In my New Year’s post, I mentioned that I may have a road trip report for you soon and here it is. Because on Sunday, when 2026 was only four days old, I went on the first road trip of the year.
Though this particular trip was still planned in 2025. For you see, I have a toy collector pal named Michael. He lives about 150 kilometers away in a village near Hildesheim. I wanted to buy some Masters of the Universe Classics figures from him, so we agreed that I’d come to pick them up on Sunday, January 4.
Of course, at the time the weather was nice and clear and there was no snow. But then, it started to snow on Friday afternoon and just kept going intermittently through Friday night and Saturday. And according to the weather report, the snow would stick around at least until following weekend. What is more, North Germany is having veritable snow storm this weekend that’s so dangerous that people are being urged to stay at home if possible, though we didn’t know that at the time. Nonetheless, we agree to wait what the weather and traffic conditions would be like on Sunday and then I would decide whether to drive to Hildesheim on Sunday or reschedule.
On Sunday morning, I woke up, looked out of the front door and saw that not only was the snow that had fallen on Friday and Saturday was still there, but that there was even more of it, which had fallen overnight. I guess we had about ten to fifteen centimeters of snow, which is a lot by North German standards. And indeed, North Germany got the brunt of the current snowfall, which is very unusual.
On Friday and Saturday, the snowfall had caused lots of traffic accidents in North Germany and several Autobahnen and Bundesstraßen were clogged with traffic or closed altogether as a result. So I checked the traffic reports and saw that while several train and bus services had been cancelled because of the snow, the streets were clear. I deliberated for a few moments – Do I really want to drive in the snow? Though it would be a lovely road trip. – and then decided, “Screw it! I’ll go.”
Now Autobahnen and Bundesstraßen have priority, when clearing the roads with snow ploughs (and the snow is mostly cleared during the night). Besides, my car has a four-wheel drive, if necessary. So I messaged Michael that I’m coming to pick up the figures and embarked on my road trip to Hildesheim.
Of course, more snow had fallen overnight. So I looked out of the front door and wondered whether to shovel the driveway before leaving. Cause in Germany, you are required to remove snow from your driveway, the path to your front door and the sidewalk, lest someone slip and fall. However, clearing the driveway would take time and there would only be more snow. Besides, it was Sunday and there would be no mail delivery, I wasn’t expcting visitors and no one would have any reason to walk up to my front door. So I decided to shovel the driveway on Monday morning, if necessary. Continue reading
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