odd weather

although there is much in my head that i could talk about, i'll begin with the weather. the weather is, after all, a favourite topic of conversation here. the weather tends to change a lot - and very quickly. for several months of the year, packing an umbrella is a wise thing to do, even if it's sunny when you leave the house. and i tend not to bike when it's raining, because if i don't have to be at work at a certain time - and can wait an hour or two, it will have most likely stopped raining.

but even though the weather here is usually somewhat odd, the last two days have been exceptionally odd. i think it's snowing now. but it's also been sunny. and raining. and hailing. and the wind is 30 km/hour (20 mph). and yesterday, the wind was even stronger! i biked yesterday, and although the buildings around me mostly blocked out the wind and i managed to stay dry for both trips to and from the University, it wasn't the most pleasant of trips. hail, even for five minutes, is not something i have any desire to experience again - biking into it is rather painful.

we'll see if the snow comes back again or decides to remain at all, but for now here is a picture of the amount of snow we usually get in Amsterdam:
as you can see, you have to search for the evidence of snow. there's some white in the large plant pot :)