As I noted in a previous post, the snow finally arrived last Monday and - it's still here!It has been freezing (and I use that word in it's true dictionary sense) here ever since.
On Tuesday, I crunched my way to the bus-stop looking like a red Michelin man with my bulky merino and polyprop layers bulging under my red Macpac jacket. (No photo - just use your imagination). I also had two pairs of possum-merino socks on and my boots.
At the bus stop, I stood beside a teenage waif who was hatless and gloveless and who wore a thin coat over a dress and pantyhose. She literally shook with the cold. I offered her my gloves but she declined. The barometer on the nearby pharmacy read - 8 degrees ( I thought that was cold at the time but now I know better!) Most pharmacies here seem to have an electronic sign outside which records the date and the temperature - there are 3 pharmacies in the village of Embourg and two of them have these signs. Interestingly the other pharmacy's sign reported 18 degrees - I know which one I believed. But I digress.
The buses all seem to have been late this week. Funny how 20 minutes of standing in the cold can feel like an hour in the freezer. My feet and nose have suffered the worse. I do wish that my genes had allowed for a more petite model of the latter.
By Wednesday, I knew that this was really winter in Liege: finally, people were wrapping up like mummies or the Michelin family and Granny's daughter, Anne - a true Liegoise, told me it was unseasonably cold when she gave me a lift to the LD site in Seraing on Thursday. I wondered why we didn't have more snow but Anne and Granny both explained to me that it was TOO cold to snow. C'est vrai??? We did have a dusting of snow yesterday (Friday) when the temperature rose to -4 but today we were back to -13 at 9.30 am.
I have to say that I am a bit over it now. I'm sick of freezing while I wait for buses that are always late. I miss my little red Toyota with its excellent heater. However, I did read a report yesterday of Europe's longest traffic jam which occurred in Belgium - it was 1000 kms long. At least the buses (with their designated lanes) seem to avoid the traffic jams and I haven't frozen to death on the street yet - about 200 people throughout Europe already have.
Apparently most of Europe is experiencing Arctic conditions at the moment and its forecast to continue into next week! Dunedin winters are going to be a cinch after this.
On Tuesday, I crunched my way to the bus-stop looking like a red Michelin man with my bulky merino and polyprop layers bulging under my red Macpac jacket. (No photo - just use your imagination). I also had two pairs of possum-merino socks on and my boots.
At the bus stop, I stood beside a teenage waif who was hatless and gloveless and who wore a thin coat over a dress and pantyhose. She literally shook with the cold. I offered her my gloves but she declined. The barometer on the nearby pharmacy read - 8 degrees ( I thought that was cold at the time but now I know better!) Most pharmacies here seem to have an electronic sign outside which records the date and the temperature - there are 3 pharmacies in the village of Embourg and two of them have these signs. Interestingly the other pharmacy's sign reported 18 degrees - I know which one I believed. But I digress.
The buses all seem to have been late this week. Funny how 20 minutes of standing in the cold can feel like an hour in the freezer. My feet and nose have suffered the worse. I do wish that my genes had allowed for a more petite model of the latter.
By Wednesday, I knew that this was really winter in Liege: finally, people were wrapping up like mummies or the Michelin family and Granny's daughter, Anne - a true Liegoise, told me it was unseasonably cold when she gave me a lift to the LD site in Seraing on Thursday. I wondered why we didn't have more snow but Anne and Granny both explained to me that it was TOO cold to snow. C'est vrai??? We did have a dusting of snow yesterday (Friday) when the temperature rose to -4 but today we were back to -13 at 9.30 am.
I have to say that I am a bit over it now. I'm sick of freezing while I wait for buses that are always late. I miss my little red Toyota with its excellent heater. However, I did read a report yesterday of Europe's longest traffic jam which occurred in Belgium - it was 1000 kms long. At least the buses (with their designated lanes) seem to avoid the traffic jams and I haven't frozen to death on the street yet - about 200 people throughout Europe already have.
Apparently most of Europe is experiencing Arctic conditions at the moment and its forecast to continue into next week! Dunedin winters are going to be a cinch after this.
Oh such a shame the buses are late ... Charleroi wasn't too bad in that respect. You do forget how cold it gets but isn't merino wonderful! Glad to hear you've found a better French class. It takes a while to find out all about these things doesn't it. Do you plan to do some more travelling outside of Belgium .. or more exploration of Belgium itself?? So much to see.............
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