Where Have All the Snowmen Gone?

24 February 2005 20:59 blondelibrarian germany

After a relatively mild December and January, winter hit southern Germany with a force in February.

I am not going to moan and groan about the temperatures and the snow, because after all, I spent the first 23 years of my life in IOWA for pity’s sake. Sure it is cold here, but compared to those lovely winter days of my youth when during basketball season I was running around in a short cheerleader skirt and it was so damn cold outside that my nose stuck together when I breathed, winter here just isn’t so bad. In fact, after living for 5 years in the South, I found that I actually missed winter just a little bit.

Last night as A. and I walked to dinner (we went out for my belated Valentine’s Day Dinner), it dawned on me that something has been missing from German winter: Snowmen! Seriously, I don’t think I have seen ONE snowman in the three winters that I have been here.

I asked A. if kids even build snowmen here. He claimed that in the Rhine Valley where he grew up they seldom got enough snow to cover the ground, let alone to build a snowman, but thought perhaps I hadn’t seen any here because most property is fenced off and hidden behind tall bushes. Possible perhaps, but not all houses are hidden. You can see quite well into some yards and I swear I have not seen a snowman!

Then he suggested that perhaps the kids here have built so many snowmen that they are bored with them. Maybe… but as I personally come from a place where there is lots and lots of snow almost every winter, I highly doubt it. After all, I still love building snowmen. If our apartment complex had a yard, I would go out and build one right now!

If kids do not build snowmen here, then I think that is a great pity. Some of the best winter days I had as a kid were when school was cancelled and all of the neighborhood kids would gather at the Play Park and spend all day building snow forts, snowmen, having snow ball fights, and making snow angels.

But even when school wasn’t cancelled and we just had a good solid snowfall, everyone’s back yard would have at least one snowman standing there with sticks for arms, an old ratty hat on its head, a carrot for a nose and rocks or buttons for eyes. For me, winter just isn’t complete without a snowman and so here in Germany, I must ask: Where have all the snowmen gone?

4 Responses

  1. Saqib Says:
    25 February 2005 at 03:21

    We’ve had snow here in England over the past few nights but its always gone by the morning. I went out at 3am the other night to walk around in it, but there wasnt enough to build a snowman :( I really want to snowball fight :]

  2. Karin Says:
    25 February 2005 at 20:22

    Rest assured snowman have been built and still are build in Germany (whenever there is enough snow). I did it as a kid in the seventies and my best friend’s boys do it whenever possible. Sometimes even though there is snow it’s not sticky enough.

    I love snowpeople.

  3. J Says:
    26 February 2005 at 08:48

    Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a snowman here either.

  4. Birdie Says:
    27 February 2005 at 16:59

    It never snows here, never gets below 55 degrees. I miss snow so much! I grew up in the North East. I drove my boys two hours to see snow a month ago, in the mountains. We saw one small inch of snow and they were amazed.