"Whyever did I bring my winter coat?" Looking out the window approaching one of the NYC airports, that was a reasonable question to ask oneself: green grass, blue sky and a certain warm yellowness in the air. Hmmm. Yet another year dreaming of a white Christmas - in vain?
Little did we know.
While the weather certainly was perfect for exploring the Princeton University campus and surroundings, the following day held a sharp turn in weather conditions.
On the 26th of December a light snow escorted our train to Manhattan as we were heading for Broadway (I finally saw Mamma Mia live!!!). However, as I was standing by the exit waiting for my company, I saw two human piles of snow enter the theatre. As snow pile #1 darted for the restroom, snow pile #2 shook off the snow in a doglike fashion.
In the interest of getting back to Princeton (and we heard that trains are unreliable even in best of weather), we decided to forgo the planned leisurely stroll to the Rockefeller and casual desserts in Greenwich and headed straight to the Penn Train Station.
Oversized snowflakes hiding the tops of the skyscrapers, overexcited tourists taking pictures of each other with self-made snowballs, overexhausted new Yorkers hauling cabs to get out of there asap. Always chaotic sidewalks getting crazier with "out of the way!!! no traction!" yells. Snow covering the sidewalks was so deep that four batteries that I accidentally dropped vanished immediately, never to be found.
Miraculously, trains were still running. At each station an explosion of snow invaded the train as soon as the doors opened, showing people towing their suitcases through the ankle-deep snow, wheels useless.
A few hours and two feet of snow later, it was hard to believe I had ever wondered whyever had I brought my winter coat. There was so much snow we couldn't figure out which of the townhouses was ours. They all looked the same: you couldn't see what's on the porch (you couldn't see the porch itself, for that matter), no paths, no roads... Just knee-deep snowfield with waste-deep snowdrifts against bushes and walls.
And for all that, the snow was useless: no snowball fighting or snowman-building was possible. Sleigh-riding and jumping off the swing into the snow was pretty much the extent of winter wonderland fun.
But winter wonderland it was! The town turned into a ski resort with piles of snow everywhere and people clad in fur hats, oversized mitts and uggs sitting in the sun drinking coffee along the Nassau street.
Our misery started on Tuesday, when we needed to go back to Manhattan. It looked nothing like a wonderland. While roads got cleaned, there was no place to put all that snow - so walls of snow 4 feet tall were running along every street, taking up car lanes on both sides, impeding traffic even further than the usual state of NYC traffic.
It was even harder for pedestrians, trying to cross the streets. With 4 feet of snow, jaywalking was out of question, of course - but even crossing at intersections was not easily available. A few corners got 2-feet-wide passages cut through the snow, which immediately filled up with slush and water. Other corners didn't get any passages, forcing people to climb over - or through - the walls of snow, drowning in the soft mass. Or mess, I should probably say. Imagine the usual streams of people on the streets of New York trying to squeeze through holes and lakes to cross the streets!
Getting home, I felt glad no winter wonderland happened in TO during our absence. Leading archeological digs in search of our car was the last thing on our minds after the (delayed) trip back...
And I felt even better when I read about people that got stuck in subway and suburban trains for as long as 15 hours - with no access to facilities!!!
The worst aftermath for us? We both ruined our shoes with water and salt and we both got sick just in time for New Year's.
The best? The xmas winter wonderland with family and friends was amazing!
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