Snowy week!

It's been crrrazy here in Liège this past week! Snowing almost every day, snow up on the hill (on campus) and snow downtown (which almost never happens! or at least it doesn't "stick"). And temperatures below freezing for 10 days straight. This is my 10th Fall in Belgium, and I've NEVER seen this much cold and snow this soon!!!

I cancelled my evening sports activities due to being worried about being stuck up on campus at night if the snowing increased and the buses stopped running (they do that some times, nightmare!), but I enjoyed myself like a 6-year-old kid all week long goofing around in the snow and taking pictures! So here go some snowy shots and the tale of last week. ;o)

This what I woke up to on Tues Nov 30th:

 Snow and the cars and the street:

made some things irresistible!

(and yes I know I'm early... 3 weeks to go!)

 I headed into town...

and saw a very scary dark train station (it's usually so bright under that glass canopy!) because of its snowy blanket!

Up on campus there was a decent layer of snow just covering the vegetation:

and the ponds were completely or partially frozen:

On Wed Dec 1st in the afternoon there was even more snow and it was colder, but these guys didn't seem to mind!

But the hardest was getting up for my early class on Thur Dec 2nd, trudging through a very snowy street to get the bus (yet grateful I didn't have to dig my car out from under all that ice and snow!)

Up on campus, completely frozen!

Thick snow everywhere...

and it was still snowing!!!

 (can you see the snowflake just beneath my eye? click for a bigger view).

Fortunately it stopped snowing and the sun came out an hour later, so I decided to go for a walk in the woods behind the campus to get some pretty pictures.

I glanced at the map to figure out in which direction I needed to go (had a special destination in mind):

came across these very courageous runners!

 and saw tracks of a chevreuil (deer family):

But couldn't find my way to the lookout I wanted! Had been 10 years since my last visit, and everything was different in the snow, and at one point it got too risky... I was hoping to find a spot where you can look out over the Ourthe (river you see between these trees) valley!

So I turned back following my own footprints, and got plenty distracted taking pictures of trees, holly:

and the realised I had no idea where I was!!! Yikes!!! Fortunately snow is great for footprints, I saw some and followed...

and was very relieved when I saw signs indicating I was on a marked trail!

Even more so when I happened upon another map!

 I decided to continue through the woods to go home (I live at the bottom of the hill),

but after a while I crossed over to the streets 'cause it was starting to snow again, my feet were cold and there were fewer and fewer footprints to follow... so I just walked down the road:

Saturday morning woke up to some beautiful sunshine!!!

Would have been a great day for snow pictures in town, but I hopped on a train to the Christmas market in Aachen (more on that another day).

Sadly this morning, Dec 5th, it looked to be the beginning of the end... temperatures just above freezing, and it was raining slushy snow...

I decided not to go on today's hike. Between the accumulated fatigue (I'm exhausted!) of work and all my crazy activities, and the icky weather... I've spent the whole day warm and cozy indoors catching up with friends and family... and photos! :p

It snowed a bit more after the temperature dipped below zero, so perhaps it's not the end and I'll be able to make that snowman I wanted to! Fingers crossed! ;o)