Winters can be dreadful: there are jackets and sweaters and layering, even dogs wear layers nowadays. And then there are scarfs that are long and fluffy and potentially life-threatening (am I the only who gets stuck in these?). 

Oh, and there are hats and bags and heavy boots… There is, though, fresh alpine air and powerful wind. There are crisp sunny days when the lakes are frozen and nature placid, calm; there is a novel appreciation for hot beverages, cozy things and meet-up in cozy coffee shops, taking sheets outside to air them for hours and smell winter out of them. There are those large snowflakes, that fall on us looking like little paper airplanes, oh but tiny micro snowflakes that drop on us in slow grace – don’t they look like those in a snowball to you? 

And lastly, there is hope. Hope for the spring in which all that is new shall blossom, anticipation for the summer and its ease… 

Winter, I love you, thank you. Now go away, please.