Valentines day in the snow

So I really haven't been doing any hiking in this part of the year. Most of that is being busy, but certainly since the start of January we did finally have a bit of snow round here, which also makes one think twice about going for a walk. It's not been a proper crazy winter like two years ago, but there has been just enough punctuation by white stuff that I at least feel like there will be a difference when Spring rolls around, it will actually feel like we have had a proper year pass!

In the city itself we have only had the odd delightful day where the snow has been relentless enough to properly cover the place and start forming picturesque, wind blown drifts (Vienna is a windy city, which is what its Latin name, Vindobona, pretty much means). What with the traffic and the pretty startling efficiency of the snow-clearing operations - not to mention some inopportune 'warm snaps' - most of the snow in the city has ended up disappearing within 24 hours. But out in the countryside, the deep snow stays around a lot longer with the cooler temperatures, lack of asphalt and absence of snow ploughs.

The photos in today's album were taken on a quickly arranged Valentine's day stroll with Ash. He brought a packet of dates with him, because he is a joker :-)

The route is a very traditional one for me, one of the first walks I did after returining here in 2011, up from Huetteldorf over the hill and down to the end of the 43 tram in Neuwaldegg. The whole route is within the boundaries of Vienna, but nonetheless far enough away from buildings to seem like another world, even without the snow on the ground. It was a beautifully sunny day and I got some shots I'mreally happy with. The icing on the cake was that the fantastic, twisting viewing tower was open despite the wintry weather, affording some excellent, hazy views over the city and surrounding Wienerwald as the sun edged towards the horizon.

Here's the link to the gallery, and here's to more hiking soon!

Bis bald,

der Tom