Photos: Beautiful scenes of snow in Germany

A man stands in the snow slush as he waits at a bus stop on December 20, 2011 in Duesseldorf, western Germany. (FEDERICO GAMBARINI - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

As I was hunting for photos to complement my story on the Southern Plains blizzard, I stumbled across a series of beautiful images of snow from western Germany. The snow which fell there today was nothing unusual, on the order of a just a few inches according to the German Weather Service.

Unfortunately, for Germans hoping for a White Christmas, it’s forecast to melt away from rain and rising temperatures in the next few days. But it sure was pretty. Enjoy!

Branches of a tree still bearing some fruit are covered in snow on December 20, 2011 in Gaiberg near Heidelberg, southwestern Germany. (DANIEL ROLAND - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Snow-covered roofs are seen from the Heidelberg Castle, in Heidelberg, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. (Ronald Wittek - AP)

A father and his son pull a sled through the snow on December 20, 2011 at the Feldberg mountain in the western state of Hessen. (STEPHAN SCHEUER - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Tables and chairs of a street cafe are covered in snow on December 20, 2011 in Kassel, central Germany. (UWE ZUCCHI - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Here are a few nice images from snow that fell earlier this week in southern and central Germany...

A tree photographed on a snow-covered field during sunrise near Memmingen, southern Germany, Tuesday Dec. 20, 2011. (Sebastian Widmann - AP)
Landscape is covered in snow on December 19, 2011 near Huttenwang, southern Germany. (KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Snow covered trees can be seen at Feldberg, central Germany on December 18, 2011. (FRANK RUMPENHORST - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
A child walks in the background past a lamppost covered in hoar frost on top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. (Michael Probst - AP)