Engulfed in darkness at -26 Celsius (-15F)

I told myself I wouldn't complain about this winter season in Finland.  However, the winter which commenced in late November with a blizzard, isn't even half over and I am already counting the days till Spring.  We just experienced the two coolest days of the season and the coldest single day since I moved to Finland.  Last Saturday morning it reached -26 Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit).  That was officially the coolest day I have ever experienced anywhere.  As much as I love outdoor activities, I wasn't able to go for a walk or ski.  Some days are just meant to be indoors.  I think 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit qualifies as a day you just stay inside and keep warm.  :)

A rare glimpse of  the sun

I won't lie to you, Finnish winters are definitely challenging.  Many might think that the cold, freezing weather conditions are the worst part of the winter.  While the cold is not always comfortable, in my opinion the most difficult aspect is the darkness.  This time of year in Southern Finland it gets light around 9:30 in the morning and gets dark again starting around 4:00pm. That doesn't sound all that bad, and trust me it is much worse in Northern Finland.  However, what people who don't live here don't know is that most of those days, the sun almost never appears.  It slowly creeps up the horizon each morning and sets each evening, but it is normally obscured by clouds.  This time of year, it seems the cloud cover goes on for weeks and magically all of a sudden the clouds depart leaving blue skies that I once thought had disappeared forever.  And trust me, I celebrate those days when the sky reappears to cast its bright blue spell.

Secondly, my next biggest complaint about the winter is the slippery, icy sidewalks and streets.  It makes no difference, what type of shoes you wear, you will slip if you do not walk carefully.  You must slowly trudge along, kind of like a penguin.  It sometimes feels as you are walking on glass or an ice rink. Then, sometimes a small powdery snowfall will dump a light cover on top of the ice, making it even slicker than you thought was possible.

Lastly, I must complain about the whole driving experience.  First, you must always plan on starting your car 5-10 minutes before your leave.  While the engine is warming, you can scrape off the ice layer on your windshield and windows, and if necessary dig the snow out of the driveway.  There is nothing worse than pulling out of the driveway and spinning your tires in the deep snow cover and going no where.  Then you must try to drive safely to avoid sliding all over the road, even though you are armed with the latest high tech snow tires.  Knock on wood, I haven't actually had any accidents, but several times my car slid as I tried to stop at various stop lights, nearly avoiding hitting the car in front of me.  Sometimes there is just no control and not much the driver can do.

The challenging winters are an inevitable part of living in Finland.  But, as I blogged last winter, with a positive attitude and by using some of the techniques I posted, you can overcome the winter and go on with life.  Maybe I will re-read this section myself again for tips.  :)

http://scandinavianinterlude.blogspot.fi/2012/01/tips-on-surviving-finnish-winter.html

A winter's smiles among the darkness.

A blast of cold Arctic air

A cold air system flowing in from Siberia recently hit Scandinavia and Europe.  Until last week the coldest temps I had experienced living in Finland (or anywhere for that matter) were about 7 F (-14C).  However, last week low temps reached a bone-chilling -13F (-25C) in Espoo and much cooler in other parts of Finland.  Kuusamo, in the North East side of the country got down to a frigid -40F (-40C).  Brr.  You know it is cold when it gets to -40, which happens to be the point where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet.  I cannot even imagine what that kind of cold feels like.  Where I come from in California, people complain when it gets below 35 F, so quite a contrast in temps.

I did venture out of the house yesterday with my daughter in -4 F (-20C) weather for a quick cross-country ski.  I had enough layers on my body, but even with gloves on my hands, my fingers started to freeze.  The trick is multiple layers, cover your head and neck well and keep moving, never stop moving.  We did manage about 30 minutes outside before finally giving in to nature's chill.  Once the barometer drops below about 5 F (-15C), it feels downright balmy when it gets back to 23 F(-5C).  I guess it is all about what you are used to.  However, nothing is a better magnet than the snow to keep the kids occupied with many fun winter activities.  The other day they were frolicking around in the snow and building snow caves.  We have that much snow on the ground now where they can literally build caves.  Winter came late this year, but when it arrived, it made its appearance known and appears to be sticking around for a while.  The Groundhog definitely saw his shadow in Finland and it appears that at least 6 more weeks of winter is in store for us. (Groundhog's Day- An American folklore celebration on Feb. 2)

Espoo

Making a snow
cave in Espoo