Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Weather in KGD:1 (Plus Four degree celcius)



Photos from my friend's camera, see what the forces of nature is capable of. But the lonesome cat is not in the least disturbed.


A view from my window, unlike willowy-like people on the streets, the brightly coloured supermarket stood strong in the ghostly weather.

Weather for Russian Federation, Province of Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad
4°C | °F
Current: Rain
Wind: N at 43 km/h
Humidity: 100%
Wed
Rain
4°C | -1°C
Thu
Chance of Snow
4°C | -1°C
Fri
Cloudy
4°C | 0°C
Sat
Chance of Rain
5°C | -3°C


At 10.45am, just a moment before my I snatched my gloves and cap and leave home for lessons, my landlord at work called me up and asked me to give up the idea of going for class, or even step out of the flat for that matter. And I already heard whistling of the wind from our double-layered windows.

People in Kaliningrad will often stay home if the weather gets too nasty. However I was adamant of going and said that I will be careful on my way there. The central heating system was still not on yesterday, I was freezing in the classroom with my gloves on. Hopefully it will be on today.

Thus I went out and braving the strong wind, and safely tucked myself in the warmth of the speedy mini-bus. It whisked off in high speed and reached my university within ten minutes.

Thank God, the heating system is belatedly on today!!! For the past two weeks, my Russian teacher had been kind enough to borrow a mini mobile heater to face right in front of me on the desk when it became too cold. However, the owner of the heater, a matronly-built teacher would march in to get it back when she needed it for her own lessons. Imagine scribbling notes on my exercise book with my leather gloves on...

Yesterday was 10 degree celcius, today it dropped to 4. It was incorrectly forecasted to snow today, it rained and is still raining and very very windy. While having lessons, dried leaves from the roof of the second floor swirled around outside my classroom window on the third floor. And they went higher and higher. We also heard sporadic banging noise, only to conclude that it is the sound of the wind, wreaking havoc on the school building and the scaffolding surrounding some parts of the building. The wind speed is 43km/hour.

After three and a half hour, my usually short walk to the bus-stop across the street proved to be too challenging. My umbrella was too fragile, and almost crushed within my first ten steps on the street, so I decided to walk in the rain like many others to avoid being blown away with the poor umbrella. The metal bus-stop sign pole was not very stable either, swinging slightly in the wind. Ten minutes went by and no mini-buses in view, and a couple of them was fully seated and no more vacancies.

I observed the faces of the people on the streets, they looked grim and resigned somehow. But I was lucky this morning when a young man was polite enough to let me get up the mini-bus first, only to realise he himself had to wait for another one in the cold autumn wind.

I never loved mini buses so much until I was rescued from this deadly windy weather. It was so warm and cosy for a good fifteen minutes until I had to throw myself again into the wind. My apartment is so near yet so far. I saw people on the streets running home without the umbrella and I followed suit, but first detour to the supermarket.

I finally made it home, holding my packed hot noodles and apple pie on one hand, and my heavily injured umbrella on the other; and struggling to fish for my keys in the bag. All I need in the world now is just a cup of good hot English tea.

Welcome to Kaliningrad!

2 comments:

  1. Good experience!!

    I thought you lived in England before, which is as cold or even colder than Eastern Europe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, cold but not so windy like that! Siao liao!

    ReplyDelete