"mittens" schreef in bericht
...

I have never been to continental Europe, but I have lived and worked
throughout North America so I have an appreciation of weather extremes
and variability.
____________________

I was in Montreal in December 1988 as a member of the European Union
delegation to the GATT negotiations.

Interesting to see how the Montréalais have coped with their harsh winter
climate by building so much of the city underground !

One difference between your winter climate and ours is the abrupt and
radical changes in temperature you experience over a short period. A
Canadian cold front really is cold.

My hotel room in Montreal was on the 13th floor and I could see from my
window a digital thermometer on the wall of an office building opposite. I
remember going to bed at midnight one night and seeing the thermometer
showing +7°C. When I got up at 7 a.m. the next morning, it showed -7°C.
Quite a change overnight !

Walking round the city on another morning when it was -19°C, I appreciated
my overcoat made in Finland which always seemed too warm when I wore it at
home.

At the end of our work I had a free day before our flight home and went by
bus to Quebec City. A beautiful and fascinating place, but -11°C was not
the best temperature for sightseeing.

Interesting to see other details of winter life the a children's
playground being flooded for use as a skating rink; double doors with a
lobby between at the entrance to the restaurant where I had my lunch; an
exhibition in a municipal building showing how they dispose of the large
amount of snow that falls in the city in the winter.

I hope to visit Canada as a tourist somtime soon. Probably in the summer
months despite the meteorological appeal of your winters !

Colin Youngs
Brussels