I still have a vivid memory of my friend Erika's expression when, some winters ago, I told her I was about to spend some days in Zinnowitz, a town on the German island of Usedom, on the Baltic Sea.
Unconcerned about below freezing temperatures .
Zinnowitz, February 2012
She stared at me with incredulous eyes and said something like: "You have been living in Germany way too long: don't you miss cute bathing-suits, ice-creams, beach volley tournaments, old men playing bocce in embarrassing outfits nor the sunshine ANYMORE?",
which could be translated with: "Are you out of your mind?"
To tell you the truth, I was very skeptical about a winter vacation by the sea - without all the above mentioned - as well.
For many reasons it turned out to be a very positive experience, so this year we decided to spend the
Winterferien (winter vacation) in Zinnowitz. For the second time.
What we didn't expect was that all Europe would be suffering the effects of the late cold snap just during those days.
For many people it has been a real catastrophe.
