Xmas in Gdynia

I have just come back from Gdynia, where I have spent Christmas. As usual, I have visited part of my family and some of my friends. I have been lucky enough to have a coffee with a Venezuelan friend who I had not seen for more than ten years. It is amazing how time flies! Quite a few things have changed in his personal life, but he looks the same. I am very glad he is happy now!

Like most years, there were plenty of presents waiting for me by the Christmas tree. I was happy to unwrap them hurriedly and see that there were quite a few bottles of Spanish wine, plenty of chocolate, and a shaving machine. Unfortunately, there was nothing to read. So, I will have to wait until the 6th of January to see if the Three Wise Men bring me a nice book for winter. 

Since I arrived in Gdynia until I went back to Warsaw, it has been snowing all the time. So much snow has made my trip to the capital of Poland a little bit of a nightmare. The roads have not improved much  for the past  five years in this part of the country and driving is not an easy task. Yet, the lanscape is unforgettable!

Snow-Flakes

by  Longfellow (1807-1882)

Out of the bosom of the Air,
    Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
    Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
      Silent, and soft, and slow
      Descends the snow.

Even as our cloudy fancies take
    Suddenly shape in some divine expression,
Even as the troubled heart doth make
In the white countenance confession,
      The troubled sky reveals
      The grief it feels.

This is the poem of the air,
    Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
    Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
      Now whispered and revealed
      To wood and field.