A Floridian Learns To Winter

The first time I went to Austria I knew NOTHING about winter in a place that reguarly receive snow. I lived in Florida since I was a baby. Most of the relatives I visited growing up were concentrated in Louisiana and Alabama. In fact, the very first time (and only time before Austria) I saw snow I was 14 years old. It was on Christmas Day in Mobile, Alabama, and stopped after a few hours. Both of my parents had about as much experience with snow as I did.

This is me in November 2008. My thought process at the time:

 Look at me! I got my coat from a cousin who lives in a cold place. I'm wearing my winter shoes (see, they're closed toed!); all set! Wait... it's only November and it hasn't snowed yet!? And snow is wet and soaks through these things!? Crap.

Eventually I acquired some cheap, second hand, or ill-fitted winterwear so I didn't entirely freeze. But now I can safely say I learned the hard way how to survive a winter in Austria. So for anyone moving from life in a warm climate to a place with actual winter for the first time, this post is for you.

COAT

This is the winter coat I plan to bring. It's basic, wool, and will keep me warm. It will also go with the rest of my wardrobe. Coincidentally, the same cousin, Lindsay, also gave me this coat. While warm, it is not entirely weather-proof, so on those days with heavy snowfall, skiing, (or times I get the whim to make a snow angel), it won't be enough.

SKI JACKET

THIS is the jacket for those days. In the winter months, Villach does average a good few inches of precipitate (mostly snow) per month, so it's worthwhile. Luckily, I found and bought this at the store I worked at over the summer for a mere $10, so I can't complain.

FLEECE

This will probably sustain me for a lot of fall and spring. It's lighter than the above jackets, but still warm. In Florida, something like this would have been reserved for the coldest nights of the year.

RAIN JACKET

This was something I knew NOTHING about in Florida but found myself wishing I had my entire exchange (I never actually got one though). A rain jacket. Warm, torrential downpours and thunderstorms that ended as soon as they began were a constant companion of my summers in Florida. Not so in Austria. The rain is cold, and lasts. There's even a German term for this slow (for me), continual rain: Dauerregen.

So, this will keep me nice and dry whether in the summer, or fall or spring over my fleece.

BOOTS

I also learned that winter shoes meant a lot more than ones that were closed toed. And “boots” weren't just fashion boots from discount shoe stores or big box retailers.

In November I bought the cheapest, new winter boots I could find in Austria. They were hideous and were falling apart by the time April hit.

I wish this photo could do their ugliness justice.

This summer, I bought boots before leaving. I bought them online for a reasonable price. Because I have such small feet, my size for many brands was overstocked, which brought prices down even more. These should keep my feet warm and dry, and last MUCH longer than four months.

SOCKS (and gloves)

I used to think winter socks meant two pairs of thin socks. Or novelty “fuzzy socks”. I still don't know what I'm doing sock-wise, so I bought a variety of outdoor and winter socks. Maybe they were a waste of money. Maybe they were the best idea I've had so far. *shrug* I'll find out soon enough.

The socks in the top corner were warm, cozy wool socks, courtesy of my old professor, Gaby. I plan on spending many a wonderful cozy evening in wearing those socks, and making delicious soups.

HAND KNITTED PRETTIES

For those of you who know me, I like to knit. Like, a lot. I am super excited all of my knitted hats and scarves will be useful for more than ten days out of the year.

I also hope this will inspire me to knit even more often, and actually finish all of my projects.

So yeah, a lot more went into dressing warm than I thought. I think I'm (mostly?) prepared.