to come so early in the year with such force, especially after a series of rather mild winters we had in the last few years. Maybe we're in for a winter 'as it once was', this year. Would be something for a change, now woulnd't it?
