We got dumped on by the third snow storm in less than a week last night. The all night snow was preceded by about two hours of freezing rain, so things are slick as a luge track outside. The situation is starting to get a little dire. The Romanian snow removal system is neither efficient, effective nor dedicated and we are running out of places to put the stuff.

The driving conditions are being exacerbated by short-sighted car owners who, while digging out their cars, rather than take an extra two steps and dumping the snow on the grass or a similarly out-of-the-way place, they just toss it in the street. Passing cars immediately pack down these piles of snow into thick, patchy hunks of ice, which are not only slippery and unplowable, but they are the equivalent of reverse potholes, hammering and occasionally shattering suspension and axels.

This unholy amount of snow has made all forms of transportation difficult, delayed or impossible. Aside from delaying my trip last week, I’m being personally affected in that the supermarket has not received its shipment of my favourite merlot in a week, upsetting the delicate chemical balance that my body has grown accustomed to.

Fortunately, I don’t have to go anywhere for another week, but if we keep getting zapped by 13 centimetres (five inches) of snow every second day, my only option for getting out of Iasi will be a helicopter rescue.