There's been a lot of snow and cold weather in Europe so far this winter, even though winter has not yet "officially" begun. The conditions have disrupted travel plans for many during what is usually a peak holiday travel period. No longer being subject to stringent workplace requirements - oh, the joys of retirement! - HWMBO and I are very happy to have made our own journey during a lull between storms earlier this month. We were actually quite comfortable on our transatlantic trip. The flight was not full. HWMBO had the luxury of a whole row in the center (three seats) to himself, while I was able to travel quite comfortably in the two seats next to a window. That kind of situation happens rarely enough that we are always able to appreciate how fortunate we are when it does.
This morning, I checked into the local Geneva newspaper on-line to see how weather was affecting the area. There were some who were thriving, such as those hardy - or insane - participants in the annual Coupe de Noël (Christmas Cup) swimming competition. One must be at least 13 to participate by jumping into and swimming in the waters of frigid Lake Geneva; indeed, sometimes whole families participate. It's a unique twist on the old adage of "the family that prays together," it would seem. The swimmers gather at the Jardin Anglais (English Garden) on Quai Général Guisan to join in the annual ritual. This year, there were 750 "courageous" swimmers taking part and here are the photos that were posted at the newspaper website. As can be clearly seen, wetsuits are not a part of this competition. Because it is a family event, however, bathing suits are in order, unlike similar events in some parts of Europe - and even in the US. The swimmers were lucky in that yesterday's weather favored them slightly. They could have been subject to conditions like these.
But what also caught my attention were some of the recent videos posted at the website. Last Thursday evening, the streets of Geneva were so iced over that cars, and worse, even snow-removal vehicles, fell victim to the conditions, with the results being akin to a Holiday on Ice spectacular.
To give an idea of the weather conditions in nearby France from last Wednesday on, there were also several photos posted of scenes in Paris, where the black ice and snow have combined equal parts confusion and mess (la pagaille) with stunningly romantic beauty.
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