Ich bin ein donut!

The dust has settled a little and I have a few minutes to write something.
I arrived here on a train from Den Haag -- it still amazes me that only 6 hours can pass and I am in a different country -- on Wednesday, and was greeted by a Canadian blizzard that had decided to holiday in Germany this year. The next day was already a million times better, however, and I got the chance to wander around the core for a first glance at Berlin and see the New Museum, which has just been reopened following post-war renovations. I did spend about an hour wandering around looking for the music school at which I had an audition today (for the Britten Pears program) - Berlin is just SO BIG that it takes you forever to walk around buildings and get from one block to the next. Moreover, you never run into anyone -- the city appears empty because it is so spread out. Also, the buildings in their Cold War splendour rise up around you like humungous building blocks. It's an intimidating city.
I can't say just yet that it's my absolute favourite. There hasn't been a spark for me with Berin just yet, though I approached one viewing the information at Checkpoint Charlie and the markings showing the former location of the Wall. It more just makes me heart hurt than anything, though, that this city is so full of pain and suffering in its history, and the tourist attractions are basically grim recollections and testaments as if the inhabitants of the city have resigned themselves to reliving the horror each day so that it will never be repeated. I'm not saying that all tourist attractions are sunshine and rainbows, and certainly Italy has its share of pain and suffering in its history too, and many, many other countries, but this city has a different flavour. Maybe because the Wall fell in recent history, the atmosphere of the time still lingers in the air.
One thing I can say about Berlin -- opera, opera, opera!!! Literally -- there are three houses. I took my couchsurfing host to his first opera tonight -- Lohengrin (everyone marvel at the courage of this first-timer to take on such a beast as that). Ben Heppner sang the lead but I was also blown away by Ortrud, played by Waltraud Meier. She got the biggest shout outs from the audience, too.
I'm spending the weekend here and I have an evening train to Freiburg on Monday. I'll be pleased to leave the snow but I know that I will be leaving Berlin with the intention of coming back.

I'm. COLD.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
but the fire is so delightful,
and since we've no place to go,
let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!


I could not disagree more.





Welcome to winter in Italy, where the houses aren't insulated and there exists no infrastructure for snow removal!


Yesterday, I actually smiled while taking the above photo, thinking, "Isn't this magical?" It wasn't til three hours later, when the snow still had not stopped and I had arrived at home to take this photo, that I realized what a problem snow is for this city.





This amount of snow (about 10-15 cm) is a nuisance in Toronto or Montreal, but it does not bring life to a screeching halt, and it certainly does not bring about a state of crisis like it does here. The news last night was nothing but reports on the terrible gridlock, the condition of the rail tracks (trains didn't go), the lack of public transportation above ground, the terrible ice. It was about -6 and it snowed, like I said, no more than 15 cm. Of course, this part of Italy never gets this kind of weather, ever; what did I expect?

Well, I certainly didn't expect the pipes to freeze.

Houses here are not insulated like they are at home. In fact, the room I stay in has three walls to the outside of the condo and those three walls are made from something resembling aluminum siding, and you can bet there is not a scrap of insulation present. Needless to say, without my little space heater, I'd put my room at about 12 degrees at its coldest. I actually had a really terrible revelation the other day; I had my bed against these walls and my suitcase, and I pulled my suitcase away from the wall to clean and revealed a lovely crop of mold; the walls accumulate condensation because of the difference in temperature when I heat the room, and if there is anything cloth against the wall, you can guess what happens. Obviously this is no longer the case, and I keep the room cooler, much to my chagrin.

I digress. Because there is no insulation, the poor pipes don't stand a chance; I really had not thought of this, because it would never happen at home at -6!!! We have no hot water today, so if I would like a shower, I may as well go take a dip in Lake Como, because it would probbaly be about as warm.

As for infrastructure -- I have seen salting trucks here but nary a snowplow in sight, and let's be honest, these roads ain't built for 'em. The news was showing people clearing their sidewalks with gardening implements, like hoes; not a spade or shovel to be found. So I'm not too sure how they are going to deal with the snow we got overnight. I know they've closed the schools; ATM, the public transport company, is insisting that service will be as good, if not better that usual; still, I can't wait for Wednesday, when it's going up to 6 and the rain will wash this mess away, and we can pretend it never happened.